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2205	dbpedia	0	90	https://elliotchan.com/category/blog/creatives/	en	Elliot Chan	https://elliotchan.com/w…iotchan.jpg?w=24	https://elliotchan.com/w…iotchan.jpg?w=24	[ "https://elliotchan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/christin-hume-k2kcwkandwg-unsplash.jpg?w=1024", "https://elliotchan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/jpeg.jpg?w=700", "https://elliotchan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/unnamed.png?w=512", "https://elliotchan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/3e992b1071f72af9bcb8b3688cdb3c25.jpg?w=1014", "https://elliotchan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/joshbrolinpremieremiramaxfilmsnocountryowr2iw1u1hul.jpg?w=594", "https://elliotchan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/louisa_may_alcott1.jpg?w=1024", "https://elliotchan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/eonline.jpg?w=900", "https://elliotchan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/little-women-movie-review-2019.jpg?w=1024", "https://elliotchan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/m_kevinkwan001_875fcba321d820ce1888ef55cd53b043.fit-760w.jpg?w=760", "https://elliotchan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/merlin_142046139_9934f129-0538-4721-8b67-6111c51568d1-superjumbo.jpg?w=1024", "https://elliotchan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/chuckpalahniuk_crop.0.0.jpg?w=1024", "https://elliotchan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web-coverpage6.jpg?w=1008", "https://elliotchan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/1035x714-20140225-jaredleto-03-x1800-1393358999-1024x706.jpg?w=1024", "https://elliotchan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/cover.jpg?w=218", "https://elliotchan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/rofl.jpg", "https://elliotchan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/rofl.png", "https://elliotchan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/pastinbetweentitle2.jpg?w=231", "https://elliotchan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/youtube_subscribe_button__2014__by_just_browsiing-d7qkda4-e1537841510219.png?w=250", "https://elliotchan.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1697118981520-how-to-write-a-novel-ui.png?w=1024", "https://elliotchan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/pwa_250x250_square_1.jpg", "https://elliotchan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/elliotnewsletterbutton.png", "https://elliotchan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/minerva-premium-associate-300x250-v07.png", "https://elliotchan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/elliotchan.jpg?w=24", "https://elliotchan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/elliotchan.jpg?w=24", "https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?v=noscript" ]	[ "https://www.youtube.com/embed/BWTRh1A__Uw?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en&autohide=2&wmode=transparent" ]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Elliot Chan" ]	2024-04-02T07:00:00-07:00	Posts about Creatives written by Elliot Chan	en	https://elliotchan.com/w…iotchan.jpg?w=24	Elliot Chan	https://elliotchan.com/category/blog/creatives/	Flash back to early 2021. We were still in the midst of covid, the world felt like it was falling apart, and NFTs were the latest thing. While many people got into NFTs for the non fungible aspect of the token, I was most inspired by the digital art. The one that captivated my imagination the most was, of course, Beeple and his Everydays. I aspired to pursue something similar myself, perhaps not constrained to the daily format of Everydays, but a creative endeavor like that sounded so rewarding. March 7, 2021 I started this project as nothing more than to practice drawing. I bought myself the cheapest tablet [Amazon] I could from Amazon and off I went. Drawing Pokemon. While I haven’t reached the end just yet, it feels like I’m already on my victory lap. I’m going to finish—I will finish. And I’m already contemplating life after this project. I believe that creating this video to commemorate how far I’ve come will spur me to double my efforts and reach the finish line before they introduce another generation. Admittedly, what began as a commitment to draw every day has somewhat waned in priority over the past few months. Because here’s the truth, I’m ready to draw something else. So, what is this video about? Well, I want to share how I’ve reached this point by highlighting the 9 phases I went through to draw these 900 Pokémon. I’ll delve into the various styles I’ve chosen, the techniques I’ve learned, and how they’ve sustained me throughout the project thus far. Let’s start at the beginning. 1. The crude phase: When I began this project, I wanted to dive in fast. Looking back, I see I could’ve put more effort into those early stages. But I also knew that to tackle such a big project, I needed to get the ball rolling. That’s always been my style when starting something new: seize the moment and make the most of it while you’re feeling motivated. Reflecting on it now, I didn’t completely rush through them, I did spend quite some time on these crude drawings, just easing into the whole experience of using a drawing tablet. While I’ve used Photoshop before for photo manipulation, I’ve never used it for illustration. It took me a bit to stumble upon the fact that in Photoshop, I could tap into new brushes, and once I did, it was like unlocking thousands of new possibilities. This phase was an exciting start. 2. The layers phase: After the first 100 or so, I was getting pretty obsessed with trying as many different brushes as I could. At the same time, I was playing around with the format, adding backgrounds, and experimenting with composite images and integrating them into the drawings. This phase saw me coloring the Pokemon on separate layers, which really sharpened everything up. Eventually, I came across a brush that clicked for me. It’s this thick, inky wet one that feels incredibly satisfying to use— the thickness varies based on how much pressure I apply. I really liked it. It was around this point that I realized I was fully committed to this project, and I knew there was no turning back. 3. The speed phase: At the beginning of this phase, I noticed a shift. The initial excitement surrounding the project had dwindled, and despite sharing it with others, there was little in the way of fanfare or recognition. From here on, it was going to be a slog— just me, myself, and the next Pokémon to draw. To inject some interest into the process, I began timing myself to see how fast I could complete each drawing. By adding this extra layer of pressure, I turned the practice into a game. It added some excitement, and for a while, I gauged progress not only by style, technique, or quality, but also by the time it took to create each piece. 4. The software migration phase: Over 250 days into the project, I worked up the courage to try Adobe Illustrator. It took me a while to grasp the intricacies of this new tool. It fundamentally altered my perspective on illustrating, shifting my focus from lines to shapes and seeing art — and life — in a completely different way. Throughout this phase, I found myself toggling between Photoshop and Illustrator, exploring and determining which format, style, and software suited me best. Some of my most memorable illustrations were made during this time, but I sometimes forget which software I used until I look harder. This discovery proved that working with Illustrator is not only faster but also more consistent compared to Photoshop when using my cheap Amazon drawing tablet. Additionally, I started testing the waters of animation around this time, and Illustrator just gave me more control. 5. The animation phase: The animation phase wasn’t a long one but it was big one for me. I learned to use Adobe Animate and it was some of the most fun I had. While I thoroughly enjoyed the animation process, it added complexity to the daily task, making it more time-consuming. Still, I’m glad I was able to use this project to learn this technique and test out the software. 6. The combination phase: This phase was a mix of everything, Photoshop, Illustrator, different brushes, some with lines some without. I was searching for my style at this point and I couldn’t really pick one. So I just bounced around, practicing old tricks and trying new stuff. That’s how I kept myself invested. This leg of the project was all about having the freedom to do whatever I wanted and adjusting whenever I felt the image would look better in a certain way. And with this freedom, I saw a lot of progression during this time, which gave me confidence to branch out further to find my style. 7. The effects phase: I found myself devoting increasingly more time to Illustrator and less to Photoshop at this stage. The next significant leap for me was delving into the 3D effects filters in Illustrator. This was a lot of fun and I really got a kick out of it. During this phase, I had the ambition to learn Blender, but I hit a roadblock and I couldn’t even get through making the Donut. Following the 3D effects, I began incorporating the Grain effect more frequently and experimenting with the Transparency effect to add texture to the illustrations. I really enjoyed how a lot of these turned out, but there were a lot of misses during this phase as well. 8. The 3-point stroke phase: Arguably the most extensive phase of this entire project thus far is what I’ve dubbed the “3 Point Stroke” phase, where I used the level 3 setting for line thickness. It was hard to say that this was becoming my style, but I did enjoy using this line thickness aesthetically and I don’t know, I was also kind of over experimenting at this point. I simply wanted to find my rhythm and maintain consistency. The daily time commitment was wearing out, especially considering I had been immersed in this project for over 2 years by this point. It was also during this generation of Pokémon where they became more detailed and harder to draw. This meant that some took considerably more time to create. While there were Pokémon that were essentially circles with eyes, there were also ones like Celesteela. 9. The AI phase: Finally, we arrive at the current phase. No, I’m not using AI to draw my Pokemon. I am still handcrafting each and every one using mostly the Point 3 Stroke thickness, however, I am also now returning to my experimental ways, and I’m doing that by incorporating AI into my creations. I want to just stay in the loop and see the capabilities of Adobe’s built-in tools. This way, when the time comes to transition to other projects, I’ll be well-versed in them. Initially, I started with generating random images, but now I’m getting the hang of prompting backgrounds that don’t look awful. They are far from perfect, but they are pretty cool and it is interesting to see what the future holds. The goal of this project was to do something consistently and hopefully get something out of it. Like the Pokemon themselves, this experience has been an evolution. So much of my life has changed, but this project has been a constant, something I could always fall back on when I get the overwhelming feeling, this restlessness that I have when I need to do something, but not sure what to do first. Drawing a Pokemon was always an option that didn’t require too many decisions. It’s nice knowing that I’ll always have another one lined up. It has also been a reliable platform for me to try new things. There was no right or wrong when doing this. If I make a mistake and the Pokemon turns out awful, no problem, there will always be tomorrow. I make a conscious effort not to retract and edit a picture once it’s published. Once it’s out there, it’s out there. So, 900 Pokemons down, a little over a hundred to go. The journey continues, this reflection is a nice little boost to keep me going. The big question now is: What will be my final phase of drawing Pokemon? Join my YouTube community for videos about writing, the creative process, and storytelling. Subscribe Now! For more writing ideas and original stories, please sign up for my mailing list. You won’t receive emails from me often, but when you do, they’ll only include my proudest works. As Cormac McCarthy, the author of No Country for Old Men would put it: when we look back at the past, we tend to view it through “pink lens”. He recalled regular conversations with his grandmother, where she lamented that in her youth, young men wouldn’t spend nights playing poker while their girlfriends were left alone. Of course, such proclamations, as McCarthy knew, were unfounded as men have been known to partake in poker, pool, and other activities without their better halves since the beginning of time. However, his grandmother believed her statement and that in her lifetime the world had shifted — perhaps for the worse. Written during the apprehensive periods after 9/11, No Country For Old Men is a story about corruption and greed, chance and justice, but it’s also a story about the foreboding future that we’re hurtling towards, and the ineptitude of our leaders, our law enforcements, and ourselves as we brace for violence and destructive forces that our beyond our comprehension. Over a decade since it’s initial publication and adaptation by the Coen Brothers, the story’s nihilistic themes are still relevant as we’re now confronted with obstacles that the old men in charge seem unprepared to handle. This is the story of Cormac McCathy’s inspiration and Joel and Ethan Coen’s process towards adapting the novel that pulls off the shades and reveals a world worthy of pessimism. The Novel Born in 1933 in Providence, Rhode Island, Cormac McCarthy knew from an early age that he would fail to be a respectable citizen. Hating school from the early days and vowing never to waste his life working, taking orders from others, he pursued a life as a writer, educating himself with books during his time in the Air Force while dispatched in Alaska, when he was twenty-three years old. With a curriculum designed by himself, he read novels feverishly from literary greats including Herman Melville, Fedor Dostoyevsky, and William Faulkner, who was perhaps the one he drew his style from the most. A lot of Faulkerian themes could be found in McCarthy’s first novel, The Orchard Keeper, published in 1965 had, which makes sense because it earned him The William Faulkner Foundation Award for notable debut novel. McCarthy, with a literary grant, would end up building momentum from his first novel, travelling Europe, writing three more novels, before receiving a McArthur Genius Grant that enabled him, in 1985, to publish his fifth and perhaps most critically revered work, Blood Meridian, pushing him to the level as one of the great American writers of his generation. In the 90s, McCarthy finally got mainstream recognition for The Border trilogy that included, All the Pretty Horses, published in 1992, The Crossing, published in 1994, and Cities of the Plains, published in 1998. While Blood Meridian was a violent, horrific story full of blood and carnage — The Border trilogy was restrained. However, with his next novel, No Country for Old Men, published in 2005, McCarthy turned the dial back, as the depiction of senseless evil required a trail of blood for the readers and the old sheriff in the story to follow. As the years past, McCarthy stayed true to his personal ideology and avoided succumbing to greed or distractions. He made his writing the prime focus of his life, forgoing lucrative opportunities and public adulations. He grew up not wanting to work, and in a way he succeeded. In a rare interview with Oprah in 2007, after winning a Pulitzer Prize for his 2006 novel, The Road, the writer dispelled the illusion that his achievements — although were not work — weren’t effortless. He had no advice to offer aspiring writers seeking a workfree life, except this, “if you are really dedicated, you can probably do it.” One has to work to not work. The Movie Prior to 2000, the relationship between McCarthy and Hollywood had not been great. For example, Blood Meridian was deemed a cursed adaptation project. The list of esteemed filmmakers that had been linked to the project and then forced to surrender due to the complexity included Ridley Scott, Tommy Lee Jones, Martin Scorsese, John Hillcoat, and James Franco. The problem wasn’t that these filmmakers weren’t imaginative or talented enough, the problem was that the studios weren’t willing to take a risk on it. Go figure, that the first adaptation that Hollywood would commit to was All the Pretty Horses in 2000. Directed by Billy Bob Thornton and starring Matt Damon and Penelope Cruz, All the Pretty Horses received an overwhelmingly negative reception to no fault of the source material. What hurt McCarthy’s first movie adaptation was the politics behind the production. The first cut of the movie was over three hours long, as Thronton had wanted, but Miramax insisted that he cut 35% from it. It was this that ripped the heart and soul from the movie, making it feel rushed, uninvolved, and flat. Some believe that the edits were forced upon Thronton because of his previous directorial foray, Sling Blade, in 1996, where he’d refused to make edits. McCarthy always had an interest in stage and cinema. During his career, he experimented with writing scripts including a play, Sunset Limited in 2006 and a screenplay, The Counselor in 2013, directed by Ridley Scott. No Country for Old Men was originally written as a script, however, when it didn’t gain any tractions from Hollywood, he rewrote it as a novel. Luckily, by the time he was ready to publish, the manuscript found its way into the hands of producer Scott Rubin. Rubin purchased the film rights and handed the script to Joel and Ethan Coen, who were starting their next project, which was an adaptation of a novel. The novel they had in mind initially was To the White Sea by James Dickie, published in 1993, a story of an American gunner surviving the final months of World War II in war-torn Tokyo. In the summer of 2005, the Coen brothers decided to put To the White Sea on the shelf and focus on No Country for Old Men. What motivated them to pursue No Country for Old Men was how unconventional the story was told and the subverting genres. They loved the idea of the good guy and the bad guy never meeting face-to-face. They were drawn by the unforgiving landscape and the sentimentality of the story. While No Country for Old Men would be the first official Coen Brothers adaptation, they were no strangers to drawing inspiration from literature. Their 1990 neo-noir, Miller’s Crossing was inspired by American novelist Dashiell Hammett and the 2000 comedy, O’Brother, Where Art Thou? was a modern interpretation of Homer’s Odyssey. When asked about their selection process by Charlie Rose in a 2007 interview, they simply stated, “Why not start with Cormac? Why not start with the best?” And so they did. While one brother typed on the computer, the other held a copy of No Country for Old Men open flat. They were praised for the faithfulness to the novel, where they didn’t so much as alter, but rather compressed scenes to fit with the medium of film. Shot by the admired cinematographer, Roger Deakins, No Country For Old Men was a sharp left turn from the Coen Brothers’ two disappointing attempts at comedy, Intolerable Cruelty starring George Clooney and Cathrine Zeta-Jones in 2003 and The Ladykiller starring Tom Hanks in 2004. Pulling from the starkness of Fargo, the violence of Miller’s Crossing and the stylization of The Man Who Wasn’t There, No Country for Old Men required the Coen Brothers and Deakins to be absolutely precise technically, in order to capture the realism that the story required. Meticulous storyboarding kept the movie on track, even through all the debates regarding the staged violence on screen. Without the violence, the emotional payoff would be lost and the merciless evil will lack the gravatas the story required. The movie doesn’t glamourize the violence, but instead shows the brutality of it. The violence happens quickly, savage and painful — and in a way, without purpose. The famous coin flip scene in the convenience store simply wouldn’t have the same tension, if we, the audience, didn’t recognize what could be possible if chance went the other way. No Country for Old Men is a movie almost devoid of music. The choice to go with a minimalistic soundtrack was seen as a removal of a film making safety net. Music helps the audience reach an emotional peak faster. It guides the story and builds tension, allowing the viewer to anticipate what will happen next. Think back to any thriller or suspense movie, and you may recall the soundtrack leading up to a climactic moment. But without music, the storytelling is exposed, giving the audience an out-of-the-comfort-zone experience, making the movie arguably more gripping and suspenseful. It puts you there with the characters. You hear the breathing. You hear the footsteps. You hear your heart pumping. The Coen brothers had a clear vision of who they wanted to cast in the role of the aging sheriff Ed Tom Bell. There was a shortlist of actors who had the qualities to portray a character who could really inhabit the landscape and provide a profound performance of an elderly man coming to terms. Tommy Lee Jones grew up in San Saba, Texas, not far from where the story was set. Initially, the role of Lewellyn Moss was offered to Heath Ledger, who in 2006 was coming off one of the biggest years with starring roles in The Lords of DogTown, The Brothers Grimm, and Brokeback Mountain, which earned him his first Oscar nomination. However, Ledger had to turn down the opportunity because he wanted to spend time with his daughter. Then came Josh Brolin. With help from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez to film an audition reel during a lunch break while on set for 2007’s Grindhouse, Brolin entered the conversation for the vacant role. While the audition tape — shot on a million dollar camera — didn’t have the desired effect for the Coen Brothers. The director and writer duo would eventually meet with Brolin, through much persistence from his agent — and decided that the child star from The Goonies was the right choice. Even though before shooting started, Brolin got into a motorcycle accident while heading back from a wardrobe fitting, breaking his collarbone. Luckily for Brolin, his character would have a bullet wound in the shoulder for the majority of the movie. The most memorable performance in No Country for Old Men came from Javier Bardem’s portrayal of the psychotic hitman, Anton Chigurh. The role brought a lot of challenges to Bardem, including a femine haircut that was not a wig but his real hair, which made going out in public during the three months of filming a unique experience for the Spanish actor. Another challenge was finding humanity in a character that had no qualms towards human life. Bardem pointed to the scene where Chigurh was alone stitching up his wound as an important one for the character as it showed the audience that he was not immune to pain, he was not a robot, and it’s there that we understand that this monster was like us, and that made him so much scarier. With a budget of $25 million, No Country for Old Men was shot in the early summer of 2006 in Las Vegas and New Mexico, where it first crossed paths with a rival movie that it’ll forever be connected to: Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood. The Daniel Day-Lewis epic about a ruthless oil tycoon, based on the 1927 novel by Upton Sinclair Oil!, shared location with the Coen Brothers in Marfa, New Mexico. The biggest problem with the shared location was that There Will Be Blood’s production sent heavy smoke into the air one day, causing No Country for Old Men to pause their shoot to allow the smoke to dissipate. Both movies set in the desert, with similar themes of greed and corruption, will be deemed by many to be the top two movies that year. What made many love No Country for Old Men were perhaps the same reasons some disliked it. It was a movie that defied conventions, it straddled genres — suspense, crime, western, and american gothic — and it was, to many, infuriatingly mysterious. The offscreen death of Moss, the villain’s pathetic escape, and the abrupt ending, left many confused. But it was in those cinematic choices that made the movie so memorable, because it mirrored the lives we were living. We brought our own interpretation to the story. Are we governed by destiny or self-determination? Are we the hunters or the hunted? How have our immoral acts lead to where we are now, and how many more can we get away with before our luck runs out? These are of course questions without clear answers, but No Country for Old Men suggests that our luck is already up, and here are the consequences. What do we make of that? On May 19, 2007, No Country for Old Men premiered at the Cannes Film Festival where it became a frontrunner for the Palm D’or but would end up losing to the Romanian film, 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days. On November 9, 2007, the movie was released in the United States, grossing over $1,200,000 through the opening weekend, becoming the highest-grossing Coen Brothers movie of the time. The movie would be nominated for eight Academy Awards for Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, and winning Best Adapted ScreenPlay, Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Javier Bardem, Best Directors, and most incredibly, Best Picture, beating out Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, and their western rival, There Will Be Blood. No Country for Old Men is a movie I think about often. It was released in my final years as an inspiration-seeking teenager and I watched it in a theatre that no longer exists. Like the character of Sheriff Bell, who reminisces about a simpler time, I too think back fondly of that experience — I remember sitting on the edge of my seat in that empty theatre on a Saturday afternoon. I have failed to recreate the experience ever since. That’s a great lesson in life, and perhaps the most pertinent theme of the story, regardless of chance or free will, we can only have this moment and whether we choose or not, this life will happen, so if nothing more, we should brace for it. If the Coen Brothers were to adapt another novel, what would you like to see? Let me know in the comments below. For more in the series of adaptations, please check out this YouTube playlist here. If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for my mailing list. You won’t receive emails from me often, but when you do, it’ll include only work that I’m most proud of. Louisa May Alcott grew up in a poor family that was frequently at risk of being broken up, needing to move in order to avoid food shortage. Her father, Bronson Alcott, who rarely held steady employment as a transcendentalist philosopher and educator, was not a good supplier and the efforts of keeping the family afloat fell upon Louisa’s mother, Abigail. While Bronson had failed in many rights, he did encourage his daughters to embrace their God-given talents. Anna pursued acting, Lizzie took to music, May to arts, and Louisa to writing. This was the early 1800s, a time when women were discouraged from putting pen to paper. It was a culture that believed a woman writer was as shameful as prostitution. And it certainly felt that way during those times. In 1867, 35 years-old, Louisa was approached by Thomas Niles, a publishing partner at Roberts Brothers. He solicited her to write a book for girls. Alcott didn’t like girls or knew many, only her sisters, so she was reluctant. However, her family needed money and after some pressure, she began work on a novel called The Pathetic Family. The Novel In September 1868, The Pathetic Family was published under the new title: Little Women or Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, in the England publication, released two months later, it was titled: Four Little Women. This semi-autobiographical story was a success, the first printing of 2,000 copies sold out instantly. Alcott received letters from readers, mostly young girls, who wanted to know what happened to the March sisters, most importantly who those girls married. Because of this great reception, Alcott began working on the second half of the story, following these Little Women into adulthood. It was undeniable that the characters had a parallel with Louisa’s sisters and herself in real life: the death of her sister Lizzie, Louisa’s rivalry with her sister May — which mirrored Jo’s rivalry with Amy — and even her friendship with a Polish man named Laddie she met in Europe, who was represented in the story by the character Laurie. There were two main divergences from the real experiences: First was the father figure in the novel, Mr March, who was depicted as a Civil War hero, while in reality Bronson Alcott was hardly such and was often seen as an embarrassment to the Alcott family. The Marches were much more well off than the Alcotts. The second was the protagonist, Jo, who Alcott had based off of herself. While Alcott remained single her whole life, saying that she had a man’s soul inside of her woman’s body, Jo ended up married, which at the time was the pretty bow necessary at the end of any respectable tale. Alcott was against having Jo married, but in the end, the best she could do was to make a compromise. She set Jo up with an unconventional husband, which was designed to subvert adolescent romantic ideas, for he was older and unfitting — when it seemed like she would be destined to end up with Laurie. Nevertheless, in April 1869, Little Women or, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, Part Second was published — in England, it was called Little Women Wedded. Women from all different classes and national backgrounds, during a time when immigration was high in the US, could envision new dreams for themselves after reading Little Women. This was especially true during the 19th century when there were hardly any models for nontraditional womanhood. Literature was the first place to spark that self-authorization, opening the door for women to evolve and even encourage them to have a change of heart when necessary, whether it’s in their relationships or careers. Alcott was an abolitionist and feminist and in the early 1860s, prior to her fame from Little Women, she wrote for the Atlantic Monthly. When the American Civil War escalated, in 1862, Alcott went to Georgetown DC to serve as a nurse. During her six-week service, Alcott contracted typhoid and nearly died. She survived and her letters home were revised and published in a Boston anti-slavery publication and a collection called Hospital Sketches. This earned her her first critical recognition as a writer. While serving as a nurse, her father would send her poems saying how proud of her he was for her services. No doubt, Bronson Alcott would continue to be proud, as Louisa’s influence grew as one of the key female voices during the Gilded Age, which included Elizabeth Stoddard, Rebecca Harding Davis, and Anne Moncure Crane. In 1877, Alcott would become a founding member of the Women’s Educational and Industrial Union in Boston, designed to support women and children during the rise of industrialism. Tragically, on March 6, 1888 — two days after her father’s death, Louisa May Alcott at the age of 55 died of a stroke. She would never get to see her story of Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth come to life on screen, but her novel and the themes within will last for many generations to come. In a 1979 essay by literary scholar Judith Fetterley, entitled “Little Women: Alcott’s Civil War,” she argues that the novel was pushing back against the framework for adolescent girls of that time. One prime example was where Beth, the character that best exhibited the acceptance of the woman’s role, died upon reaching adulthood, while the sisters that resisted conforming survived. Little Women will be the subject of feminist and literary criticism for years to come, and while some deemed it unworthy to be catalogued with the great American novels like Huckleberry Finn, the story had consistently attracted writers and filmmakers. The Movies From 1917 to 2019, there have been numerous adaptations of Little Women made for the television and the stage, as well as 6 feature films. The first was a lost British silent film in 1917 starring former Gaiety Girl, Ruby Miller who played Jo. A year after, an American version of Little Women was produced around Alcott’s home in Concord Massachusetts. This was also a silent film and it starred Dorothy Bernard as Jo. The first talkie adaptation of Little Women was released in 1933 and it was a huge box office hit, garnering rave reviews from the critics. Directed by George Cukor and starring Katherine Hepburn as Jo, the movie’s theme about simplicity, frugality, and resilience resonated with the audience during the midst of the Great Depression. With that, it ended up earning the movie three nominations at the Academy Awards, one for best picture, one for best director, and one for screenwriters, Victor Heerman and Sarah Y Mason, who won for best-adapted screenplay. In 1949, Little Women was adapted once more, this time in Technicolor, starring June Allyson as Jo, Janet Leigh as Meg, Elizabeth Taylor as Amy and Margaret O’Brien as Beth. According to many critics of the time, it couldn’t hold a candle to the preceding version starring Katherine Hepburn, saying that although Allyson may have tried to emulate Hepburn it wasn’t as persuasive. But nobody could blame Allyson for copying as the script and music were taken directly from the version that was released over 15 years prior. When Denise Di Novi, known then for producing Ed Wood and Nightmare Before Christmas, reached out to director Gillian Armstrong to gauge her interest in remaking Little Women, Armstrong, feeling the movie was too similar in theme to her first feature, My Brilliant Career, declined. However, Di Novi was persistent and encouraged Armstrong to reconsider. When she did, she found that the story was pertinent to the times and perhaps it was worth revisiting after 45 years. Armstrong would only then discover that Di Novi, producer Amy Pascal, and screenwriter Robin Swicord have been working on modernizing Little Women for 12 years. Their main pitch was for it to be a great family Christmas movie. When Robin Swicord wrote the script for the 1994 version of Little Women, she looked back at the previous adaptations and saw that the main question in the story was “Who will these girls marry?”, but she knew even at a young age, that the question should be, “Who will these girls become?” Considering what Louisa May Alcott had at the heart of the story, she wrote the script focusing on the themes of ambition and identity. Filmed in Vancouver with a budget of $18 million, Little Women starring Winona Ryder as Jo, Trini Alvarado as Meg, and Christian Bale as Laurie opened to over 1,500 screens in North America on December 21, 1994, grossing over $50 million — a success. In addition, the film earned three Academy Awards nominations for Best Costume Design, Best Original Score, and Best Actress for Winona Ryder. Robin Swicord was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay by the Writers Guild of America Award but lost to Eric Roth who wrote Forrest Gump. Although many critics were skeptical about this remake at first, feeling it would be cheesy or overly sentimental, they found that it was full of serious themes and warm and meticulous performances. Between 2013 to 2015, Denise Di Novi, Robin Swicord, and Amy Pascal teamed up again for a new adaptation of Little Women. While the news about the project started to spread, many wondered what new aspects can be brought to a story that was now nearly a century and a half years old. During this time, Olivia Milch, who would eventually write Ocean’s Eight, was working on the script. Later on, in 2015, Canadian actor and director, Sarah Polley — known for the movie Away from Her — was hired to take over the script and eventually direct the movie, but she never got much deeper into the project than the discussion phase. Finally, in August 2016, Greta Gerwig was brought on to write the script. Little Women was a book that she grew up with and loved. She went as far as saying that the character of Jo was someone she idolized, inspiring her to be a writer herself. Gerwig saw themes that other adaptations glossed over, including money, authorship, ownership, art — but mostly money. After the success of 2017’s Lady Bird, starring Saoirse Ronan, Gerwig was signed on as the director for Little Women. While on the set of Lady Bird, upon hearing that Gerwig had such influence in such an influential movie, Ronan approached her evoking her desperation to play Jo. In addition to casting Ronan as Jo, Gerwig continued to make major decisions regarding her rebellious protagonist. Upon doing her own research of Louisa May Alcott, she discovered that so much of Jo was pulled from Alcott’s own life, however, the author had to make many compromises as per the pressures of the times. Gerwig wanted to bring more of Alcott into the character that Alcott herself was unable to do. Convinced that the author had never wanted to write a story where Jo got married, Gerwig made a movie that she believed honoured the original creator — a redemptive adaptation — while being faithful to the novel. Telling the story in a nonlinear fashion, Gerwig began the 2019 adaptation of Little Women with Jo trying to sell her book and ending her story not on the importance of finding a man to marry, but rather the qualities of the sisters, most notably the intelligence of the bratty sister, Amy, played by Florence Pugh. While the whole cast, including Emma Watson as Meg, Laura Dern as Marmie, and Meryl Streep as Aunt March all received positive reception for their performances as an ensemble, it was Ronan, Pugh, and Timothee Chalamet as Laurie that were deemed stand out performances by the critics. On Christmas Day 2019, Gerwig’s Little Women, with a budget of $40 million, was released and ended up earning $206 million worldwide. The movie earned six nominations at the Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress in a Leading role for Ronan, Best Actress in a Support Role for Pugh, Best Adapted Screenplay for Gerwig, and Best Costume Design, which was the only win of the night. There was a bitter taste when Gerwig was left off the ballot for Best Director, which many called foul, feeling that Gerwig had done a phenomenal job modernizing the classic and bringing a uniqueness to a story that was so familiar, blending the contemporary and the nostalgia so masterfully that it made the adaptation relevant. Nevertheless, no one can deny the sustaining power of the story of the four March sisters. While so much of our world has changed since Alcott had written the words, so much remained. We can only imagine what the next twenty to fifty years will bring. How much will change? And how will the next version of Little Women be interpreted? As the readers of Alcotts’ time had wondered what will happen to Jo — we can also do the same… as we look towards the future. What was your favourite adaptation of Little Women? Let me know in the comments below. For more in the series of adaptations, please check out this YouTube playlist here. If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for my mailing list. You won’t receive emails from me often, but when you do, it’ll include only work that I’m most proud of. During a college creative writing course, Kevin Kwan wrote a poem entitled “Singapore Bible Study”. The poem was about a study group — but there was more gossiping and showing off new jewelry than studying. A few years later, he began rewriting that poem into a scene. That scene ended up being chapter 2 of Crazy Rich Asians. It was that chapter that gave Kwan the momentum to write a novel. Yet, it was a story he was brought up to never talk about — at least to avoid sharing with those on the outside. He was unaware of his status. With a wealthy family tree that had roots all the way back to the year 946, Kwan lived a privileged childhood, although not to the extent of those characters in his imagination. And it wasn’t until he moved to America that he understood what luxury he came from. In 2010, his father passed away — and Kwan felt it was the right time to reconnect with his past. It was perhaps a morbid reason, but Kwan, who was currently working as a creative consultant in New York, didn’t know how much time he (or anyone) would have left. It was through heartbreak and history that emboldened Kwan to write Crazy Rich Asians — and ignite the flame for Asian American authors and filmmakers for the coming generations. This is how Crazy Rich Asians went from bestseller to blockbuster hit. The Novel Kevin Kwan’s families consisted of three major clans: the Hus, the Ohs, and the Kwans. They had a hand in inventing Tiger Balm, founding Singapore’s oldest bank (the Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation), and establishing the Hinghwa Methodist Church. Among many accolades, his paternal grandfather was even knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his philanthropies. In addition, they lived in some of the grandest homes in Singapore including an estate previously occupied by the sultan of Johor, the ruler of Malaysia. During this time, wealthy Chinese families were educated in English colleges and universities, and that included Kevin Kwan himself. He studied at the Anglo-Chinese School, and didn’t speak a word of Mandarin, and neither did his parents, who worked as an engineer and a pianist. Kwan’s family was indeed wealthy, but the old money that had been trickling down for generations had mostly dried up by the time Kevin was born. While he was privileged, he was not on the same level as some of the characters in Crazy Rich Asians. Nevertheless, he remembered his home in Singapore when growing up. It was on a hill with a panoramic view. From his bedroom, he could see for miles. Sadly, that estate that housed multiple generations of Kwan’s family no longer exists. As Singapore’s development expanded in the 90s, Kwan’s family home was demolished and four separate homes now occupy the property. At the age of 11, his family, along with his two older brothers, immigrated to Clear Water, Texas. Kevin Kwan missed many aspects of his Singaporean lifestyle, but there was one key person that he missed the most: his journalist aunt. It was his aunt that invited interesting characters to the house: painters, sculptors, and writers. She also had regular lunches with fascinating people such as royalty, business people, and art collectors. It was she that brought Kevin into that world and opened his imagination. This perhaps encouraged Kwan to pursue the arts. After graduating from the University of Houston-Clear Lake with a BA in Media Studies, Kwan moved to Manhattan and earned a BFA in Photography at Parsons School of Design. Afterward, Kwan was employed by Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine and Martha Stewart Living, as well as working at — famous graphic designer, Tibor Kalman’s design firm — M&Co. In 2000, Kwan opened his own creative consulting company which served high-profile clients that included TED, Museum of Modern Arts and The New York Times. When his father was diagnosed with cancer, Kwan took 18 months off work and returned to Texas to take care of him. He had to drive his father back and forth to daily doctor appointments in Houston. There the two of them spent the time while commuting recounting old family memories and the days back in Singapore. It was during those conversations he realized that there was so much he didn’t know about his family’s history. To contain all his thoughts, explore his ancestry, and mourn his father during that emotional time, Kwan wrote. In two years, he completed half the manuscript, but it was his literary agent Alexandra Machinist that encouraged him to write the ending with a timeline of 2 months. Kwan was able to accomplish that and the timing could not have been better. He noticed there was a gap in contemporary Asian literature. Most of what he saw on the market involving Asian culture was historical fiction or Asian-American identity. Asia had changed a lot since the 20th century. There has been a lot of financial reports in magazines such as Forbes announcing that there are more billionaires in Asia than anywhere else in the world. While reports may show the numbers, Kwan wanted to show the family aspect, or as he puts it, he wanted to tell the story of the Downton Abbey of Asia The challenge was to make the story approachable to an American audience. He didn’t think it would be a book people in Asia would be interested in. He said, “They have their own stories, this is old hat for them.” That was how Crazy Rich Asians focused on an Asian American visiting Singapore. Telling the story from the eyes of Rachel Chu, a New York university economics teacher and an Asian outsider allowed him to bridged the gap between worlds. An Asian American may think she knows what she is getting herself into, but she has no idea. On June 11, 2013, Crazy Rich Asians was published and received overall positive reviews. A New York Times review claims, “Mr. Kwan knows how to deliver guilty pleasures.” Yet, it was not the Asian community that initially embraced the novel, and Kwan somewhat anticipated that. He claimed that Asian Americans were so used to being disappointed by anything portraying their culture that they naturally approached anything as such with suspicion. The title, of course, didn’t help either. It was the fashion industry and the community in the Upper East Side of Manhattan that became an ambassador for Kwan’s novel. One strategy implemented was to leave copies of Crazy Rich Asians on every seat of the Hampton Jitney, a charter bus service for Manhattanites who don’t have private planes, as Kwan puts it. Perhaps the most notable promotion for Crazy Rich Asians, was when Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue, published an excerpt of the novel in an issue of the magazine. This brought the novel to new heights. Crazy Rich Asians will continue its rise from there. But not without some friction. The Movie As the story was gaining interest in Hollywood, Kwan remembered a movie producer reaching out with a proposal for a movie deal and a request to turn the main character, Rachel into a white girl. Kwan never responded. That wouldn’t be the only offer for Kwan. The calls began to pour in. One of the first was movie producer and investors of Snapchat, Uber, and Warby Parker, Wendi Deng Murdoch who received an early manuscript from Vanity Fair editor, Graydon Carter. Then there was this surreal “beauty contest” day in 2013 that Kwan and his agent remembered well. A creative consultant that worked with Oprah Winfrey and Kate Spade flew them to Los Angeles where they met with executives from major studios such as Fox and Lionsgate. But in the end, it was producer Nina Jacobson that won over Kwan with her passion and acquired the rights to adapt Crazy Rich Asians into a film. In 2007, after Jacobson was terminated from her role as president of Disney’s Buena Vista subdivision, she partnered with Brad Simpson to start an independent film studio, Color Force. Up to this point, Color Force’s most notable releases were the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and the Hunger Games series, two other literary adaptations. At first, Jacobson considered financing the movie outside of the American studio system. This would give them the freedom to have an all-Asian cast, but the risk of doing so may cause the movie to fall out of relevancy and be unseen. Luckily, by 2014, Ivanhoe Pictures have signed on with Color Force to fund the picture. Previous productions for Ivanhoe Pictures include: Kite Runner, United 93, and MoneyBall — as well as other foreign pictures from Asia. President of Ivanhoe Pictures, John Penotti had little doubts about signing on. It was what Ivanhoe Pictures was all about. While other studios were worried about an all-Asian cast, this was the type of movie that he and his organization were eager to make. Greenlit and ready to go with a budget of $30 million, the two studios set off to make North American cinema history. Screenwriter Peter Chiarelli, known for The Proposal and Now You See Me 2, was hired to script Crazy Rich Asians. He was brought on before a director was hired. It took until May 2016, until the studios entered negotiation with director Jon M. Chu, who had directed the sequel to Step It Up, Jem and the Hologram, and Now You See Me 2, where he worked with Chiarelli. Incidentally, Chu was loosely mentioned in Kwan’s novel, as Kwan knew Chu’s cousin Vivian and passingly regarded them in the book as the Chu’s of Silicon Valley. But that wasn’t the reason Jon Chu won the job. Chu gave a presentation to Color Force and Ivanhoe Pictures describing his experience as a first-generation Asian-American. His presentation included a picture of himself as a little boy and his family. His dad owned a renowned Chinese restaurant in Palo Alto and as Jacobson recalled, he and his four siblings were all dressed like the Kennedy’s. Identifying as an American but having the visual knowledge of Asia, Chu got the trust of the studios and for the first time as a director felt as though he would be working on a project that will bring his name to the forefront. One of the first action Chu took once getting the gig as the director was to hire a writer of Asian descent to go over Chiarelli’s script. Adele Lim, Malaysian-American screenwriter, who spent most of her career writing for television, including shows such as Las Vegas, One Tree Hill, and Dynasty, was considered perfect not because of her writing experiences but rather her life experiences: Lim’s parents live in Singapore and her husband is caucasian. Chiarelli was said to have focused the script on the plot while Lim added specific cultural details to the story. It was this distinction that ended up causing a divide between her and the studio, who were paying Chiarelli significantly more than Lim: at a rate of approximately 8 to 10 times more. The studio claims that the rates are based upon industry standards, which evaluate the experience of the writer. To make an exception for Lim during the negotiation for the Crazy Rich Asians sequels was to set a bad precedent. Lim took it as a slight from the studio, viewing her contribution to be merely “soy sauce” on top of a meal, and declined the partnership with Chiarelli again. There was indeed something empowering when working on this movie. A Hollywood romantic comedy with an all-Asian cast was the first of its kind, but filling the roles was not easy for Chu. Before casting began, Chu offered up a dream list or what he called “The Avengers of Asian Actors,” included on the list was martial arts legend, Michelle Yeoh most notable for her role in Crutching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; rising star of British television series Humans, Gemma Chan; Silicon Valley’s Jimmy O. Yang, Daily Show correspondent, Ronny Chieng; and Fresh Off the Boat’s Constance Wu. In 2016, Constance Wu auditioned for the role of Rachel. Jon Chu as good as offered the part to her, but due to a scheduling conflict with her television series, Wu was put in a tough position. Contractually, she would have to turn Crazy Rich Asians down. But Wu didn’t give up — how could she? She remembered 10 years of her life waitressing in order to make ends meet. She now played an important role for Asian American actors on television — as Fresh Off the Boat was the first American sitcom with a core Asian cast — and couldn’t simply pass on an opportunity to experience the same impact on cinema. Wu wrote a letter to Chu expressing her connection to the character of Rachel. “Dates are dates,” she wrote, “and if those are immovable, I understand. But I would put all of my heart, hope, humor, and courage into the role.” Her passion wasn’t ignored by Chu, who would go on and delay production of Crazy Rich Asians by approximately 5 months to April 2017. And with that, the role of Rachel was cast. Next was to find someone to play the male lead, Nick Young. This was a major challenge for Jon Chu. After looking through all the finalists in a Los Angeles and China audition, he wasn’t able to find someone who could deliver Nick’s British accent as described in the novel. Chu was beginning to feel the pressure, so much so, he decided to launch a social media campaign to not only fill the role of Nick Young but also for all the Asian characters in the story. Candidates from around the world posted a two-minute video audition on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube with #CrazyRichAsiansCasting. Thousand of videos were submitted and once again we see that Crazy Rich Asians was a movie that intended to break away from traditions, in an effort to remove the gatekeepers that were holding many Asian actors back. Perhaps it was this reason that made it so upsetting to many when Malaysian-English actor, Henry Golding was cast in the lead role of Nick. Golding was brought to Chu’s attention by the production company’s accountant: Lisa-Kim Ling Kuan. With minimal experience in the industry and zero Hollywood credit on his resume, all Golding could do was charm Chu with his personality and accent — which he did. The criticism was simple: for a movie that was claiming to go all-in with an Asian cast, with a critical role, they decided to pull back and fold. To many, Golding was not Asian enough. And it’s fair: Golding was biracial, there was no hiding that. Many felt that casting Golding was simply to make the movie more digestible for an audience that was used to white actors on the screen. Japanese-English-Argentine actress, Sonoya Mizuno who earned the role as Araminta Lee, would also face the heat for not being full Asian, meanwhile, Korean-born actress, Jamie Chung, who was declined a role in the movie for not being ethnically Chinese made everyone wonder where the line was being drawn. As hurt as Golding was about all the comments concerning his legitimacy as an Asian, he acknowledge the validity of the criticisms and encourage more conversations around the topic. Whether you agree with the casting or not… whether you think Henry Golding is Asian enough to play the role of Nick Young or not, all Asian actors can agree that it was one small step for Asians; and one giant step for Asian-American cinema. Because of Crazy Rich Asians, many Asian actors are working that wouldn’t have been otherwise. Much like casting, one of the most pivotal decisions Chu and the studio had to make was regarding the distribution rights. In late 2016, Netflix began aggressively bidding for the worldwide rights to the project, including the sequels. They offered full “creative freedom,” and an upfront seven-figure-minimum payout for all the stakeholders. Such an offer was hard to ignore — because everyone involved would be instant millionaires. But a Netflix exclusive release, would ultimately diminish the impact of the all-Asian movie. Sure some Netflix movies do get theatrical releases, but since it’s streaming at the same time, few theatres would put it up on screen. In the end, in order to make any cultural impact, Crazy Rich Asians went with Warner Bros. to bring the movie to the theaters. On August 15, 2018, Crazy Rich Asians was released and grossed $174.5 million in the US and Canada, and $64 million internationally. This ended up being an incredibly profitable gamble for the studios. However, the reception from the Chinese audience was lackluster, much to the disappointment of Warner Bros. The Chinese didn’t find novelty in seeing Asians on screen, they watch Chinese dominated entertainment all the time. Additionally, the plot surrounding those with excess was off-putting to many movie-goers in China. Then there were the critics, who were not all on the same page. While many celebrated the film for making history, for being visually appealing with its glitz and glamour, and for stand-out performances from Michelle Yeoh, Ken Jeong; and rapper-turned-actress, Awkwafina — others had problems with the movie. Some said it was a cliche North American rom-com with all the same tropes and archetypal characters. It wasn’t bad per se, but it’s about as revolutionary as 2002’s My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Then there were those that felt the movie didn’t help the Asian reputation, stating that the movie, right from the title, reinforces the stereotype that “Asians are rich, vulgar and clueless.” Lastly, others deemed Crazy Rich Asians to have committed the ultimate sin. Hypocrisy. With a story that was meant to bridge racial divides, the movie might have done otherwise simply for some laughs. Singapore is an ethnically diverse country with not only those of Chinese descent, but also those from Malaysia, India, and many more regions of the world. In the scene where Rachel and Peik Lin arrive at the mansion, they get frightened by some Sikh security guards. This scene has no explanation and was a clear glossing over of a troubled racial political climate in the country, where Indians are marginalized. In the novel, the guards are described as some of the finest warriors in the world, but in the movie, they were relegated to comic relief at best. It might not have been a grand slam, but it was at least a triple with two runs batted in. Crazy Rich Asians did a lot right. For one, it increased tourism to Singapore, particularly to a few on-screen locations including the Marina Bay Sands and Raffles Hotel. Next, it increased book sales for Kwan’s novel by over 300% in 2018 after the release of the movie. And lastly, since 1993’s The Joy Luck Club based on the novel by Amy Tan, there hasn’t been a modern movie with an ensemble Asian cast that captured the attention of the North American public. The adaptation of Crazy Rich Asians happened at the perfect time during a cultural shift. What the world needs now are more Asian artists in all fields to feed off the spark that had been ignited. Unlike The Joy Luck Club, Asian creators cannot wait another 25 years for another at-bat. As race continues to be a hot button in Hollywood and the rest of the world is eager and watching, Asian artists need to bring everything they have to the table, because whether others agree or not, they are now in the game thanks to Crazy Rich Asians. However, the question remains: Is Crazy Rich Asians a trial blazing movie? Or is it an outlier? What are your thoughts on the cultural merits of Crazy Rich Asians? Do you think it helped the public perception of an all-Asian cast? Or was it just another cookie-cutter movie, albeit a fortune cookie? Let me know in the comments below. For more in the series of adaptations, please check out this YouTube playlist here. If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for my mailing list. You won’t receive emails from me often, but when you do, it’ll include only work that I’m most proud of. What would you do after a publisher rejects your novel for being too disturbing? Well, if you’re Chuck Palahniuk, you would write something even more disturbing and submit it. While working at Freightliner, a truck company, as a diesel mechanic, Palahniuk regularly carried a notepad with him while he worked. In addition to the details about fixing vehicles, the book also contained snippets of Palahniuk’s first published novel: Fight Club. Fight Club placed a mirror in front of the concept of masculinity during the 1990s, where males instead of being sent off to wars and take up arms in defense of something worth fighting for — were encouraged to take on cushy jobs and embrace commercialism. With nothing motivating men to step out of their comfort zone, they became caged animals, tamed… but still with feral instincts. Palahniuk’s story acknowledges the men’s movement and how every man is battling forces from two sides: one to abide by societal rules and one to break it. Yet without the adaptation, the story of Fight Club and the influence it would have on young men of that generation wouldn’t have materialized. Today, we’ll explore the story of Fight Club and how it went from Chuck Palahniuck’s debut novel into the cult classic it is today… and how it has continued to stay relevant after 20 years. Let’s talk about Fight Club. Palahniuk began writing fiction in his early 30s, after attending workshops led by American writer, Tom Spanbauer. It all began as an attempt to meet new friends, but he ended up getting inspired by the fiction form and Spanbauer encouraged him to perfect his minimalistic writing style. Tom Spanbauer describes his teaching style as “dangerous writing”, saying on his website description: I must listen for the heartbreak, the rage, the shame, the fear that is hidden within the words. Then I must respect where each individual student is in relation to his or her broken heart and act accordingly. when my relationship with the student is solid, and when the student has a strong foothold in his or her writing, I bring out my jungle red fingernails, play the devil’s advocate, be the bad cop, the irreverent fool–whatever it takes to teach perseverance, self-trust, and discipline. With that Palahniuck pursued his craft head-on while holding a day job where he found time to write during work, at the laundromat, at the gym, and while waiting for his 1985 Toyota pickup truck at the shop. Invisible Monster, originally titled “Manifesto” was the first novel Palahniuk tried to get published… years before Fight Club. It was shot down because the publishers didn’t have an appetite for a story about a disfigured model with multiple identities. Powered by indignant persistence, Palahniuk set off to write a novel even further from the norm. During a camping trip, Palahniuk was involved in an altercation that left him bruised and swollen. Upon returning to work, he realized that none of his co-workers acknowledged his visible injuries or showed any interest in his personal life. That indifference from others was the spark for Fight Club. With a journalism background, Palahniuk claimed that all his stories begin with a truth and through his boredom, he infuses it with his imagination. Fight Club’s Project Mayhem is loosely based on The Cacophony Society, where members are self-designated and gatherings are randomly pitched and sponsored. These events usually involve costumes and pranks, as well as venturing into areas that are restricted. Palahniuk is a member — and was a victim of a prank once when the members of the Cacophony Society showed up during one of his readings in San Francisco. In 1995, Fight Club, a seven-page short story, was published in a compilation entitled Pursuit of Happiness. These seven pages ended up being chapter six in the full-length novel. Excited by the proposition of finally being a published author, Palahniuk sold Fight Club to publisher W. W. Norton for $6,000. On August 17, 1996, Fight Club was published. It was a positive reception and won Palahniuk the 1997 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award and the Oregon Book Award for Best Novel. Critics praised Palahniuk for his unique writing style: caustic, outrageous, funny, violent, and unsettling. However, others found issues in the novel’s heteronormative themes and the violent aspects of the plot. Yet even with the publicity, the hardcovers for Fight Club didn’t perform greatly in sales with only 5,000 copies sold. In the rerelease of Fight Club in 1999 and 2004, Palahniuk says that all he did was update The Great Gatsby. He describes the two stories as apostolic fiction, where a surviving apostle tells the story of his hero. In both tales there are two male characters and one female — and in the end, the hero dies. Even though the book didn’t make it onto any top sellers list at the start, a copy of the novel made it to movie producers Ross Grayson Bell and Joshua Donen. Bell remembered reading the novel and getting to the twist in the story, which caused him to reassess everything he just read. He stayed up all night, too excited to sleep. He was about to produce his first feature film, but to affirm what he felt about Fight Club, he hired a group of actors to read the book out loud, restructuring it and cutting out the excess in the novel that couldn’t be presented in a film. Bell recorded the reading and shared it with 20th Century Fox producer, Laura Ziskin, who produced such films as Pretty Woman, What About Bob?, and As Good As It Gets. During a drive to Santa Barbara, Ziskin listened to the recording that Bell shared. As the current executive of the mid-budget division of 20th Century Fox, Ziskin saw potential in the story of Fight Club — she herself was uncertain of how to approach it, but she was confident that Bell was the one to lead it and hired him as the producer. The film rights for Fight Club was optioned for $10,000 and the adaptation process was on its way. Bell first sent the novel to up-and-coming director, David O. Russell, who was looking for his next project after releasing Flirting with Disaster in 1996. Unfortunately — or fortunately — Russell didn’t understand what the story was about and declined the offer. Later, Russell will admit that he obviously didn’t do a good job reading it. The manuscript made its way around town and got rejected from directors such as Buck Henry who directed The Graduate, Peter Jackson who directed The Frighteners, Bryan Singer who directed The Usual Suspects, and Danny Boyle who directed Trainspotting. Because of this lack of interest, the manuscript got a bad reputation. David Fincher, on the other hand, was attracted to the story at once. Coming off of projects such as Se7en and The Game, Fincher was establishing himself as a director who can apply a unique visual style to a story with an edgy theme. While his movies to this point were hits and misses: Se7en: a hit; The Game: a miss. He had come a long way from his days of directing music videos, some notable ones including Rolling Stones, Madonna, and Aerosmith. Fight Club attracted Fincher for many reasons, but it was the relatability to Palahniuk’s story that really moved him. Fincher himself was a man in his late thirties and he recognized the same anger evoked in the novel, where a certain breed of men was unable to evolve at the speed society required them to. Nevertheless, there was some hesitation for Fincher to sign on with 20th Century Fox. In 1990, Alien3 was in pre-production and things were not going well for franchise producers David Giler and Walter Hill and director, Vincent Ward. Due to creative differences, Ward would end up being fired — and Alien3, a movie with a $56 million budget and an unfinished script was now without a director. In comes 28-year-old David Fincher to save the blockbuster movie. Giler and Hill found Fincher through his music video credits, specifically Madonna’s “Express Yourself” and Aerosmith’s “Janie’s Got a Gun” and hired him for his feature directorial debut. Yet, it wasn’t so much as saving the movie for Fincher, as it was surviving it. With no history as a movie director to back up his experience on set, he became a puppet for the production company. Even as an avid fan of the original Alien directed by Ridley Scott, and even having a cohesive story that linked everything together, the studio refused to budge and Alien3 became a piece of cinema devoid of key decisions from the director. Fincher was not proud of the result and he was not happy with his experience working with 20th Century Fox. It took Fincher three years to recover and at many points, he felt as though his career as a feature film director was over. However, 20th Century Fox opened the door to Fincher when he came knocking about Fight Club. Fincher saw the movie heading in two directions and gave the studio the options: 1) Fight Club could be a low-budget straight to videotape movie or 2) it could be one with a big budget and big stars. Obviously, he had very little interest in making a low-budget movie, but since Alien3, he had learned a few tricks and used it to negotiate. The studio didn’t buy in at once but were intrigued enough to give Fincher a chance. Screenwriter, Jim Uhls had been working on adapting the story of Fight Club from the beginning. He received the manuscript about the same time Fincher did from someone he knew who worked for a production company. He was told that every studio in Hollywood had already passed on it. Uhls was blown away by the story and even though he felt that it could never be made into a movie, he thought it would be a great achievement to be paid to adapt it, so he began to write. The story was deemed unadaptable by many — as the novel was essentially a long monologue. Where Uhls made a difference was building the scenes around those key moments inside the narrator’s head. Slowly Uhls began to gain some interest around 20th Century Fox, but what sealed it was his attendance at a large lunch meeting with the executives and David Fincher. Uhls sat strategically next to Fincher, who was somewhere between an acquaintance and a friend. It was there during the lunch meeting where the two talked about Fight Club and the obstacles of making it into a film, but it was more than a conversation and Uhls knew it: he was there to pitch himself. Much like how Fight Club was Chuck Palahniuk’s first credit as a novelist, the adaptation was Jim Uhls’s first credit as a screenwriter. During the late 90s, voice-overs have gotten a reputation as being a trite and uninspired technique to deliver exposition in a movie and many studios wanted to avoid it. However, Fincher recognized that the story hinged on the internal dialogue of the narrator. Without it, it would be a depressing story — and that was not what he was going for. It took Uhls and Fincher seven months to complete the script and still it required help from director, Cameron Crowe and screenwriter, Andrew Kevin Walker. During the casting process, producer Ross Bell had Russell Crowe in mind for the role of Tyler Durden, but it was producer Art Linson that began conversations with Brad Pitt. Having already worked with Fincher in Se7en and the studio’s desire to add a bankable star as the lead, Pitt signed on, hoping to wash the dismal failure of Meet Joe Black away. There were a lot of options on the market for someone to play the unnamed narrator: Sean Penn or Matt Damon were top contenders, but it was Edward Norton that won the role with his aligned vision with Fincher. Both Fincher and Norton saw the film as a satire — it was not an action movie, it was a comedy. And Fincher knew that Norton could give the type of “wink wink” comedic performance required having seen him in his previous role in The People vs Larry Flynt. Once cast, the two leading men took lessons in various martial arts, including boxing, tae kwon do, and grappling. Additionally, they took a course in soap making. Fincher wanted to cast comedian Janeane Garofalo as the role of Marla Singer, but she declined due to the sexual aspects of the film. Courtney Love, Winona Ryder, and Reese Witherspoon were up for consideration as well, but in the end, Fincher went with Helena Bodham Carter because of her role in the 1997 romantic comedy, The Wing of the Dove. In 138 days, filming was completed, but not without hiccups. The movie was budgeted for $23 million and ended up costing $63 million. There were threats made by the executives from the partnering studio, New Regency, for Fincher to reduce the cost, but he refused. It was only when the executives saw the dailies during a three-week span that they were convinced that it was money worth spending. It took over 1500 rolls of film, three times more than the Hollywood average, to capture principal photography. David Fincher affirmed his reputation as a director who liked to shoot many takes. While the movie was shot predominantly in California, there ended up being over 200 locations, in addition to over 70 sets. For a movie with only 300 hundred scenes, this was a lot. Fincher didn’t enjoy this aspect of the process and remedied it in his next movie, Panic Room in 2002, which was shot predominantly in one location. There were disagreements on many fronts on how to properly market Fight Club. The studio at first wanted to market it as an art film, geared towards a male audience because of its violence. Yet, when you have Brad Pitt as a star, it’s hard to not push him to the front of all your publicity material, however, Fincher resisted against that. Instead, he decided to film two fake public service announcements presented by the two lead characters. The studios were not thrilled with that creative stint and instead spent $20 million to create materials that highlighted the movie’s fight scenes, buying ad time during viewing events dominated by the male demographic such as WWE. On April 20, 1999, two students at Columbine High School entered their school and murdered 12 people before turning the guns on themselves. This incident rippled through the entertainment industry and the studio — claiming it wanted to avoid competing with the summer blockbusters — pushed the release of the film from July 1999 to October 15, 1999. The job of promoting the film was no easier for the actors. As Brad Pitt and Edward Norton did their circuit, they discovered the difficulty of explaining the movie without giving away the key parts. None of the marketing efforts properly communicated what Fight Club was, and most who initially went to see it in theatres expected to see a film about fighting. Fight Club bombed at the box office, earning only $37 million in domestic gross and $100.8 million worldwide. Fincher left LA to Bali during the opening weekend to escape the inevitable negativity and recalibrate his life. Yet, the movie’s failure didn’t banish it to obscurity like so many others. Word of mouth started to spread, a cult following was established, and in an age of growing sensitivity, real fight clubs were formed. Across America, from universities to the tech industry, from gentleman clubs to gathering of pre-teens, people were getting together to throw punches. Many of which were filmed and leaked online — thus breaking the number one rule and leading to arrests. On top of that, these gatherings began partaking in terrorist activities such as bombing attempts. Fight Club had reached critical mass and achieved longevity in many home entertainment collections, selling more than 6 million copies on DVD and VHS its first decade. While today, Fight Club is deemed to be Palahniuk’s and Fincher’s masterpieces, it’s said to continue to do damage as a cultural influencer of violence. In a world so politically separated, is this the sort of entertainment that encourages those with a lack of power to take matters into their own hands, often leading to dangerous results? One group that have latched onto Fight Club as their bible, is the incels, a collection of bitter violent men who harbor resentment because of their involuntary celibacy. The most recognized member is Elliot Rodgers, who in 2014, went on a killing spree at the University of California. When asked about the situation in an interview with the Guardian, Palahniuk stated, “the extremes always go away,” comparing the incels to radical feminist, Valerie Jean Solanas, who attempted to murderer pop artist, Andy Warhol in 1968. In a society many deemed to be getting overly sensitive, a term coined by the novel may best represent the toxicity that the story leaves behind. The term is “snowflake,” an insult now commonly associated with the alt-right movement, usually directed at the liberals and their inflated entitlement and sensitivity. 20 years after the release of the movie, the message of Fight Club is as relevant as ever, but many of us are moving towards a more progressive viewpoint and want to put Fight Club behind us. Some now even deem it to be an example of a two-hour-long mansplaining episode and that it is nothing more than a childish representation of past. Albeit, we must recall what Fight Club was intended to be… it was not propaganda, it was satire. How it’ll be received in the decades to come? Only time will tell. Fight Club is a story of pent up rage, a clenched fist held too long and must be thrown. It’s a cautionary tale of what can happen if we don’t find ways to release the anger in a peaceful manner. Fight Club is not condoning violence, it’s supporting all the other means of expression that isn’t violent, such as peaceful protest. After watching the film, Chuck Palahniuk went on to say that he believes the movie was an improvement on the book. Perhaps he saw what Fincher did… Many changes were made during adaptation, but perhaps the most notable is the ending. In the novel, the narrator wakes up surrounded by the members of Project Mayhem in a mental hospital after shooting himself. While in the movie, the narrator and Marla mend their relationship just in time to watch the city below crumble. The novel ends with the impending return of chaos that is Tyler Durden, while the movie ends with a new beginning — a new life with Marla. Which version did you prefer? And what are your thoughts on the impact of Fight Club in today’s society? Is it dangerous? Let me know in the comments below. For more in the series of adaptations, please check out this YouTube playlist here. If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for my mailing list. You won’t receive emails from me often, but when you do, it’ll include only work that I’m most proud of.
2205	dbpedia	1	64	https://www.kasu.org/arts-culture/2010-08-18/giving-charlie-chan-a-second-chance	en	Giving 'Charlie Chan' A Second Chance	https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/aaf4f41/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1000x525+0+500/resize/1200x630!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fartslife%2Fbooks%2F2010%2F08%2Fcharlie-chan%2Fcharlie-chan_custom-3ee0d1d6ef28b92b698adfe14d37803769a85024.jpg	https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/aaf4f41/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1000x525+0+500/resize/1200x630!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fartslife%2Fbooks%2F2010%2F08%2Fcharlie-chan%2Fcharlie-chan_custom-3ee0d1d6ef28b92b698adfe14d37803769a85024.jpg	[ "https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/df30476/2147483647/strip/true/crop/242x60+0+0/resize/484x120!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnpr.brightspotcdn.com%2Fdims4%2Fdefault%2F176acac%2F2147483647%2Fresize%2Fx60%2Fquality%2F90%2F%3Furl%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F4d%2Fad%2F4fe00df246a39561f1ceab46a6da%2Fkasu-dot-org-logo-699x166.png 2x", "https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/724906b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2880x210+0+0/resize/2880x210!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6c%2Ffa%2F29d549ed4e6bbfba10bf16124276%2Fcraighead-doughboy-statue-website-header-background-2880x210.png 2x", "https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/df30476/2147483647/strip/true/crop/242x60+0+0/resize/484x120!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnpr.brightspotcdn.com%2Fdims4%2Fdefault%2F176acac%2F2147483647%2Fresize%2Fx60%2Fquality%2F90%2F%3Furl%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F4d%2Fad%2F4fe00df246a39561f1ceab46a6da%2Fkasu-dot-org-logo-699x166.png 2x", "https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/94556c1/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1000x1525+0+0/resize/1760x2684!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fartslife%2Fbooks%2F2010%2F08%2Fcharlie-chan%2Fcharlie-chan_custom-3ee0d1d6ef28b92b698adfe14d37803769a85024.jpg 2x", "https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3581f41/2147483647/strip/true/crop/902x1202+150+0/resize/150x200!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2014%2F03%2F20%2Fmaureencorrigan_2014_sq-5a878d059f2dc040b073323a0824d21ddf25670b.jpg", "https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e9843c0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/500x137+0+0/resize/534x146!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fea%2F5e%2F81fea99f41c1adf5a4e74da75766%2Fkasu-logo-header-white-500w-transparent.png 2x", "https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/6e37f45/2147483647/strip/true/crop/271x250+0+0/resize/108x100!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa6%2Ffb%2Fac2dd39642818bf7965c2d44f28e%2Fnpr-logo.png 2x", "https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/35c8dcd/2147483647/strip/true/crop/150x150+0+0/resize/100x100!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fkasu%2Ffiles%2F201503%2Fimages_0.png 2x", "https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e16d8bf/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2100x1639+0+0/resize/128x100!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fkasu%2Ffiles%2F201503%2FUnivLogo_Stack_1C_White_Dark%5B1%5D.png 2x", "https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3426433/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4200x1419+0+0/resize/296x100!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fkasu%2Ffiles%2F201810%2Fa-state_college_of_liberal_arts_and_communications-horizontal_0.png 2x", "https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7734a4d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/159x60+0+0/resize/266x100!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fkasu%2Ffiles%2F201503%2Fapm-logo.png 2x", "https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/97c884d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/92x55+0+0/resize/168x100!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fkasu%2Ffiles%2F201503%2Fprx-logo.png 2x", "https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/45bbb96/2147483647/strip/true/crop/250x111+0+0/resize/226x100!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fkasu%2Ffiles%2F201905%2Fbd-pmpm-logo-300x143-bw.png 2x" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Maureen Corrigan", "www.kasu.org", "maureen-corrigan" ]	2010-08-18T00:00:00	The fictional Chinese detective Charlie Chan, who starred in a series of novels and movies between the 1920s and the 1950s, is often dismissed as a "Yellow Uncle Tom." But in the fascinating, sometimes maddening history Charlie Chan, Yunte Huang argues that Charlie is much more than a stereotype.	en	/apple-touch-icon.png	KASU	https://www.kasu.org/arts-culture/2010-08-18/giving-charlie-chan-a-second-chance	Depending on your cultural politics, you'll find the following scene from the 1934 film Charlie Chan in London either charming or wince-making: Our venerable detective is being congratulated by a British official for his cleverness in discovering the true identity of a dastardly criminal. The actor who played Charlie Chan in that and 40 other films was Warner Oland; like Sidney Toler, the actor who succeeded him in the role, Oland was Caucasian -- Swedish, in fact! But, to Hollywood, Oland looked vaguely Asiatic. To play Chan, Oland merely brushed his eyebrows up and had a few drinks to make his speech more halting and to put a grin on his face -- like the perpetually congenial Chinese sleuth. Offensive, right? But, before we condemn Oland's "Yellowface" incarnation of Charlie Chan, consider this next curious bit of film history: In 1933, Oland made a trip to Shanghai, where he was celebrated by movie audiences there for bringing to life the first positive Chinese character in American film. (After all, compared with the venal Dr. Fu Manchu, whom Oland had also played in the movies, Chan was a hero.) The nascent Chinese film industry then got busy making a series of homegrown Charlie Chan movies. According to contemporary accounts, the Chinese actor who played Chan scrupulously copied the white Oland's Chinese screen mannerisms and speech. Cultural cross-pollination at work at its most endearing -- or dismaying. That film anecdote appears in Yunte Huang's fascinating and sometimes maddening new work of cultural history called, simply, Charlie Chan. Huang was born in China and is now a professor of English in the U.S.; this is his first book intended to appeal to a popular audience. It reads as though it were composed by Charlie Chan's "No. 1 son" -- frenetically dashing off in a hundred directions all at once; some illuminating, some just plain "Gee Pop!" loony. Setting out to investigate the vexed meaning and legacy of the figure of Charlie Chan, Huang also explores, among other subjects, the history of Chinese immigration to America; the career of Clarence Darrow; sandalwood and sugar cane production in the Hawaiian Islands; the history of aphorisms in English beginning with Benjamin Franklin; and, finally, his own immigration saga from student in Beijing to owner of a Chinese takeout joint in Alabama to academic. But Charlie Chan is such a marvelous -- and controversial -- figure that the subject alone here more than makes up for any infelicities in Huang's style. One of the real finds this book presents is the tale of Chan's real-life counterpart, Chang Apana, the heretofore forgotten Chinese-American detective who was the inspiration for the six Charlie Chan novels that first began appearing in 1925, written by yet another white guy, Earl Derr Biggers. Apana joined the Honolulu Police Force in 1898; standing all of a wiry 5 feet tall, he arrested gamblers, opium addicts and escaped lepers, using a leather bullwhip that he made himself. As Huang chronicles, though, Apana's famous bullwhip was useless against the anti-Asian racism that prevailed within the police force and society of his time. The suspicion that Charlie Chan himself is nothing but a racist stereotype has led many contemporary Asian-American critics to dismiss him as a "Yellow Uncle Tom" and helped precipitate "The Great Chan Ban" of the old movies from TV network schedules. Huang, however, loves Chan and sees in him something more empowering: a Chinese incarnation of the American trickster or con artist figure: "He reminds me of Monkey King. In Chinese folk myth, Monkey King is an invisible trickster who hides his weapon in his ear. ... Charlie Chan is that Monkey King, concealing his aphoristic barbs inside his tummy." Huang's mishmash book, with its profusion of Chan material, will certainly complicate, not quell, the debate over Chan's legacy; but, as the great detective himself said, "Mind like parachute -- only function when open."
2205	dbpedia	0	28	https://prezi.com/1aycsnhxjxta/the-history-of-murder-mystery/	en	THE HISTORY OF MURDER MYSTERY.	https://0701.static.prez…r3dnitcq_3_0.png	https://0701.static.prez…r3dnitcq_3_0.png	[ "https://assets.prezicdn.net/assets-versioned/prezipage-versioned/5158-d62e8b5/common/img/icons/Close.svg", "https://assets.prezicdn.net/assets-versioned/prezipage-versioned/5158-d62e8b5/common/img/footers/facebook-icon.svg", "https://assets.prezicdn.net/assets-versioned/prezipage-versioned/5158-d62e8b5/common/img/footers/twitter-icon.svg", "https://assets.prezicdn.net/assets-versioned/prezipage-versioned/5158-d62e8b5/common/img/footers/linkedin-icon.svg", "https://assets.prezicdn.net/assets-versioned/prezipage-versioned/5158-d62e8b5/common/img/footers/facebook-icon.svg", "https://assets.prezicdn.net/assets-versioned/prezipage-versioned/5158-d62e8b5/common/img/footers/twitter-icon.svg", "https://assets.prezicdn.net/assets-versioned/prezipage-versioned/5158-d62e8b5/common/img/footers/linkedin-icon.svg" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	Murder mystery is the film genre which follows the narrative of a murder being committed, the films conventionally follow the detectives discovering the murderer so they can be punished. Mysteries had their start in the early days of silent film. The most primitive serials, such	en	https://assets.prezicdn.net/assets-versioned/prezipage-versioned/5158-d62e8b5/common/img/favicon.ico?v=2	prezi.com	https://prezi.com/1aycsnhxjxta/the-history-of-murder-mystery/
2205	dbpedia	1	72	https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/70682/charlie-chans-greatest-case	en	Not Available	https://prod-images.tcm.…are-1200x630.jpg	https://prod-images.tcm.…are-1200x630.jpg	[ "https://prod-images.tcm.com/img/global/logo-WatchTCM-animated-singleplay.gif", "https://prod-images.tcm.com/img/global/logo-TCM_white.png", "https://www.tcm.com/themes/custom/bacall/img/global/watch-tcm-transparent.svg" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	Turner Classic Movies presents the greatest classic films of all time from one of the largest film libraries in the world. Find extensive video, photos, articles, forums, and archival content from some of the best movies ever made only at TCM.com.	en	/themes/custom/bogart/favicon.ico	Watch TCM	http://prod.tcm.com/unavailable/	Welcome, DISH customer! Please note that we cannot save your viewing history due to an arrangement with DISH. Watchlist and resume progress features have been disabled. ACCEPT
2205	dbpedia	3	84	https://clydeumney.wordpress.com/2018/01/20/snow-week-family-viewings/	en	Snow Week: Family Viewings	https://clydeumney.wordp…r2_xlg.jpg?w=404	https://clydeumney.wordp…r2_xlg.jpg?w=404	[ "https://clydeumney.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/f_for_fake_bigger.jpg?w=73", "https://clydeumney.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/lego_ninjago_movie_ver2_xlg.jpg?w=275&h=407", "https://clydeumney.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/mv5bmtuxmjizodi0nv5bml5banbnxkftztgwmdk3oti2mdi-_v1_uy1200_cr10706301200_al_.jpg?w=276&h=526", "https://clydeumney.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/100395.jpg?w=275&h=388", "https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/0116e21b5ef76e770bc1adc6f16b41d15475d82c19b7f8b703d50fb162bd74ff?s=50&d=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.wp.com%2Fi%2Flogo%2Fwpcom-gray-white.png", "https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/0116e21b5ef76e770bc1adc6f16b41d15475d82c19b7f8b703d50fb162bd74ff?s=50&d=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.wp.com%2Fi%2Flogo%2Fwpcom-gray-white.png", "https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?v=noscript" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2018-01-20T00:00:00	As mentioned in my last post, we had an unexpected week break from school and work around here, and when you're trapped in a house with children, you don't always get the chance to watch the movies and shows you might really be wanting to see. Luckily, we got to watch some good movies and…	en	https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/0116e21b5ef76e770bc1adc6f16b41d15475d82c19b7f8b703d50fb162bd74ff?s=32	Umney's Alley	https://clydeumney.wordpress.com/2018/01/20/snow-week-family-viewings/	As mentioned in my last post, we had an unexpected week break from school and work around here, and when you’re trapped in a house with children, you don’t always get the chance to watch the movies and shows you might really be wanting to see. Luckily, we got to watch some good movies and shows anyhow, even given the family restrictions. Once again, in the interest of time, I kept the reviews shorter than usual. The Lego Ninjago Movie is undeniably the weakest of the Lego films so far, but, then again, when your basis for comparison is the amazing The Lego Movie and the surprisingly great The Lego Batman Movie, is falling short of that bar that surprising? What’s more disappointing, though, is that it lacks the rich emotional hooks of its predecessors. Yes, there’s an interesting story about a father who abandoned his child, but The Lego Ninjago Movie doesn’t really invest in that story the way The Lego Movie was about growing up, or how The Lego Batman Movie found resonance in isolation. Moreover, The Lego Ninjago Movie doesn’t use its great cast all that well, essentially wasting a number of great voices (including Kumail Nanjiani, a favorite of mine, as well as Jackie Chan and numerous others). And yet, for all of that, I had a blast watching it, simply because, whatever it lacks in depth and emotion, it makes up for in silliness and absurdity. There’s a reveal early on in the film about an “ultimate weapon” that had me in tears not only the first time, but every time it was brought back. And then there’s Justin Theroux as the film’s ostensible villain and deadbeat dad, swaggering through everything with a cocky voice, impeccable comic timing, and all the best lines. Is The Lego Ninjago Movie anywhere near as good as the movies that came before it? Not even close. But did I laugh really hard throughout it? Oh, god, yes. Rating: * ½ I’m a huge fan ofLemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events, a gleefully dark and Gothic children’s series that dabbles in literary allusions, rich symbolism, postmodernism, and black comedy in equal measures, all while spinning a complex story about coming to terms with a lack of answers in the modern world. That may sound pretentious, but it’s hard to convey just how rich and fascinating the series is, all while still being laugh out loud funny, clever, and just a joy. All of which is to say, I wasn’t sure that it would be easy for an adaptation of the works to capture all of that tone and magic. And yet, somehow, Netflix’s take on A Series Of Unfortunate Events is a treat, through and through, capturing the tone of the books perfectly while also diving into the series complicated plotting and weird postmodern touches. There’s little way to talk about the series without talking about Neil Patrick Harris’s performance as Count Olaf (and numerous variations of that character), and rightfully so – Harris makes Olaf menacing while also bringing out the absurdity and comedy of the show, turning an incredibly complicated role into a treat that works. (It’s a fine line to walk, making Olaf’s disguises convincing enough to work while also remaining obvious to us, and Harris straddles that line effortlessly.) For my money, though, Patrick Warburton is the show’s secret weapon, playing Lemony Snicket himself as a wandering Greek chorus and delivering Snicket’s gleefully dark narration in a dry monotone that makes it all the funnier. Add to that a trio of strong performances by the Baudelaires, and the involvement of Daniel Handler (the author behind the Snicket pen name) to adapt the story and his mythology into something manageable (as well as possibly correcting some repetitiveness that cropped up in the first few books in the series), and what you get is a blast. It’s wonderfully silly while keeping the dark themes and worries of the book, captures that sense of hopelessness while keeping everything tongue in cheek, and giving us a visual feast of Gothic touches that brings this bizarre universe to life. I couldn’t be happier with the adaptation (with the possible exception of some slow patches that are as much due to the books we’re covering and less with the adaptation itself) and am already excited as could be for season two (coming in March!). Rating: ½ A few years ago, I went to see Paddington after hearing that, yes, despite how dire it looked, how bad it seemed, it was truly a charming, wonderful little film – a verdict I wholeheartedly agreed with. Now comes Paddington 2, which may be even better than the first – it’s funny, it’s charming, but more than that, it’s a welcome tonic of positivity, hope, and humanity at a time when we all seem to be rejecting those things. Like the first, Paddington 2 is a gentle, earnest affair; there’s no snark, no winking double entendres going over the head of kids, no pop culture references to keep people on their toes. (The only movie reference in all of Paddington 2 is to a Charlie Chaplin film, and that’s the kind of thing I can get behind.) Instead, it’s the story of a young bear who thinks that we should be kind and appreciative toward people, and that if we look for the best in people, we will usually find it. Indeed, most of the plot of Paddington 2 revolves around Paddington’s desire to buy a present for his Aunt Lucy, who raised him from a cub. Mind you, that storyline ends up with Paddington in prison after taking the fall for a cunning thief (played by Hugh Grant in a wonderfully ridiculous performance), where he deals with the surliest of cooks (Brendan Gleeson, predictably great). Once again, director Paul King manages to make his film earnest and positive without ever being simplistic or overly sappy, letting his message come through without ever turning it into a “lesson” film. How? Much of it comes from his command of the tone, which is winningly silly throughout (with a lot of inspiration from silent comedy); what’s more, King once again brings more visual flair and imagination than you’d expect, drawing on Wes Anderson at times to turn a tour of London into a trip through a pop-up book, or a dazzling montage of days of cooking into one continuous shot. The result is pure joy throughout – it’s very funny, very sweet, and absolutely works, no matter your age; there’s something wonderful about a children’s film that wants to be about human experiences and kindness, and that goes doubly at a time when such qualities are in short supply. (That the film is set in post-Brexit Britain and features such a casually diverse cast and numerous comments about immigrants bettering themselves is, I’m sure, no accident.) In short, it’s a true treat, and a movie that genuinely made me feel a little better about a world that could produce it. Rating: ***
2205	dbpedia	0	86	https://eriklundegaard.com/item/movie-review-yellowface-asian-whitewashing-and-racism-in-hollywood-2019	en	Movie Review: Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood (2019)	https://eriklundegaard.c…llowface-doc.jpg	https://eriklundegaard.c…llowface-doc.jpg	[ "https://eriklundegaard.com/images/masthead.png", "https://eriklundegaard.com/images/navbuttons/Blog1.jpg", "https://eriklundegaard.com/images/navbuttons/MovieOp1.jpg", "https://eriklundegaard.com/images/navbuttons/MovieRev1.jpg", "https://eriklundegaard.com/images/navbuttons/BookRev1.jpg", "https://eriklundegaard.com/images/navbuttons/Gen1.jpg", "https://eriklundegaard.com/images/navbuttons/Bio1.jpg", "https://eriklundegaard.com/images/navbuttons/menu-button.png", "https://eriklundegaard.com/rss.jpg", "https://eriklundegaard.com/media/2/yellowface-doc.jpg", "http://c32.statcounter.com/3856066/0/1aace286/1/" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Erik Lundegaard" ]	null	WARNING: SPOILERS The American title is the long thing above. The French title is Lennemi japonais a Hollywood. And therein lies the problem. Halfway through, this French-made documentary turns...		/favicon.ico		https://eriklundegaard.com/item/movie-review-yellowface-asian-whitewashing-and-racism-in-hollywood-2019	WARNING: SPOILERS The American title is the long thing above. The French title is Lennemi japonais a Hollywood. And therein lies the problem. Halfway through, this French-made documentary turns away from the history of white actors playing Asians (which is why I was watching) and focuses on U.S. government propaganda against the Japanese during World War IIalong with the internment of Japanese-Americans (a whole other topic). If you dont know much about either, I guess this can serve as your primer. But if you wanted a deep dive into the history of yellowface, youre going to be disappointed. The dive is shallow: Muni and Rainer in The Good Earth, one of the Charlie Chans, one of the Fu Manchus (Hammer, not Hollywood), Hepburn in Dragon Seed, Brando in Teahouse of the August Moon, John Wayne in The Conqueror, and of course Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffanys. Then 2010s whitewashing: Tilda Swinton in Doctor Strange and Scarlett Johansson in Ghost in the Shell. Thanks for coming. The doc raises Anna May Wong to dismiss her. It mentions the popularity of Sessue Hayakawa in The Cheat from 1915 but not his long and winding career, which reached its apogee, you could say, with an Oscar nomination for playing Col. Saito in The Bridge on the River Kwai in 1957. I wouldve delved into the why of things. Where did Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan come from? Why did Caucasian actors play Chan while his son was invariably played by Chinese-American actors like Keye Luke? How did Chinese-American actors feel about playing Japanese, and vice-versa? Who broke through? Who survived? How? Get into the gender politics of it. Asian men are depicted as rapacious or comic foils; Asian women as subservient or dragon ladies. Mention how, as bad as Hollywood did with race, other aspects of the culture were often worse. The filmmakers are French sisters, Clara and Julia Kuperberg, who make about two movie-related documentaries a year, and they skimp a bit on examples of yellowface. Heres a few off the top of my head: Peter Lorre and Loretta Young in Hatchet Man, Charles Boyer in Shanghai, Gale Sondergaard in The Letter, Gene Tierney in China Girl. There are so many, its probably easier to enumerate which Hollywood stars didnt go yellowface rather than which did. And they really missed out by not including Philip Ahns great speech in Something to Sing About about how his character tried to make a living as an actor in Hollywood and never got the chance. Its from a Poverty Row studio, but it indicates that people knew. Even in 1937, people knew. We also dont get much from the 1960s to today. No Kung Fu, for example. Nothing on how Jackie Chan was an international superstar and when he came to Hollywood they made him a Japanese race-car driver and had him fight on sand. This subject still deserves a better documentary.
2205	dbpedia	0	87	https://english.msu.edu/undergraduate-courses/	en	Undergraduate Courses	https://english.msu.edu/…avicon-32x32.png	https://english.msu.edu/…avicon-32x32.png	[ "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2023/04/23FS-FLM484-232x300.jpg", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2023/03/23US-ENG130-Nothing-Like-The-Book-232x300.jpeg", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2023/03/US23-ENG226.732-Intro-to-Creative-Writing-232x300.jpg", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2023/04/23US-ENG-308-239x300.jpg", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2023/03/23US-IAH207.738-Who-is-Haunted-194x300.jpg", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2023/02/23US-IAH-207.793-Mutation-Media-225x300.jpg", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2023/04/US23-IAH209.734-189x300.jpeg", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2023/04/23US-IAH209.735-224x300.jpeg", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2023/03/23US-IAH211C.733-unNatural-Disasters--232x300.jpg", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2023/04/23US-IAH206.736-300x300.jpeg", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2021/06/6-21-21-Beyonce-flyer-232x300.jpg", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2021/06/FLM480-232x300.jpg", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2021/07/210719-Tanvir-Media-Archives-Course-Flyer-218x300.jpg", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2022/01/thumbnail_cid370582F2-D050-413B-851C-FCCCABAE259C-212x300.jpg", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2021/04/ENG-130-Film-and-Society-Joshua-Lam-300x232.png", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2021/04/IAH-207-AIDS-in-America-flyer-232x300.jpg", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2020/04/ENG229-Flyer-231x300.png", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2020/04/English308_Flyer-232x300.jpg", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2020/08/200828-ENG320B-2-Flyer-232x300.png", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2020/06/ENG426.826-240x300.jpg", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2020/04/ENG223-Flyer-232x300.png", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2020/04/ENG340-232x300.jpg", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2020/04/ENG429-Flyer-300x231.png", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2020/04/ENG130-300x232.png", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2020/05/ENG-140_Session-B-232x300.jpg", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2020/04/ENG142-224x300.jpg", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2020/04/ENG328-Flyer-225x300.png", "https://english.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2020/05/FLM355-Flyer-232x300.png" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	Spring 2025 Course Descriptions ENG 228 “Intro to Creative Writing” is a primer course, meant to give you a flavor of four distinct forms of creative writing: fiction, film, non-fiction, and poetry. For each form, we will:· read craft lessons,·…	en	https://english.msu.edu/…avicon-32x32.png	Department of English	https://english.msu.edu/undergraduate-courses/	Summer 2021 Joshua Lam ENG 130.732: Film and Society Topic: “Horror Comedy” Have you ever been so frightened that you burst out laughing? Have you ever laughed until you cried? This online summer course looks at two popular film genres and their intersection: horror, comedy, and horror-comedy. As a genre, horror is often said to represent our collective fears. Yet humor, too, can be thought of as a way of managing anxiety. Both fear and laughter, after all, produce endorphins that we associate with pleasurable thrills and physical release. This course will function as an introduction to the genre of horror and the social fears it indexes, including ‘deviant’ sexualities, ‘primitive’ religions, toxic masculinity, xenophobia, the sociopathy of capitalism, and more. Students will learn some basic elements of film analysis and examine films in their social and historical contexts. We will pay special attention to the development of “horror-comedy,” from the unintentional humor of classic Hollywood monster movies, to campy exploitation films of the 1960s and 70s, to the biting satire of contemporary films like Get Out. Week-long units will focus on subgenres like slasher films, captivity narratives, possession, vampires, and zombies. Julian Chambliss ENG 342: Readings in Popular Lit Genres Topic: “A Black Future Fantastic: Rayguns, Mystical Lands, and Powered Bodies” This course examines the origins, evolution, and impact of futurism in African-American comics in the United States. From newspapers comic strips such as Neil Knight to contemporary comic books such as BLACK, students in this course will learn about the history and cultural narrative linked to futurity, comics, and race in the United States. The course will explore a variety of genres but focus on futurism as a guiding theme. What can comics provide in terms of future-oriented symbolism? In this course, we will see how comics capture progressive aspirations. Lyn Goeringer ENG 478A: Lit Tech & Representation Topic: “Podcasting” This online class summer course is an introduction to independent podcast production. Looking at narrative, documentary, investigative, artistic, and creative podcasting styles, this class teaches you how to make professional quality audio recordings with a cellphone or digital audio recorder, how to mix and arrange them on your own computer, and how to share them with the world. No experience required. Jessica Travers IAH 207.790: Lit, Cultures, Identities Topic: “Looking at AIDS in America through Literature & Film” This course looks at AIDS literature, film, & visual art in order to explore the intersections of sexuality, race, gender, ability, and class. Students will explore how these markers of identity affect individual experience, such as state citizenship and community engagement. Readings and viewings from the AIDS art archive allow students to engage critically with the ways people get included and excluded from public discourse. We will also think about how lessons from the AIDS pandemic inform the pandemic we are currently living through. Jessica Stokes IAH 207.792: Lit, Cultures, Identities Topic: “(un)Natural Disasters” What is (un)natural about a hurricane? Its causes? Its impacts? This class questions the complexity of what “nature” means conceptually and how it’s mobilized in social and cultural contexts. Throughout the course, we will reflect on disaster movies, literature, current events, and cultural theory to sift through multiple, conflicting definitions of nature. These complexities, in turn, will be used to question how concepts such as race, sex, gender, and ability have been shaped in American culture through their relationships to the natural. In this course, we will consider who has been labeled “natural” or “unnatural” at different points in the history of the Americas, and we will analyze the consequences of these categories. Finally, we will connect so-called natural disasters to their sometimes human origins and their disproportionate impacts. By the end of the course, you will be prepared to articulate the ways in which cultural practices around nature change climates: both political and meteorological. Fall 2020 Divya Victor ENG 229: Introduction to Writing Poetry Topic: “Sensing Life” This course introduces students to the practice of writing poetry as an evolving genre of literature. The thematic and methodological focus for this course is “The Senses.” As such, students will undertake the embodied practices of observation, notation, recollection, cataloging, and re-enacting, while developing the critical skills of close-reading, literary analysis, researching, and proposing. Students will learn how to balance spontaneous and guided composition in a variety of organically defined forms in order to understand different modes of and approaches to poetry. Students will be introduced to a range of composition processes intended to stimulate frequent and adventurous writing, and will be encouraged to make disciplined and inventive use of the revision process. Through an experimental approach to writing, reading, and collaborative response, students will develop a vision for a longer-work that they will undertake for this course. Finally, they will grow as writers in a spontaneous community through a robust and compassionate approach to the peer-review process, in close consultation with their instructor. Emery Petchauer ENG 308: Literature for Young Adults This readings course engages students in experiencing, discussing, and thinking critically about adolescent and young adult literature and the teaching of this genre. We will read narrative, graphic, and poetic works within this genre. Hip-hop, time travel, zombies, and magical murals will be in the mix as young protagonists fight white supremacy, cross borders, and remake the world into a shape that has room for them. Films and current television series will make appearances in this courses, as will some readings on adolescents and the teaching of this genre in schools. This course asks you to think not only as a student but also as an educator and ally to young people. Reading load: Approximately 1 book/week. Joshua Lam ENG 320A: Methodologies in Literary History: Genre Topic: “Comedy” Why do humans often laugh at the misfortunes of others? How does cruelty serve as material for our amusement? Comedy has been a genre of literature, speech, and performance for millennia, but there has been an abundance of so-called “dark humor” in the last two centuries—especially in the U.S. In an era of world wars, revolutions, nuclear conflicts, and environmental disasters, many writers have turned to satire, parody, and other forms of comedy to contemplate violence. Are they escapists? Apathetic? Cruel? Philosophers? This course will survey a broad range of American writers, thinkers, and performers in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, following the theme and genre of “dark humor.” In addition to exploring different genres/media (fiction, film, poetry, stand-up) and movements (modernism, postmodernism), we will ask how American writers use comedy to respond to cultural problems such as war, sexism, racism, and inequality. We will ask: Why has the Holocaust been such fertile ground for comedians? Why do we laugh at jokes we regard as being in “bad taste”? Why are Nazis and policemen fodder for so much comedy? We will also look at several theories of comedy and laughter, and we will strive to take comedy seriously (but not too seriously). In addition to viewing comedy as a genre across various media, we will study its role in everyday life and culture, paying attention to our own senses of humor and habits of consumption. Units on modern and postmodern satire, subversive queer comedy, African American humor, and more, with longer texts by Don DeLillo, Fran Ross, Nathanael West, and Patricia Highsmith. Shelia Contreras ENG 320B: Methodologies in Literary History: Region Topic: “US/Mexico Borderlands” Mexicans have been and continue to be represented as perpetual foreigners in US political and cultural representations. Early citizenship laws were aimed, in part, at the Mexican presence in this country. Certainly, current exercises of border enforcement specifically target Mexicans and other migrants travelling from the southern areas of the Americas. Remember learning about the Mexican-American War? These lessons demonstrate that the Mexican presence in the US predates Anglo-European-American settlement of the south/western United States. What we don’t often learn about is the significant impact of Mexican-descent communities of that region on the history and culture of this country. Our primary focus will be on the southwestern United States, specifically a region known as the US/Mexico Borderlands, or what scholar Américo Paredes once called “Greater Mexico,” which includes the northern region of the country of Mexico. Readings, lectures and discussions will introduce you to the literatures of Mexican/American communities and the socio-political history and cultural production of this region. Our goal will be to develop methods of interpretation and analysis advanced at the intersections of literature and history, with an eye towards sharpening our skills in assessing information, especially when presented with competing accounts of history and society. At the same time, we will work to establish context for contemporary media and political discourses centering on Mexicans at the border and throughout the United States. Sheng-mei Ma ENG 352: Asian American Literature American literature is crawling with Sinophobic viruses, from Bret Harte’s 1870 “The Heathen Chinee” to Trump’s crossing out “corona” in coronavirus and replacing it with “CHINESE” in caps with a sharpie. This course opens with “California Dreamin’”—with a touch of evil/yellow—by Jack London and Frank Norris. Such Sinophobia is compensated by mid-century Sinophilia in Beat poets, Philip K. Dick, and E. V. Cunningham. In between the two extremes are Asian American quest to heal itself, with unforeseen side effect, exemplified by Crazy Rich Asians, Gene Luen Yang, Ling Ma, Patricia Park, Alice Wu, and Lulu Wang. This course studies fiction, film, radio play, and graphics. Course grade is based on papers, exams, and class performance. Sheng-mei Ma ENG 360: Studies in Postcolonial Diaspora Topic: “In Search of Alien” This course explores the heart of postcolonial studies, the concept of alien in an “us v. them” divide. Starting from Edward Said’s classic Orientalism, supplemented by American stigma of Asians as “perennial aliens,” the course interrogates historical and current Sino-U.S. representations of alienation (alienAsian). We pair Bret Harte’s “Ah Sin” with Kevin Kwan a century later; Roman Polanski’s Chinatown with Frank Norris’ stories and novel; millennial China’s Detective Chinatown with the BBC’s Sherlock and Ruth Rendell; and more. We conclude with a unit on Afro-Asian filmic duet, where two U.S. minorities perform a pas de deux ever in danger of escalating into a duel. This course studies fiction, film, visual art, and graphics. Course grade is based on papers, exams, and class performance. Natalie Phillips ENG 364: Studies in 18th/19th Century Literature Topic: “Fictions of Mind: Thinking and Feeling in Eighteenth-Century Literature” How does literature represent the mind? What effect does reading literature have on thought and emotion? This course takes up these questions in a period where debates about cognition had become newly vibrant: the Enlightenment. Reading a range of historical works engaged with theories of the mind and brain, we will explore rationality and its discontents, the history of objectivity and memory, and depictions of cognitive control lost (absorption, obsession, and madness). As we look at the emerging aesthetics of mental states—e.g. curiosity, boredom, distraction, happiness, and desire—we will also consider the distinctly historical ways that eighteenth-century literature raced, gendered, classed, and sexed the body and mind. This course will incorporate interdisciplinary activities drawn from the Digital Humanities and Literary Cognition Lab (DHLC)’s Projects in the neuroscience of reading, poetry, and music as well as accessible art into course assignments. Students will learn to use new databases to explore literature’s connections with the history of science, engage interdisciplinary scholarship on theories of the mind, brain, and environment, and discuss new work in cognitive literary studies and the history of neuroscience. Jyotsna Singh ENG 368: Studies in Medieval/Early Modern Literature This class will study connections between selected late Medieval and early modern literary works in England, with a comparative focus on Medieval influences on Shakespeare’s plays and their sources. Specifically, we will focus on how drama evolved from early biblical and morality plays in the 15thcentury to the complex, secular drama of the age of Shakespeare, from the late 16thcentury onwards. Drama evolved from biblical stories, covering the Creation to the Last Judgement, often focusing on the divinity of Christ. Alongside these biblical plays, medieval audiences were also entertained by another kind of religious performance called the morality play, an allegorical drama popular in Europe in the 15thand 16thcenturies, in which the characters personify moral attributes of sin or virtue. For instance, the protagonist is a representative Christian figure like “Everyman” and “Mankind,” and istypically confronted by personified Sin of all magnitude (the seven deadly sins, the world, the flesh, the Devil, Vice, and so on). Notwithstanding religious themes, these plays were also infused with local idioms, folk traditions, and other entertainments, often involving buffoons and devils. As English drama evolved, it became more secular and removed from its earlier didactic goals, moving through Tudor Interludes into the full flowering of Renaissance drama in Shakespeare’s plays. Drawing on selected plays, we will explore the relationships between the two dramatic movements and common themes and concerns they may share, such as the nature of evil, complexity of sins, as well as the familiar conflicts between virtue and vice. For instance, the psychological struggles of Shakespeare’s characters are reminiscent ofpsychomachiasor conflicts between good and evil faced by allegorical figures like “Everyman” in Medieval drama. In addition to literary works, we will read historical and cultural works on the MSU Libraries electronic website, Early English Books on Line (EEBO). 1. Four MoralityPlays (The Penguin English Library) (NOT in SBS) 2. Everyman and Mankinded. Doug Bruster. 3. Everyman and other Miracle and Morality Plays Dover Thrift ed. 4. Shakespeare,The Winter’s Tale(Penguin) 5. Shakespeare,Richard III, (Penguin) 6. Shakespeare,Macbeth (Simon and Schuster) 7. Shakespeare,Cymbeline, (Simon and Schuster) Gary Hoppenstand ENG 391: Special Topics in English Topic: “Popular Genre Fiction” Popular genre fiction provides critical insights into the human condition. Categories such as romance fiction, science fiction and fantasy, detective fiction, horror fiction, and the thriller offer bestsellers that reflect, as well as affect, society. This class will examine the above popular genres through the lens of World War Two, discussing how this historical moment in society is interpreted by these different approaches to storytelling. Juliet Guzzetta ENG 426/ENG 826: Special Topics Seminar Topic: “Performing Solo and Performance Theory” Sometimes life might feel like a solo show. In many ways it is. And yet many of us strive for connections with other humans and opportunities to share aspects of our lived experiences. This course examines a variety of one-person productions from a range of theater artists who typically write their own scripts including Ty Defoe, Coco Fusco, Spalding Gray, E. Patrick Johnson, Sarah Jones, Lisa Kron, Young Jean Lee, Franca Rame, Anna Deavere Smith, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Doug Wright. In addition to studying specific performances, we will also consider performance as an analytical tool, examining its relationship to everyday life and social practices. These critical interventions will engage with works by both leading and up-and-coming scholars such as Judith Butler, Jill Dolan, Donatella Galella, Fred Moten, Peggy Phelan, Adrienne Rich, Joseph Roach, Richard Schechner, Rebecca Schneider, D. Madison Soyini, and Wu Tsang. Through primary and secondary texts, students will explore and experiment with reading, watching, theorizing, writing, and maybe even performing about the performances of others. Joshua Lam ENG 450/ENG 814: Seminar in African American Lit Topic: “US Modernsim in Black and White” How has racial difference been inscribed in the creation and canonization of modernist aesthetics in the US? While race has long been regarded as central to the creation of American modernity, scholars and publishers have often regarded the modernist aesthetics of canonical figures like Gertrude Stein, T.S. Eliot, and Ezra Pound as distinct from African American literary aesthetics of the same era, including those associated with the Harlem Renaissance and the “New Negro” movement. This course will examine both canonical and lesser-known texts from “traditional” (ostensibly white) modernism and African American modernism, framed by recent critical attempts to think against or complicate this putative divide. Our historical scope will be broad; we will read literature from the post-Reconstruction era; canonical modernist figures; “New Negro” writers and anthologies; and a number of authors who resist placement in these lineages and milieus. We will also examine scholarly attempts to complicate or challenge the notion that white and black writers created what Michael North calls “two different modernisms.” These include interdisciplinary and historical accounts of “Jim Crow Modernism”; investigations of racial imitation and masquerade; narratives of passing and queer of color critique; and scholarship on sound and recording technologies (e.g., sonic Afro-modernity). Longer texts may include works by Nella Larsen, Jean Toomer, Zora Neale Hurston, Claude McKay, Richard Wright, and Gertrude Stein; poetry by Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Gwendolyn Brooks, T. S. Eliot, and more. Natalie Phillips ENG 457: Literary Cognition Topic: “Cognitive Science, Medicine, & the History of the Mind” This course interweaves three interdisciplinary fields in literary studies: cognitive approaches to literature, the history of mind, and medical humanities. Discussing intersections in literary and medical portrayals of cognition from Austen’s Persuasion to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, we explore pivotal moments in the history of the mind and brain, beginning in the eighteenth century and ending with the DSM-5, self-described as “the standard classification of mental disorders used by mental health professionals in the U.S.” As we consider the literary history of modern diagnostic categories such as autism spectrum, attention deficit, and OCD (including depictions of distraction in Tristram Shandy, Jane Austen’s use of contemporary theories of head injury, and modern portrayals of disability in YA fiction), we will also explore therapeutic uses of literature, music, and art in proposed clinical treatments of everything from depression, anxiety, and PTSD to stuttering. Throughout, we will read key works in cognitive approaches to fiction, disability studies, and medical humanities, exploring both the power—and the profound challenges—of integrating scientific and literary-critical approaches to conduct authentically interdisciplinary work in medical humanities. This course will incorporate interdisciplinary activities drawn from the Digital Humanities and Literary Cognition Lab(DHLC)’s Projects in the neuroscience of reading, poetry, and music as well as accessible art.In particular, students will work in groups to brainstorm and design an interdisciplinary experiment that imagines using technologies from cognitive science—such as fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging), EEG, or eye-tracking—to explore a central question at the intersection of literature and medicine. Stephen Deng ENG 484C: Critical Questions in a Literary Period Topic: “Early Modern English Literature” This course serves as a “capstone” to the English major. It is designed to bring together the various skills you have learned from your English courses thus far (close reading, engaging with secondary sources and literary theory, interpreting a literary text from within historical contexts, structuring a literary essay and developing a solid thesis), as well as to allow you to engage in more extensive research on a particular critical problem in early modern literary criticism, especially through primary research of contextual early modern texts in Early English Books Online. The course will culminate in a “mini-conference” across the final weeks and a thesis-like essay of 15-20 pages, which could serve as a writing sample for those intending to attend graduate school. Moreover, the bulk of the course is organized as a series of presentations by students in order to provide an oral interactive experience that will benefit students for whatever field they choose to pursue after MSU. The course will then be run as a workshop – each student will prepare several 5-15 minute presentations throughout the semester, which will constitute the largest grade component. During the semester the students will hand in an annotated bibliography of primary and secondary materials consulted for the project. And a final 15-20 minute presentation will be given at a “mini-conference” during the end of the semester, in which students will present their final projects while getting valuable feedback from the class in preparation for the final essay. Rick Blackwood FLM 255.001: Stars and Directors Topic: “Kubrick and his Contemporaries” Offers a survey of Kubrick’s works, emphasizing the influences of filmmakers Kubrick admired, like Max Ophüls, and comparing and contrasting Kubrick with contemporaries, particularly Coppola, Scorsese, and Oliver Stone. Particular intellectual emphasis will focus on thinkers and philosophers admired, and critiqued by this generation of filmmakers, such as Freud, Machiavelli, and Nietzsche. Peter Johnston FLM 335: Film Directing Part of the Fiction Film Specialization, Film Directing immerses students in the job of the director through a combination of film screenings and production projects. By studying the works of great directors, and working through a series of filmmaking projects which culminates in the creation of a 3-minute short, students learn first hand the challenges and triumphs of Film Directing. John Valadez FLM 411/MI 211: Documentary Design/Production Design and development of documentaries in a team setting using video and audio. Participation in a production cycle including idea generation, research, design, production, and distribution. Rick Blackwood FLM 434: Advanced Screenwriting Offers undergraduate students a continuation of projects begun in ENG/FLM 334, and allows students to complete a screenplay in one semester. On a theoretical level, attention is directed toward the socioeconomic organization of the society that makes the American film business what it is, and that defines the relationship between the film artist in America and his/her artistic, and material, circumstances. Julian Chambliss IAH 207 Topic: “Afrofantastic: Race, Power, and Gender in the Black Imaginary” Since the 1990s, we have seen an explosion of speculative art rooted in the black diasporic experience. Spanning media and crossing borders, the speculative work offered by these voices has coalesced into a movement broadly defined as Afrofuturism. This course examines the definition, historical roots, and contemporary expression of Afrofuturism. Our current Afrofuturist moment is the latest expression of a black imaginary with a deep cultural legacy. We will uncover the theory and examine the practice that shapes black futurity. Gary Hoppenstand IAH 221C Topic: “The Hero’s Journey: Heroic Fantasy in American Popular Fiction” This class will examine heroic fantasy in American popular fiction. Thematic issues such as Joseph Campbell’s “the hero’s journey” and comparative myth structures will provide the foundation of the course, which will cover such topics as “High Fantasy,” “Low Fantasy,” “Dark Fantasy, and Grimdark Fantasy.” Authors to be covered include J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, and Catherine L. Moore. From The Hobbit to The Witcher, fantasy stories in popular fiction featuring diverse cultures and mythologies will be covered, as read by American audiences, including novels that explore African heroic fantasy and Mid-Eastern heroic fantasy, and well as heroic fantasy novels that feature powerful women protagonists. Spring 2021 Sheng-mei Ma ENG 210.003: Intro to English Topic: “Classic Redux, Anglo Asianized Quite a few canonical classics inspire contemporary Asian American and Asian artists, who remake and recontextualize the classics. The Scarlet Letter weaves itself into Updike’s epistolary S and Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere. Jane Eyre morphs into Re Jane. George Romero’s zombie trilogy is reanimated in Severance, not to mention Severance’s zombie girl behind the red curtains, a scene straight out of Charlotte Bronte. All such makeovers share in an Orientalizing of the West. Even the Chinese animation Nezha draws from the legends of Monkey King and the Boy God Nezha. Nezha belongs to the eternal return of this Oedipus-Loki-trickster “with Chinese characteristics.” We focus on modern and contemporary retellings, with the classics in excerpts setting the stage. Course grade is based on research papers, critical analyses, the final exam, and class performance. Divya Victor ENG 223: Introduction to Writing Creative Nonfiction Topic: “Sensing Life” This course introduces students to the practice of writing creative nonfiction as an evolving genre of literature. The thematic and methodological focus for this course is “The Senses.” Writers will undertake the embodied practices of observation, notation, recollection, cataloging, and re-enacting, while developing the critical skills of close-reading, literary analysis, researching, and proposing. Students will learn how to balance spontaneous and guided composition in a variety of minor genres to understand different approaches to creative nonfiction. Students will be introduced to a range of composition processes intended to stimulate frequent and adventurous writing, and will be encouraged to make disciplined and inventive use of the revision process. Through an experimental approach to writing, reading, and collaborative response, students will develop a vision for a longer-work that they will undertake for this course. Finally, they will grow as writers in a spontaneous community through a robust and compassionate approach to the peer-review process, in close consultation with their instructor. Stephen Deng ENG 318: Readings in Shakespeare For over 400 years, readers and play-goers have been entranced by the language, imagery, themes, narratives, and sometime emotional roller-coasters of Shakespeare’s works. As I hope you find in this course, Shakespeare’s writings have much to say not only about his own culture but also about our own. Moreover, the richness of his texts offers an abundance of potential for various critical approaches. We begin this course with political, religious, and social background on Shakespeare’s England, including the material conditions of textual and theatrical production. By doing so, I hope to be able to provide a foundation for understanding how “Shakespeare” as we know the phenomenon emerged from a particular situation within history and the history of literature. We then proceed to seven plays chosen across Shakespeare’s career and across genres (comedy, tragedy, tragicomedy, history and romance)—Titus Andronicus, Richard II,The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, Measure for Measure, Othello, and The Tempest—as well as a brief stint in the middle of the semester on Shakespeare’s sonnets. We will approach the plays and poems from a variety of perspectives such as anthropological, post-colonial, historiographic, economic, and socio-political, as well as those that apply early modern theories of genre, gender, sexuality and race. Much of our class discussions will focus on close reading particular passages from the texts, though we will also explore performances of the plays through film clips. Our textual analysis in class should help students in preparing two 5-6 page critical essays, which should perform close readings of a work within a clearly structured argument. In addition to the essays, there will be a midterm, a final exam, and several unannounced reading quizzes throughout the term. Joshua Lam ENG 320A: Methodologies in Literary History: Genre Topic: “Comedy” Why do humans often laugh at the misfortunes of others? How does cruelty serve as material for our amusement? Comedy has been a genre of literature, speech, and performance for millennia, but there has been an abundance of so-called “dark humor” in the last two centuries—especially in the U.S. In an era of world wars, revolutions, nuclear conflicts, and environmental disasters, many writers have turned to satire, parody, and other forms of comedy to contemplate violence. Are they escapists? Apathetic? Cruel? Philosophers? This course will survey a broad range of American writers, thinkers, and performers in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, following the theme and genre of “dark humor.” In addition to exploring different genres/media (fiction, film, poetry, stand-up) and movements (modernism, postmodernism), we will ask how American writers use comedy to respond to cultural problems such as war, sexism, racism, and inequality. We will ask: Why has the Holocaust been such fertile ground for comedians? Why do we laugh at jokes we regard as being in “bad taste”? Why are Nazis and policemen fodder for so much comedy? We will also look at several theories of comedy and laughter, and we will strive to take comedy seriously (but not too seriously). In addition to viewing comedy as a genre across various media, we will study its role in everyday life and culture, paying attention to our own senses of humor and habits of consumption. Units on modern and postmodern satire, subversive queer comedy, African American humor, and more, with longer texts by Don DeLillo, Fran Ross, Nathanael West, and Patricia Highsmith. David Stowe ENG 340: Popular Culture Studies This course is an introduction to scholarly ways of viewing popular culture and provides a basis for further coursework in the field. Students will learn to map the parameters of the term “popular culture,” and will be introduced to key concepts such as culture, highbrow and lowbrow, genre, myth, taste, ideology, and adaptation. Critical readings of forms like television, comics, movies, hip-hop, musicals, and popular fiction will prepare students to independently apply concepts, approaches and theories. Students will be guided through explorations of semiotic, narrative, psychoanalytic, economic, and sociological criticism with an eye to media industry practices. A particular focus will be the role of popular culture in constructing notions of racial and ethnic identity, especially the theme of racial/ethnic “passing.” Students will be given the opportunity to create works of popular culture as well as to analyze them. Our course will coordinate with events sponsored by Special Collections in the MSU Library as well as the annual MSU Comics Forum in February. Gary Hoppenstand ENG 342: Readings in Popular Lit Genres This class will examine heroic fantasy in American popular fiction. Thematic issues such as Joseph Campbell’s “the hero’s journey” and comparative myth structures will provide the foundation of the course, which will cover such topics as “High Fantasy,” “Low Fantasy,” “Dark Fantasy, and Grimdark Fantasy.” Authors to be covered include J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, and Catherine L. Moore. From The Hobbit to The Witcher, fantasy stories in popular fiction featuring diverse cultures and mythologies will be covered, as read by American audiences, including novels that explore African heroic fantasy and Mid-Eastern heroic fantasy, and well as heroic fantasy novels that feature powerful women protagonists. Divya Victor ENG 429: Advanced Poetry Writing The fundamental goal of this course is to help you develop effective, sustainable, and socially meaningful practices for writing through the genre of poetry. You will develop a broader and deeper understanding of poetry as a literary form and artistic practice. You will become familiar with a broad range of poetic practices and use these as launch pads for improvising and developing a critical understanding of poetry as an expressive form of political and cultural engagement. You will explore new compositional methods through experimentation, workshop critique, and collaboration. The course is structured as both a conventional seminar and a workshop. Our sessions will be devoted (in approximately equal parts) to the work of established contemporary poets, the work of your peers, and the experiment-based play of your weekly poetry assignments. Gary Hoppenstand ENG 478B/ ENG 818: Literature and Visual Culture Topic: “The Popular Detective Story in Fiction and Film” This class will discuss the various theories of popular fantasy narratives as they apply to fiction and film. Thematically, we will examine the narrative range of fantasy from High Fantasy to Grimdark Fantasy, with an understanding that fantasy employs a narrative genre that explores the “real world” human condition through secondary worlds of imagination. Sheng-mei Ma ENG 492H: Honors Seminar in English Topic “Chinee: Toward a US Stereotype” Bret Harte’s 1870 poem “The Heathen Chinee” on a duplicitous Chinese card shark crystallizes the West Coast nativist “The Chinese Must Go!” movement and heralds the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882-1943). The racial other’s physical features are first stereotyped and then decoded for intentionality, a fixation on turning unknown, evolving individuals into known, fixed types. Us in the US is thus pitted against Them, the perennial aliens. The deboning of “s” from “Chinese” produces the long “e” suffix, an alleged linguistic trait of coolies’ pidgin. Yet such stereotypes are symptomatic of our own semantic (auditory) and, increasingly, cinematic (visual) Orientalism. Nobel laureate John Steinbeck in East of Eden (1952) continues this time-honored American tradition in Lee, the Chinese servant-nanny-surrogate mother and wife, who parrots: “Dlinkee Chinee fashion.” Steinbeck’s biblical allegory sprouts in part from Lee, the East in Eden. After select canonical (read: white) American fiction and film, we proceed to Asian American (off-white, yellow-ish) correction to white discursive supremacy. The ethnic pushback comes with its own side effect on skin and speech: either self-Orientalizing yellowface speaking in Anglophone monolingualism, exemplified by Crazy Rich Asians (2013, 2018) and Severance (2018), or ethnic comedies of global fusion in the likes of Saving Face (2004), Re Jane (2015), and The Farewell (2019). Course grade is based on research papers, critical analyses, the final exam, and class performance. John Valadez FLM 255: Starts and Directors Topic: “FAME Celebrity, Infamy, the Promise and Peril of being Different While Being in the Spotlight” Celebrity culture has always been an important part of human society, but what happens after the curtain call, when the stage lights fade and human ambition meets human frailty? What happens when someone gains renowned but the world moves on, either to forget or condemn? From Marlin Brando to Imelda Marcos to Amy Winehouse, from the Rolling Stones to Kenneth Lay and Jeffry Skilling, to Leni Reifenstahl to Orson Welles, this course will use documentary film to look behind the gilded gates of talent and fortune…what could possibly go wrong? Peter Johnston FLM 260: Introduction to Digital Film & Media What’s changed in filmmaking technology in the past 20 years, and what impact does that have on the stories we tell? Have digital image-making tools, editing software, and distribution channels fundamentally changed the types of stories being told and the types of artists telling them? In this hybrid course we introduce students to a variety of emerging filmmaking technologies and give them a grounding in technical skills necessary to then move on to higher order concerns of storytelling. We screen, analyze and discuss new works and look over the evolution of filmmaking technology and how it relates to this historical moment. And students produce a variety of work in documentary, fiction, and experimental forms, focusing on iteration and repetition to hone filmmaking skills. John Valadez FLM 311/MI 311: Introduction to Documentary Production Design and development of documentaries in a team setting using video and audio. Participation in a production cycle including idea generation, research, design, production, and distribution. Joshua Yumibe FLM 480: Seminar in Film Theory Topic: “Cinema and the Archive” In 1898, Boleslas Matuszewski, a Polish cameraman working for the Lumière Brothers, published one of the earliest proposals for a film archive in the French newspaper Le Figaro: “It would suffice to assign to cinematographic prints that have a historical character a section of the museum, a shelf in the library, a cabinet in the archives.” His intention was to make films available for scholarly inquiry: “animated photography will thus become an agreeable method for studying the past.” Taking a pointer from Matuszewski, we will explore in this class film’s archival relationship to the past, both in terms of what it represents and also in terms of the material history that is etched into films themselves. Scratches, fading colors, and decomposing emulsion attest to the provenanceof the medium, how time itself leaves its material traces on filmic objects as they circulate around the world. If film is a medium beholden to time, we will also explore the institutional ways in which film archives have developed over the last century to preserve the material legacies and as well as nurture the cultural heritage of the cinematic artifact. Potential topics: • Archival theories and practices, as developed by Paolo Cherchi Usai, Giovanna Fossati, and Catherine Russell • Institutional histories: the British Film Institute; the Cinémathèque française, the Museum of Modern Art’s cinema collections (Haidee Wasson), EYE-Film, Amsterdam (Bregt Lameris), early ethnographic film at the American Museum of Natural History (Alison Griffiths), experimental cinema and Anthology Film Archives • Gaps in the archive, e.g. Allyson Nadia Field’s work on the “nonextant” and early African American cinema, filmic reconstructions (e.g. Bezhin Meadow, Greed) • Case studies: the Library of Congress’s paper print collection, The Davide Turconi and Josef Joye Collections, the Desmet Collection, found footage and recycled cinema (e.g. A Movie, Eureka, Film Ist, Decasia,and Lyrical Nitrate), MSU Special Collections • Film archiving in the digital age (They Shall Not Grow Old) Summer 2020 Joshua Lam ENG 130: Film and Society Topic: “Horror Comedy” Have you ever been so frightened that you burst out laughing? Have you ever laughed until you cried? This online summer course looks at two popular film genres and their intersection: horror, comedy, and horror-comedy. As a genre, horror is often said to represent our collective fears. Yet humor, too, can be thought of as a way of managing anxiety. Both fear and laughter, after all, produce endorphins that we associate with pleasurable thrills and release. This course will function as an introduction to the genre of horror and the social fears it indexes, including ‘deviant’ sexualities, primitive religions, toxic masculinity, xenophobia, the sociopathy of capitalism, and more. Students will learn basic elements of film analysis and examine films in their social and historical contexts. We will pay special attention to the development of “horror-comedy,” from the unintentional humor of classic Hollywood monster movies, to campy exploitation films of the 1960s and 70s, to the biting satire of contemporary films like Get Out. Week-long units will focus on subgenres like slasher films, captivity narratives, possession, vampires, zombies, and folk horror. Marisa Mercurio ENG 140: Literature and Society Topic: “Gender in Gothic Horror” We will explore gender in the literature, art, and film of Gothic horror through an intersectional approach (e.g. also attending to sexuality, race, etc.), beginning briefly in the 19th century and making our way through the 21st century. Material will include texts like The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson and Us, dir. Jordan Peele. Why are we drawn to horror at the same time we shrink from it? What does gender have to do with it? This course explores the integral roles of gender and sexuality from the roots of Gothic horror through the present day in literature, film, and artwork. Texts include work by Shirley Jackson and Jordan Peele. Most material will be available through D2L. The course will offer content warnings to the best of my ability and can offer substitute texts if requested. Questions? Email Marisa Mercurio at mercuri7@msu.edu! Kiana Gonzalez-Cedeno ENG 142: Introduction to Popular Literature In this course we will explore literature written in the 21st century by Women of Color. We will read award winning literature that will challenge our understanding of the world around us through their raw and ground breaking prose. As a student, you will gain valuable information about People of Color and the challenges Black, Indigenous, and Latinx Women are encountering-still- in the 21st century. The goal of this class is to introduce students to established authors, as well as, up and coming authors that, regardless of writing in the margins, have much to say regarding what we conceive of popular culture, the United States, and the world. Bria Harper ENG 210.731: Foundations of Literary Study I Topic: “Contemporary African American Literature” This course is designed to introduce students to a variety of literature by African American novelists, poets, musicians, and artists that are not generally taught in classrooms. This online summer course is a survey of different mediums of African American literature in order to engage the ways that these texts engage with conversations around current events. Through looking at the texts are artists such as Morgan Parker, Eve Ewing, Danez Smith, Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, and Beyoncé guide us in examining new ways to view literature as not just words on a page but written and spoken narratives of our own lives. You do not have to have a background in African American Literature to take this course. This course is designed to be accessible to students everywhere. Email me at harper54@msu.edu if you have any questions. Lamar Johnson ENG 308: Young Adult Literature How are authors challenging inequality based on race, ethnicity, class, gender identity, sexuality, religion, disability, language, and intersections through their writing? The major aim of this class is to read, discuss, appreciate, and explore various themes that are common in young adult literature. In addition, we will read, analyze, and discuss multiple theoretical frameworks for analyzing YA fiction and nonfiction texts. You will read a variety of YAL texts that explore critical issues such as (racism, sexism, classism, nationality, etc.). This course will also explore a variety of teaching strategies for the instruction of young adult literature. Jonathan Thurston ENG 318: Introduction to Shakespeare In 21st century America, Shakespeare is a popular name. You might know him for his famously romantic poetry, his “to be or not to be” soliloquy, or even the play Romeo and Juliet. With this course, I hope to challenge many of your preconceived notions of the Bard. This course will focus on the ways that we can read Shakespeare as relevant to today’s culture and times as well as his. The course will start with an introduction to the kinds of texts Shakespeare was reading at the time, sources like Ovid and Petrarch. Reading these texts will hopefully give you a foundation for reading Shakespeare as artistic not just for his imagination but also his politics and ability to make texts relevant for a contemporary audience. Then, we will segue into four different plays across Shakespeare’s career and different genres: Othello, Titus Andronicus, The Tempest, and Midsummer Night’s Dream. The course will focus on readings of Shakespeare’s works that prioritize historical and cultural implications, especially for sex, gender, and race. William Johnsen ENG 328: Reading in Novel & Narrative Some summers you can’t get to London but you can read novels set there by Virginia Woolf, Elizabeth Bowen, George Orwell, Iris Murdoch, and Andrea Levy. Each of these authors has their own London and we will use electronic resources to recreate their specific historical moment, including London just after war, during war, postwar, and the early years of the Windrush generation that emigrated from Jamaica to London, to ‘the mother country.’ Their special attention to city life has attracted a film version to each of these novels except one, and we will attend to that way of novel-reading as well. Kylene Cave ENG 342: Readings in Popular Literary Genres This course investigates literary genres and formula fiction through the lens of popular culture studies. Using a variety of mediums we will consider how certain popular genres emerged and how they have evolved over time in response to cultural shifts. Sheng-mei Ma ENG 360: Postcolonial Literature Topic: “In Search of Alien” This course explores the heart of postcolonial studies, the concept of alien in an “us v. them” divide. Starting from Edward Said’s classic Orientalism, supplemented by American stigma of Asians as “perennial aliens,” the course interrogates historical and current Sino-U.S. representations of alienation (alienAsian). We pair Bret Harte’s “Ah Sin” with Kevin Kwan a century later; Roman Polanski’s Chinatown with Frank Norris’ stories and novel; millennial China’s Detective Chinatown with the BBC’s Sherlock; and more. We conclude with a unit on Afro-Asian filmic duet, where two U.S. minorities perform a pas de deux ever in danger of escalating into a duel. This course studies fiction, film, visual art, and graphics. Course grade is based on papers, exams, and class performance. Lyn Goeringer ENG 478A: Lit Tech & Representation This online class summer course is an introduction to independent podcast production. Looking at narrative, documentary, investigative, artistic, and creative podcasting styles, this class teaches you how to make professional quality audio recordings with a cellphone or digital audio recorder, how to mix and arrange them on your own computer, and how to share them with the world. No experience required. Who this course is great for: Writers who want to find a new outlet for their work People wanting to make documentary pieces Anyone who wants to consider storytelling as an auditory practice People who want to engage in experimental story making Anyone who wants to know more about sound/sound editing practices (It’s great for filmmakers!) Anyone who wants to play with sounds, recording technologies, and more You can do the work for this class anywhere. Bill Vincent FLM 355: Studies in Film Genres Topic: “The Western” One of the earliest and most enduring American film genres is the western. Whether dealing with the western expansion of the United States, the struggle with the tribes of the First Nation for domination, the quest for law and order, or the fight to maintain individual freedom in the face of spreading “civilization,” literally hundreds of westerns have been produced throughout the history of the movies. In this on-line class we shall watch and analyze a wide selection of western movies, from The Great Train Robbery (1903) to The Rider (2017). One book is required – John White’s ‘The Western.’ Assignments will include blogs, blog responses, quizzes, and exams. A once-a-week zoom meeting will be scheduled. Sheng-mei Ma IAH 211B: Area Studies and Multicultural Civilizations: Asia (I) Topic: “Cool Outlaw and Lawman, East and West, in Words and Pictures” Cool outlaw in both East and West has been hot, firing up public imagination from medieval Robin Hood ballads and Outlaws of the Marsh (Shuihu Zhuan) to the BBC’s Sherlock and the millennial China’s Detective Chinatown. Law-abiding readers and moviegoers project their discontent and rebellious impulse onto outlaws. Such transgressive flirting is counterpointed by a fascination with lawman, be it the rational genius of Howard Fast’s nisei Detective Masao Masuto or Ruth Rendell’s The Speaker of Mandarin. Indeed, the thin line between outlaw and lawman, violence and justice, cold-bloodedness and passion, East and West is so blurred that it begs the question of such distinction in our global village. This course pairs Satanic serial killers with God-like serial detectives, represented in both fiction and film. The latter hails from Hollywood and Huallywood, the tinsel towns bathed in the Californian sun or soft-powered by Beijing. The grade is based on seven papers due at the end of each week.
2205	dbpedia	2	26	https://www.themoviedb.org/collection/38451-charlie-chan-warner-oland-collection%3Flanguage%3Den-US	en	Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) Filmreihe	https://media.themoviedb…uVVEM7bafSBy.jpg	https://media.themoviedb…uVVEM7bafSBy.jpg	[ "https://www.themoviedb.org/assets/2/v4/logos/v2/blue_short-8e7b30f73a4020692ccca9c88bafe5dcb6f8a62a4c6bc55cd9ba82bb2cd95f6c.svg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w300_and_h450_bestv2/ySnPH0NawINceIruVVEM7bafSBy.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w64_and_h64_face/1WZmRVQsfjK8hwzbnaIy6WK41fr.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w64_and_h64_face/fh9RufZ6VQjKGFVtXFr3wv2MYCd.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w64_and_h64_face/lY9HYxntrYtN4HpmaHh9NUNZ8Hh.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w64_and_h64_face/fVi0QkiziavXB8HnWk5NzRcnCO1.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w64_and_h64_face/aL4rV0rDtnNjHocXITevohuj9e2.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w64_and_h64_face/7ZS9i6T3QcCEpDMzLVs5jGzrnqI.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w64_and_h64_face/ikRdqKBJ7UCAB1xNb67dVSYoOyZ.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w64_and_h64_face/vJZMJdGNZWRA0zJw9KIp2KXVis3.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w64_and_h64_face/licqJqTgFOz8BQoBcxB31pZoRNU.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w64_and_h64_face/hym2kXtIPMqXLlnzDANzj82zvJm.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w64_and_h64_face/dyzz19oA90O2eoxlabrtXV1O8UE.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w64_and_h64_face/lU4IW6zThjvCEc3PeuBCuFQBtQ0.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w64_and_h64_face/iYZZKO3n27iKGduqSExNdPB2F6D.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w64_and_h64_face/qgTEj1k6BWRQVzBCan2kxZKsS6D.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w64_and_h64_face/ecUP4Ja2FeuFZv9ADwuxs8uUHrs.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w64_and_h64_face/pA5Ec1YCEGcH1XgRWmBWsOmTVfF.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w64_and_h64_face/isOUSJrLtcqY5wlMd4997g8KJ9G.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w64_and_h64_face/fB8CQdxFjPAmWDI9FIVTtkGszFZ.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w64_and_h64_face/al0ZaNyWF5GB9TOMTvYuoW9vHty.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w94_and_h141_bestv2/6UMHZt7Pr5N5iRwbWrBDzr0mzXP.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w94_and_h141_bestv2/oq1NH2ZJkkp31zzOqXiCOeGnLqj.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w94_and_h141_bestv2/7Bk8bbGOsvSMqY33FCbxcHt40M9.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w94_and_h141_bestv2/a54kh5AoOYt9ShVWVvmbNcHfmRb.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w94_and_h141_bestv2/2Uck6WUmK9QuV9qgxWLybdxea6W.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w94_and_h141_bestv2/wfnnyrPbXxm3TQ7Eu3mkONZ18T8.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w94_and_h141_bestv2/leUDQsYg3X6IbPxCppNJODu1Vf8.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w94_and_h141_bestv2/1skaeqBp4h3jjXrYV6Qt2759Epb.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w94_and_h141_bestv2/g7Fq1naVCuIPPI75j7SJwEvlwAk.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w94_and_h141_bestv2/ewpElWzisU83EnZe8YGaZYX8xzw.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w94_and_h141_bestv2/n7CLgnusrof8kIfPmagu0h659vb.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w94_and_h141_bestv2/n02zNAllSZq7KpEKTRTUtKV1955.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w94_and_h141_bestv2/xM3HEdNLnJofx6rmj5i4Ha5dquP.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w94_and_h141_bestv2/4a0iIxRy17FqwLeFh1bZ78ooy6J.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w94_and_h141_bestv2/60aIC1jxjsknG4c11lvUxsVzW9b.jpg", "https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w94_and_h141_bestv2/5tFNym9qNzVfUI77t6JdYVgnDdL.jpg", "https://www.themoviedb.org/assets/2/v4/logos/v2/blue_square_2-d537fb228cf3ded904ef09b136fe3fec72548ebc1fea3fbbd1ad9e36364db38b.svg" ]	[]	[]	[ "Movies", "TV Shows", "Streaming", "Reviews", "API", "Actors", "Actresses", "Photos", "User Ratings", "Synopsis", "Trailers", "Teasers", "Credits", "Cast" ]	null	[]	null	Charlie Chan Chanthology	de	/assets/2/apple-touch-icon-57ed4b3b0450fd5e9a0c20f34e814b82adaa1085c79bdde2f00ca8787b63d2c4.png	The Movie Database	https://www.themoviedb.org/collection/38451-charlie-chan-warner-oland-collection	Charlie steps in to solve the murder of a wealthy American found dead in a London hotel. Settings include London, Nice, San Remo, Honolulu and Hong Kong. Fast-paced with lots of wisecracking. The first film to star Warner Oland as Charlie Chan. Charlie is hired to deliver a pearl necklace to a millionaire at his ranch. When murder intervenes he disguises himself as a Chinese servant and begins sleuthing.
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"https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/33c4cef6071e8d3a1e6189710edf2a666de1e151f53249d7b60cacbc464b0921?s=50&d=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.wp.com%2Fi%2Flogo%2Fwpcom-gray-white.png", "https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?v=noscript" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Author ellenandjim" ]	2024-06-17T20:40:06-05:00	Posts about film studies written by ellenandjim	en	https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/33c4cef6071e8d3a1e6189710edf2a666de1e151f53249d7b60cacbc464b0921?s=32	Ellen And Jim Have A Blog, Two	https://ellenandjim.wordpress.com/category/film-studies/	Phiz (Hablot Browne), “Little Dorrit’s Party” — the chapter where we accompany Amy Dorrit and Maggie who walk, sit, and sleep on the streets all night long … I pretend to-night that I am at a party … I could never have been any use, if I had not pretended a little … Three o’clock, and half-past three, and they had passed over London Bridge. They had heard the rush of the tide against obstacles; and looked down, awed, through the dark vapour on the river; had seen little spots of lighted water where the bridge lamps were reflected, shining like demon eyes, with a terrible fascination in them for guilt and misery. They had shrunk past homeless people, lying coiled up in nooks. They had run from drunkards. They had started from slinking men, whistling and signing to one another at bye corners, or running away at full speed. Though everywhere the leader and the guide, Little Dorrit, happy for once in her youthful appearance, feigned to cling to and rely upon Maggy. And more than once some voice, from among a knot of brawling or prowling figures in their path, had called out to the rest to ‘let the woman and the child go by! … This was Little Dorrit’s party. The shame, desertion, wretchedness, and exposure of the great capital; the wet, the cold, the slow hours, and the swift clouds of the dismal night. This was the party from which Little Dorrit went home, jaded, in the first grey mist of a rainy morning. — Bk 1, Ch 14, “Little Dorrit’s Party” Dear friends and readers, I must not shirk writing about my listserv group’s reading and discussion of Dickens’s magnificent masterpiece novel, Little Dorrit, which we began mid-October 2023 and have just concluded this past week, early January 2024. It is one of several such astonishing partly because so long works of art to appear in the mid- to later 19th century in Europe: they include Dickens’s own Bleak House, A Tale of Two Cities, Thackeray’s Vanity Fair, Eliot’s Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda, Tolstoy’s War and Peace and Anna Karenina; Trollope has several, Balzac, Manzoni’s I Promessi Sposi. The type continues into the 20th century. I’m not eager to write about Dickens’s because there is a problem with it, recognized early on. While it sold well (as did all Dickens’s novels), before the end of the century, the consensus was it was the “weakest” of Dickens’s novels! How can this be? Shaw was the first to counter and then override the condemnation by showing Dickens’s voiced view, is deep clearly articulated understanding of how society’s and gov’ts and institutions operate to keep a egregiously snobbish, greedy, lazy upper class (aristocracy and the very wealthy merchants and landowners just before) the only rich who control everyone else for the benefit of these specific individuals. We move from entities created in order to Do Nothing, to Thwart Anything Being Done, to keep Society dysfunctional for most, to the marketplaces of capitalism, from the smallest to the supposedly largest institution and ritual is laid bare before us. The epidemic disease is a fixation with getting as much money as possible and then spending it as ostentatiously as possible. Dickens’s characters are fitted into the lowest of echelons (debtor’s prison) to the upper middling (bankers) and we see how impossible it is for any one or any group of people to begin reforms until there is a change of heart among powerful so profound, they’d almost not be the same people any longer. I strongly recommend Helen Small’s edition for Penguin – her notes on everything you do need to know about London circa 1850s, explanations of the prisons, reprints of Dickens’s first drafts are essential. When Mr Dorrit cracks, becomes confused and thinks himself back in the Marshalsea when in Venice, and quickly dies, and then Frederick out of grief and inability to carry on w/o him, is one of the book’s unbearably moving moments “The night from which no one returns” — Phiz What’s wrong with all this? Nothing. I loved those chapters for their content, as I did the use of imprisonment as a central trope of our lives in the book, the hatred in the book (if not quite honored in his own favorite characters) of worshipped rank, oodles of money, performative false manners, petty egotism, capitalism; I loved and bonded with the good Amy Dorrit (ever shouldering all the burdens of the lives of those she loves, exploited, berated!), the ascetically virtuous Arthur Clennam (who retreats from all forms of profit), was amused by and entertained into accepting many of the well-meaning floundering around them. I have nothing against the soul-wrenching and withering (murdering) of the bad major characters, Mrs Clennam, Mr Dorrit who, poignant as he is, he makes himself a terrific burden on others; these parents utterly ignorant their real impress on their daughter and son. Trilling says there is too much use of cliché for shorthand, too much resort to generalization and abstraction; it won’t do to to have the narrator or story-teller to locate themselves in some non-personal will in which Dickens is seeking for and has some of his characters searching out for: Peace. Dickens explains too much, a muted despair seeps through the book. We miss the sardonic and sharp witted irony in the narrator of Bleak House, here oddly muttered of Bleak House — Sergeant George, Tulkinghorn, Inspector Bucket. The book lacks precisely what Andrew Davies claims for all Dickens novels in his prologue to his episodes: exuberance, buoyancy, crazy humor, excitement, bizarre characters, continual veins of vividness; sexual passion and violence imitated or parodied. This is what Davies introjects into the matter. Claire Foy and Matthew MacFayden extraordinarily superb as Amy and Arthur Why is the book so slow moving, over-wordy, dare I say indecipherable at moments, boring at others? because (I think) Dickens is himself tuning his anger to fit the melancholy and mourning of his hero and heroine; he keeps himself at a distance to provide cool appraisals. Characters like Mrs Clennam, Mrs Gowan, Mrs Merdle, Casby — from evil to abrasive to callous — are put forward for nakedly painful contemplation. There is more pity for Mr Dorrit, more poignancy in his longing in the first half of the book, and adamantine refusal in the second to be respected, not despised. Think of Frederick Dorrit’s hesitancy. There’s nothing funny here. Bleak, grim, extreme mortification (like when Amy Dorrit tries to Clennam for paying Tip’s debt so he won’t be put in the prison) ********************************** Amy and Tim Courtney as Mr Dorrit — just pitch perfect especially in his mad phases I’ve written (at some length) about the wonders, beauty, intimacy, “corrections” (Davies’s word) and improvements in Davies’ Little Dorrit (also Bleak house — vast worlds, and the mistakes of Edzard’s Little Dorrit) where I also tell the stories (details found most concisely at wikipedia) In this blog I will therefore bypass most of the novel to talk of the ending where a veil is finally drawn aside to show us what was the profoundly inhumane violation that started all the action — Arthur’s 20 year separation from his family and England and his return and determination to find out what is the truth about his mother’s vile business and make reparations — for what, he finds sort of, may be finds out at book’s end. At the core of this book remains an unnamed destroyed young woman, Arthur’s mother, whom Arthur’s father, Mr Clennam, married in some clandestine way (perhaps the ancient handfast vows) who Arthur’s uncle cast aside to override with a marriage to the religiously crazed and vindictive second Mrs Clennam (we never learn her first name). The unnamed woman ends up imprisoned in a lunatic asylum, tortured by burning and freezing techniques, and (what else could she do) dies. We are told a ghost haunts the nightmare Clennam house. Arthur was brought up in a continual round of punishment so he should not become like his mother … Something similar happens in other Victorian novels: for example, Scott’s Heart of Mid-lothian. How many people talk about it as the story of a young woman, Effie, whose illegitimate baby died being born or was still born and is now accused or infanticide and about to be murdered by the state. No, it’s the story of Jeannie Deans and her heroic walk to save Effie, and Effie is presented as shallow, narrow, vain, almost deserving what happened to her because she did have sex outside marriage. Sue Johnston is a central witness to what happens in Mrs Clennam’s house, especially the machinations about a will where money was left by the uncle who ended the first clandestine marriage of Arthur’s mother and Mr Clennam and overrode it with the second firmly legal marriage of Mrs Clennam to him. This uncle most improbably leaves a legacy to Amy’s uncle, Frederick, because he played such beautiful music to the unnamed woman at some point; this money is upon Frederick’s death to go to his brother’s youngest daughter. (Tus does Dickens’s go into convolutions to make his plot-design come to a compromised end). This is of course Amy — one of the witnesses is Affery, who all novel long is subject to the painful physical abuse of her husband Flintwinch and lives in terror of him. She is so browbeaten she has learned to think what she sees with her own eyes is a dream. Sue Johnston plays the part with just the frenetic anxiety and loss of selfhood such a person might evince: But this makes no real sense. If Frederick had inherited money, why did he not share it with Mr Dorrit; why does he not tell Amy? It’s these kinds of utter contradictions that point to the book’s story weaknesses. What the point in Dickens’ mind seems to have been is to show this abused woman, this terrified good soul. Another abused woman is Tattycoram, a mulatto orphan whom Mr and Meagles rescue from an institution, but cannot be made to understand they should treat her with consideration and respect, not make her work at the beck and call of their “Pet” daughter, give her the dignity of a human name (Tatty is a nickname one might give a cat). St the close of the book she must return all apologies and abjection to be taken back. Miss Wade who has a similar story of alienation from family but has become distrustful, embittered because of rejection, mistreats Tatty out of her own distorted nature. Little understanding is accorded Miss Wade. A single scene between these fine actresses, Freema Agyeman as Harriet, Maxine Peake as Miss Wade, suggests more of their inner lives than Dickens can Why did Dickens bring them up — in order to castigate them? This resembles the unnamed woman who is never done any justice to but at the end of the novel has her story covered up for the “good” of Arthur, his peace of mind. What? A whole continuum of women deprived are slid over: the breathless agonizingly desperate (for something to do) Flora, not acceptable to Dickens as fat (like the wife he deserted), mentally child-like Maggie, who follows Amy about everywhere … Standing up for herself — by taking on the world’s values, we have Amy’s sister, Fanny, whose power is limited to what she can earn as a dancing girl unless attached to a male with money. I omit the villainesses. The only (inexplicably) jolly woman in the book is Mrs Plornish with her kindly husband also of limited power. The corresponding tender-hearted men include John Chivery, his father, Pancks (the rent collector who like Affery turns on his oppressor at book’s and movie’s end). None of these characters drive the plot-design, where nothing much happens. For examples: the Dorrits are broke; the Dorrits are super-rich; the Dorrits are broke again. Pet (or Minnie), an apparently mindless child-woman brought up by the emotionally incompetent Meagles marries a petty sadist, Gowan himself, whose mother spends the book looking down on the unfortunate girl. Mrs Merdle with her large bosom covered with jewels goes bankrupt after her husband kills himself rather than be exposed as a fraud, embezzler, forger; she snubbed Fanny, Amy’s sister, now Fanny snubs her. Clennam rescues the inventor Doyce to set up a business for him, and then Doyce rescues Clennnam from imprisonment for going bankrupt. Pancks collects and then refuses to collect rent. Tatty leaves the Meagles for Miss Wade; Tatty leaves Miss Wade for the Meagles. Chivery’s heart is broken when Amy prefers Clennam. At least there is no reversal as if it were a fictional story. Have I omitted anything? Humor from the terror Cavaletto fears of Rigaud, a blackmailer and murderer — the great knot in the money angle of the book is Rigaud’s blackmail of Mrs Clennam. The book itself feels like a backdrop or nightmare apart and is still. You are entertained by moments of encounter and reversals. Anton Lesser as Merdle (equivalent of Trollope’s Melmotte) meeting Emma Pierson as Fanny Dorrit holding her own This is part of the book’s “problems”: it lacks a driving forward force. *********************** The book will teach you about the political and economic and social worlds around us today — anatomize or disclose the stupid heartlessness, and socially dysfunctional social systems we must live in today. Sudden insights into terrible aspects of the human character in much variety. Ditto — conveyed by dialogue as much as direct invective. There are extraordinary descriptions of all sorts — from prisons to the Alps, aching beauty caughtm then real streets, buildings, countryside A sudden cascading of characters’ activities which tells us where everyone is. The very ending is transcendent. They paused for a moment on the steps of the portico, looking at the fresh perspective of the street in the autumn morning sun’s bright rays, and then went down. Went down into a modest life of usefulness and happiness. Went down to give a mother’s care, in the fulness of time, to Fanny’s neglected children no less than to their own, and to leave that lady going into Society for ever and a day. Went down to give a tender nurse and friend to Tip for some few years, who was never vexed by the great exactions he made of her in return for the riches he might have given her if he had ever had them, and who lovingly closed his eyes upon the Marshalsea and all its blighted fruits. They went quietly down into the roaring streets, inseparable and blessed; and as they passed along in sunshine and shade, the noisy and the eager, and the arrogant and the froward and the vain, fretted and chafed, and made their usual uproar. — the marriage at novel’s end The book is also filled with unsolved problems — Dickens can carry on at such length only when he has an external plot-design based on outward suspense that truly interests us, e.g., Bleak House. He has not confronted his own buying into central mechanisms for keeping some groups in society miserable, especially women. Ellen A photograph of the snowy Yorkshire Dales (light cover of snow), 2023 (from All Creatures Great & Small) Dear friends and readers, Over the past few years I’ve made a habit of writing Christmas blogs — on movies I’ve seen, Christmas specials of TV series, books or stories read, or as a theme in a long-running TV series (e.g., “Christmas in Poldark“). I suspect I’ve written too many, of which too many were overlong (just type in Christmas in the “search” box to the right side at the bottom). Well, this year I have but one thus far (and may not have another), the ghost stories I read recently in a Politics and Prose online course with a professor of British literature, Victorian specialist, Nicole Miller. I enjoy ghost stories, and myself taught them for about 3 years at George Mason, and know she partly chose the topic as appropriate to Christmas time – she also teaches a much longer-length one at the college where she is (presumably) tenured. The telling of such stories is presented by people today as having been prime entertainment during Christmas in the 19th century, the first era of our present commercialized Christmas increasingly centered on family and friends. John Millais, “Christmas Story-Telling,” “Christmas Supplement,” London News, 20 December 1862 On our Every-Other-Week online Trollope reading group (hosted by the London Trollope Society), we may be said to have almost suffered through one of Trollope’s rare failures, “The Two Heroines of Plumpington”. I say almost because the story was rescued by the hard work and absorbing information the speaker bout the story, Chris Skilton, brought to and out of the story. He showed how autobiographical it slyly is, and its themes of class, ambition, money. After he finished people in the group immediately began to talk of problems or flaws in the story. I offered the idea that writing Christmas stories was such a trial for Trollope, such a struggle to pull off, because Christmas stories have since the inception of this custom been associated with or outright ghost stories, and nothing was further from Trollope’s robust and sceptical temperament — than either the prevalent type, unnerving, uncanny, often with a malevolent revenant, come back to haunt indiscriminately whomever is unlucky enough to enter their imaginary; or the type Dickens seems to have been the first to invent, in his The Christmas Carol, where benign presence (or presences) come down from somewhere determined to retrieve the past, and redeem the present of some suffering wronged or wrong-full person. Is not this It’s a Wonderful Life, even if 20th century disbelief seems to demand a being no-one credits for real, an angel who looks anything but? Clarence, we all instantly remember, needed to be promoted — what a mid-century American comic take for the sake of probability. Henry Travers as Clarence (It’s a Wonderful Life) Miller’s was a very rich course; we met for 2 and 1/2 hours for three sessions (each staying over an extra half hour) and read some interesting (some of the best) stories by Dickens, Henry James, and Edith Wharton. I’ve written about The Turn of the Screw here (as “the problem of moral panic”), and several of the Edith Wharton’s on this blog, Austen Reveries and the gothic section of my website (see Reading … Winter Solstice, “The Lady’s Maid’s Bell,,” “Afterward,” “Mr Jones,” as well as Dickens’s “The Signalman: the trauma of technology.” Before each of the three discussions about the individual authors, Prof Miller held forth on ghost stories themselves, or some aspect of them related to the author we were exploring that session. It seems the form was especially reveled in by British and American authors; and may be said to emerge archetypically from fear of shadows (all sorts) in our homes, accidents and traumas surrounded by an atmosphere of the new large cities, phantoms from newness, unknown “strange” people, eruptions from people’s pasts, the old (haunted houses), the new (scientific discoveries, psychical research), dread of death and the dead (seances). M.R. James (see my blog on recent film adaptations to be found on YouTube) singled out reveling in spectacles theatric, evoking from the mind psychological allurement of dramatic interaction, strong literary high quality (your language must be powerful and precise), frightening and short. The reader must be complicit; the author creative and original. The ghost and Christmas story is bound up with our reaction to winter, the cold, the darkness, change. The story that ends with redemption offers balm to our anxieties over time, non-integration of ourselves (we are left out, left behind), a saving of a desolate soul. This is a view I agree with. ********************************************** The book I used to read Dickens’ ghost stories in is Peter Haining’s Complete Ghost Stories of Charles Dickens, Franlin Watts, 1983, with original (Phiz) illustrations. They are too small to make the nightmare impact intended. I read a number of them and was impressed how the pattern we find in Dickens, of a withdrawn man transformed by an experience of the supernatural recurs; similarly, that Dickens was himself sceptical of the reality of ghosts, despite the Christian providential nature of his paradigms. Near the later part of his life he while traveling with Ellen Ternan and her mother was involved in a disastrous train crash, and the trauma of that is translated into “The Signalman.” Scrooge resembles him in life in numerous ways — which has also been pointed out by others. Alistair Sim as Scrooge on Christmas morning, fairly hysterical with relief as well as cheer Since so many of us have heard or watched A Christmas Carol, and (I assume read about it), I shall keep this section brief (see my blog on how I cried and cried the last time I watched). The famous opening rivets us. Insistence on how Marley was dead. All is dark, bleak, Scrooge a withered utterly selfish sardonic alone old man. The clock tolls throughout the story: there are many bells. The uncanny and inanimate come alive. The point (as in other stories in this volume) is to reform, transform Scrooge. The air he travels through with the “Ghost of Christmas Past” is filled with phantoms. A Blakean world of the dispossessed. “Christmas Past” is presented as a child-like old man. We see the boy abandoned. We see how little it literally cost Fezziwig to make cheerful scenes for all. Christmas present is the ancient Green Man turned sardonic. A cornucopia of delights. The famous boy and girl, Want and Ignorance — wretched, abject. Then the last fear of death. This phase continues modern desolate scenes — like the lighthouse in the storm. Amber colored. Scrooge cannot face that he is not mourned, that he is erased, his things stolen. Then when Scrooge awakens and it is only the next day and he feels he has time to change, the intense joy. An illustration from a volume of Dickens’s Christmas stories, 1867: The apparition, more in the mood of “The Signalman” By contrast, the deeply darkly haunted nature of “The Signalman” and by the end how little explained. This comes right out of Dickens’s own traumatic experience of a vast train crash, where he played the part of a hero, rescuing people at risk of his own life. Prof Miller thought Dickens’s fiction itself as a whole altered after this incident. The man isolated by technology; given no chance to educate himself and live among men due to his class. The earlier stories in the volume are yarns, the later ones sceptical. ****************************************** A still of Michelle Dockery as the awestruck governess, maintaining some calm (Sandy Welch, 2009, framed by a story of an unjust imprisonment of an apparently disposable woman) For Dickens, much of the class time was taken up by “A Christmas Carol,” which is a literary gem, perfect masterpiece and she hardly got to “Signalman,” so she avoided “Turn of the Screw” until near the end — incurring resentment I felt among some of the people in the room who were there to discuss this never-endingly intriguing (ambiguous) novella. I learned that the misogyny has gotten so bad that some people regard the governess as wholly a liar, now living in an asylum (thus degrading her utterly and making the manuscript inexplicable), which explained to me for the first time why Sandy Welch’s 2009 Turn of the Screw is framed by showing us the governess put unfairly into an asylum while the inset flashback story has the children in utter collusion with the evil ghosts (there all right). Quint and Miss Jessel from the 2009 film Flora — look at the child’s face When first published, it was rightly seen as capable of being interpreted as a governess caught between two deeply harmful corrupting spirits and susceptible yet still partly innocent (unknowing fully) children. For Henry James, though I had many of the stories separately in decent editions with introductions and notes, I bought the recommended copy (sold by Politics and Prose too), Ghost Stories of Henry James, Wordsworth edition, 2001, re-issued 2008, with an introduction by Martin Scofield. The book also includes James’s prefaces to all the stories but The Turn of the Screw, and his musings/introduction to The Turn of the Screw. Scofield is very helpful. An early story, “The Ghostly Rental,” surprised me by unnerving me. I began to have the kind of inward fears of myself that M.R. James can provoke. James has the power of sudden single powerful words to make the reader feel a ghost is suddenly caught on a page. There are moral lessons in “Sir Edmund Orme” (against bad actors), and stories that hint at Bluebeard and Medea paradigms (murderous men, vengeful women). There is a coolness here; he undermines beliefs in family love, is himself almost anti-children — who are seen to be collusive and alienating in stories beyond The Screw. In one story, not a ghostly one, a novella, The Other House, James has a group of people murder a child and get away with it. After that I could not read James for years. For Henry James, Miller concentrated on “The Friend of the Friends,” where the friend is no friend to two others, and in the story’s end does all she can to keep them apart (out of jealousy) and “The Jolly Corner,” where the corner is a site of telepathic unnerving doubles, signaling death, as well as a portal to an imagined world where James could overcome his revulsion a reality, and invent richly. The conceit of the “The Friend of the Friends” are the two targeted people each had a parent who died and appeared to them at the moment of death. They are obsessed with meeting but somehow something always comes up to prevent the encounter; until at the death of the woman they do meet, and our narrator believes this enables them to meet ever more. In both stories we are in a thicket of dreams and events that are like the forest of fairy tales. I liked the way she talked of “The Jolly Corner” to make it an explanation of James’s obsessive themes of life, living having passed him by, missing out on being another admirable self, life as an adventure because the need for a sense of security makes the narrator withdraw to seeming safety, but leaving his conscience haunted. Alice Staverton in the story, the childhood friend, could stand in for Constance Fenimore Woolson. Jodhi May as the governess is the victim, if herself neurotic, of Colin Firth, the exploitative master, in Nick Dear’s rendition ************************************* From the edition I was reading, The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton, Scribner, 1973, illustrations Laslo Kubinyi The third and last, the Edith Wharton session seemed to satisfy everyone — equal time given to about 6 stories. Prof Miller saw Wharton as pulling together the theorist, personal experience, a cultivation of art, with a real feel for the uncanny. Her ghost stories are mostly post WW1 (though they can be set back in early modern and 18th century times) and are a reaction to that calamity as well as her study of Freud exploration of the irrational inner life. Dickens is writing Victorian and Wharton 20th century ghost stories, with James bridging the two eras. Yet the characteristics of each are not predictable by era: in James the ghosts erupt from within people, are their terrifying other selves. I should not omit sceptical humor in Dickens (especially from Scrooge), and how quietly good M.R. James is at this In one filmed story of M.R. James, a character needs binoculars in order to see the ghostly castle Wharton’s stories are of severe female oppression/ imprisonment, of people haunted by dead people, some of whom remove a beloved from us. In “Kerfol” (see the above illustration) an early modern woman is kept alone as in a cage and each time she finds a companion in a dog, the dog is slaughtered; “Mr Jones” reveals a similar story that occurred 2 centuries ago, with a vampire controlling two women in the mansion in the present day, seemingly idyllic. These stories are filled with places women must flee from. “Pomegranate Seed” differs in being aligned with the myth of Persephone, only now Persephone is a dead wife who writes letters to her husband now married to our heroine, letters which deprive him of life’s blood, he himself goes grey, feebler, and eventually, like the husband in “Afterward” disappears. I remember how when I first read them, they made me feel dread I would lose Jim similarly. Well I’ve lost him, but not to a ghost. Like James, some of these stories are intended to baffle us, with the ghost visible only to the seer. “Fullness of Life” an early, and “All Souls” a late story both concentrate sheerly on the inner life of the protagonist, so there is little left of the Victorian gothic furniture, not even revenants for sure. Gentle souls, hounded, abandoned in a sinister silence — “Afterward” has the heroine for the rest of her life in that still house in the library room with some “horror” she feels is there forever after. This is like the person who sees these accusatory eyes after he has done some morally reprehensible (if not criminal) deed. From “Afterward:” this is before the woman has lost her husband but has premonitions, glimpses a ghost from the old house’s parapet As with Dickens and James, but more so (more stories) Wharton’s ghost stories have been filmed marvelously well, in her case by the BBC in the 1980s in a series called Shades of Darkness, produced (naturally) for Christmas. “Bewitched” becomes a vampire-witch story as Eileen Atkins as the grim central heroine (reminding me of the close of Ethan Frome) demands the men in the room drive a stake through the heart of a dead woman said to be appearing to and harassing her worn husband. ***************************************** I’m probably not doing justice to the three classes or the stories: nowadays my notes are scarcely readable: my hands cannot hold a pencil tight enough and write the Pitman forms precisely accurately enough to read back all that I am trying to get down — my hands are the ghosts of what they have been. Still I hope I have said enough that is understandable that might lead my reader to read some of these stories and see the movies for yourself. It’s not true that such matter must be short; the very best I know of are novellas, and if I had the courage, I’d do a course in these five: Margaret Oliphant’s Beleaguered City, Henry James’s Turn of the Screw, Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, Susan Hill’s Woman in Black, and Valerie Martin’s Mary Reilly. All but one (Beleaguered City) have been filmed, all but one by a woman,and two of these (Hill House and Woman in Black) have produced the two most frightening the memorable (as in leaving me with nightmare images I am afraid my mind will call up — Hill House, Robert Wise, 1960; and Woman in Black, 1993 BBC). I’d be grateful to any reader of this blog who can cite further novella-long brilliant ghost stories. Pauline Moran as the terrifying “woman in black,” a woman deprived of her child, who goes about snatching other children — I actually still fear seeing this image at the other end of a room late at night We have seemed to move away from Winter Solstice or Christmas. So we return to our respectable or seasonal acceptable topic briefly. So why are so many a typical Christmas story also a ghost story? Because as the year closes in, we want to retrieve time, look for redemption for ourselves, but also remember the past with all its pain and loss and seek a way to express this most deeply. We do not look for moral lessons, and pace Trollope, are not longing for stories of charity and forgiveness as such, but only as the latter theme (forgiveness) works itself into what has been so harmful for us across our lives. For the rest of the year the delving into the atavistic parts of the human psyche, condition, experience, Kafka-like (see Jack Sullivan’s little book on ghost stories as “elegant nightmares”) is what ghost stories do. After all this I cannot say “Merry Christmas!” but I can wish for us all, after the nervous laughter has done its distancing work from the experience of the ghost story (how we ended Miller’s class), hope for us all that the experience of retrieval and redemption Dickens dreamed up and Frank Capra re-caught again will be the one we know. Now I ask my readers to forgive me: I am very sad this year; the death of my beloved female cat, Clarycat, has made this year, this Christmas, one where I am feeling the years’ losses and wish I could be haunted by her out of her loyal love for me. Clarycat missing us, photographed close-up during one summer time away for Jim and I Ellen Bill Nighy as Mr Williams Aimee Woods as Miss Harris (Living, 2022, Ishiguro and Nighy, the moving spirits) Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer presented as timeless, and Kitty Oppenheimer and Emily Blunt playing her as she grew older (Oppenheimer, 2023) This is to defy the ludicrous pairing of the Greta Gertwig’s Barbie movie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. Barbie is a doll with a toxic body for women (one of the contributors to eating disorders) with a look of joyful compliance on her face (any kind of sex, any kind of capitalism) Living is about the preciousness of life however poignant and inadequate and short-lasting our moments of joy. I’m combining Oppenheimer with this relatively recent film, Living, screenplay writer Kazuo Ishiguro, starring Bill Nighy. Living is now available streaming. They are linked because Ishiguro is Japanese-British and a great deal of his deeply poignant tragic outlook comes from his having grown up in a Japan upon which these atom bombs were leased, and having seen the horrific damage radiation and the Promethean explosion caused); Ikiru is a Japanese product. I invite others to make these your pair for returning to going out to the movies this week and the still real pleasures of streaming from home. ******************************************************* Tom Burke as the failed writer who helps Mr Williams not to be robbed and to live a little in a local working class spa Last night I re-watched Living — I was able to dwell deeply in it. It’s a redo of Kurosawa’s Ikiru — while the confrontational theme is the indifference of bureaucracy to citizens in need of a service or help (I know too much about that now from the dysfunctional passport agency), the deeper theme is life seen through the lens of a man’s coming death: his attempt to live and how poignant this is; his moving the bureaucracy to do one small good for a constituency, a playground for a group of working class women for their children. A series of links (I am crediting Russell Stone and Stephanie Simcox for all of these; they were presented during class at OLLI at Mason when the class had watched Living and then discussed the film together — and are sparing me the need to work to produce any longer remarks) 1, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVo5kLt_-BU 2. . https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/-it-s-about-procrastination-actor-bill-nighy-on-the-award-winning-living-156252229997 3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVMS7X0YIOk 4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPTNYIyRk4U&t=933s Also of interest: 5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzSf_bnqLoQ I think Living superior to Ikiru because the secondary people whom Mr Williams meets are far more personalized, individuated, come across as real complex people. In Kurosawa’s film, all the characters but the hero remain generalized types. I felt for Tom Burke as the anonymous gifted writer Mr Williams meets at a working class British spa. He conveyed the compassion and despair and acceptance of life the movie intended. *********************** This afternoon I saw Oppenheimer. Here are two excellent documentaries you can accompany the film with (for context). First, an outline of the story in this review: https://tinyurl.com/y9t4sctf On YouTube To end all war: Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb — is truly worth it, 1 hour and one half — includes how the US govt hounded him when he tried to control the use of this bomb. I don’t know who has the power to do this but someone has blocked my transfer of the YouTube video from YouTube to this site. I can’t even use the link as that produces a black box. The link here will get you to the right page. It’s the first video on top. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=To+end+all+war%3A+Oppenheimer+and+the+Atomic+Bomb+ Oppenheimer, the real story, 2023 documentary available at BritBox and on Prime Video, is also very good, more narrowly autobiographical. On Nolan’s movie itself, my take: The movie theater actually seemed to have a lot of people — not super-crowded but it did not seem empty. Two auditoriums for Oppenheimer, and one for Barbie and something else. Go see it, vote for it in effect. So honest reaction. The first 20 minutes — very irritating. I almost left but that I am in this movie course and so should sit there for the sake of the class and hoped-for discussion to come. Ridiculously unreal conversations emphasizing sarcasms; conversation is not a trading of jeering barbs except if you want to provoke laughter in a movie-house from the inane. But then the story kicked in. Just seen it the one time so unaware when this started. When the riveting story matter of the hounding of Oppenheimer in this small closed room began and alternated with more than one time line, I was pulled in. Nolan used color to try to indicate closer to the present but he was not consistent. That the movie is meant to be seen more than once is shown by how at the close we revert in memory (and with brief flashbacks) to what we didn’t realize was prime fodder for this “closed hearing.” For example, what did Oppenheimer talk with Einstein about while Lewis Strauss became enraged as he felt snubbed. I have not read American Prometheus and it strikes me this is one of those films where there is an interaction between book and film. So let me move to what’s important: it is vindication of Oppenheimer. If you knew only vaguely that he was persecuted (as was his Russian counterpart, another of these “geniuses”), now you know his life story, the 1930s experience of communism-socialism (the film is too careful here and afraid to show truly how there was an American communist party supporting the Spanish republicans), Oppenheimer’s first mistress (gratuitous embarrassing nakedness) and then back and forth, not always easy to follow how the Manhattan project emerged. Full disclosure: when I was a child my father would tell me what an evil man was Edward Teller, profoundly obtuse about what nuclear bombs could do. Emily Blunt is terrific in her part; Branagh gets to pay Nils Bor — a tremendous compliment. I know many of the names because of years of reading Feynman’s “Los Alamos from Below” — he was very much a junior person. I admit getting a great kick out of picking out the actor playing those drums — dressed up like a young Feynman — Feynman did play those drums as the first test went off. He was a socially awkward nervous man and this part of his way of participating in social life. I thought the final ending through maybe not historical true, where all characters get together to expose Stuart Lewis very effective, but wrong-headed the way US movies can be — it was the situation — the McCarthyite era that Lewis exploited. There are some important matters left out of the film: ought the US to have dropped the first bomb; should the allies have tried to persuade the Japanese these were horrifically deadly bombs? could we have. More realistically ought we to have dropped the 2nd within 3 days, giving the Japanese so little time to respond to the first. Also how devastating are the deadly results of radiation. I have some links in the comments to discussions of these issues. Cillian Murphy’s career should be made (if it hasn’t been already) — except he is not a glamorous male icon. Ditto Emily Blunt. Don’t miss it. Fun for me was to spot the actor playing Richard Feynman. I taught his Surely You’re Joking, Mr Feynman! and What Do You Care What Other People Think! in a course called Advanced Writing on the Natural Science and Tech at least 33 times; the latter includes his ironic (hilarious and serious) “Los Alamos from Below,” where he is a “low person” but there and yes he played the bongo drums frequently and played them through the first denotation of the atomic bomb. The actor’s hair and dress recalled Feynman. Feynman did write separately and seriously about the dangers of these nuclear bombs, but (unlike Oppenheimer) he denied feeling guilt. For the New Statesman, Pippa Bailey wrote a positive review dwelling on the artistic techniques, uses of color and black-and-white to reveal two perspectives across the film: Oppenheimer’s Tormented Soul. Manohla Dargis also writes fully and intelligently about the film as art and story: A Man for Our Time. The first gadget: It seems to me crucially important as many people as possible see at least the first documentary as we hear Putin and Biden (more quietly) go to it, implicitly threaten one another with (in Biden’s case now multi-cluster bombs) and Putin modern nuclear weapons. That would certainly end all wars. See below Amy Goodman’s interviews with historians of this project (in the comments), and our nuclear age: omitted from the film is any serious consideration of the effects of radiation and an alternative consideration of where the US should have used these bombs. Ellen Bruno, the irresistible son (Enzo Staiola) Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorani), his desperate father lands a job (Bicycle Thieves) Silvana (Silvana Mangano), one of two central heroines rice workers Francesca (Doris Dowling), her rival & friend A young Vittorio Gassman, tremendously gifted man (Bitter Rice) Friends and readers, You owe this blog review to my observing that coming this fall, there will be two movie courses I know I’ll love at OLLI at AU (under headers like “moral and gender studies”) and one I’m taking just now at OLLI at Mason (less pretentious but still recent) fine movies. To my also noticing that Susan Bordo’s substack newsletter endorsing with grandiose language a second movie just made from Nabokov’s pornographic Lolita (the latest by Adrian Lyne, who characteristically makes movies with “queers” the vulnerable victim). Both films are violent pornography targeting women, from a book where an author (Nabokov) exploits the use of irony to encourage his audience to revel in sado-masochism and cruelty to women. Third, the resounding success of Succession: about as vicious a set of capitalist puppets as one can find (with the kick how they make fun of others, and subtextually exposing “weakness”). Somewhere some place here on the Internet someone ought to be pointing to actual great, good, nobly moral films. I studied and taught these as part of my Italian Novels of the 20th century course this past spring, but they transcend their particular origin while remaining firmly products of the post WW2 era. Briefly, Italian neo-realistic films made between 1946 and sometime in the 1970s. There are recognized 7 indisputable masterpieces of this subgenre in Italian, of which Bicycles Thieves is one. What they share: a mode of visual storytelling such that the cameras are set into a location of ordinary scenic reality, be it city really extant or country, or places – apartment houses, clubs – where ordinary people live, work, play. The people of the story are impoverished, desperately deprived which we see them every day coping with; our characters who we are to care intensely about are in some kind of crisis – and the way the situation is portrayed the viewer is made to imagine reality does not have to be this way: Rossellini Open City, Rome (Anna Magnani); Paisan Germany Year Zero (1946); 2 more by Di Sica, Shoeshine, and Umberto D (the 1st about children, the second people needing their pension); Visconti’s The Earth Trembles. A not quite forgotten equivalent, pushed to the side because by an open communist, using box office stars and film noir techniques, Giuseppe De Santis, Bitter Rice (Riso Amaro) about women rice field workers; also forgotten is a central woman screenplay writer for all many of these, Suso Cecchi d’Amico. These have their origins in the 1930s, in the US in King Vidor Our Daily Bread, in Italy in the 1930s where there was no tightly controlled single govt (as in Germany) so class conflict was centrally on the agenda, and a number of central people in the Neo-realistic films got their start in Mussolini’s theaters; France with Jean Renoir (coming out of German Expressionism); UK so complicated to discuss (the class system upheld still ) and US too sad (the intransigent anti-socialist McCarthy era) so all we’ve got at the time is William Wyler (remember The Ox-bow Incident) and Frank Capra, Marty and Pawnbroker. In England in the 1950s, a few unforgettable ones are made where ironic deep rebellion is central: The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, This Sporting Life, Room at the Top, A Touch of Honey (again just one by a woman allowed in). From perspective of literary people this kind of cinema in Italy is 1890s verismo novels ( which you may catch in Operas like Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticano and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci). For England and the US short realistic novellas and plays (Angry Young Men type or very sad). The Soviet school of cinema in the early 20th century influenced these 20 years of films. Montage invented, juxtaposition. I could stop here and just cite two wonderful video discussions. Neorealistic films: Mark Shiel, Life as It is: Just on Bitter Rice: Brian Berry ******** But I’ll include a couple of paragraphs each: Some have described The Bicycle Thieves and others of the famous seven as dramas of loneliness, of isolation. Whether it be that Antonio is tricked by a group of bicycle thieves, or himself set upon a community who defends the bicycle thief or attack him for stealing one of theirs, he is ever alone. Amid the worst thing of all: anonymous crowds. We are so used to it we don’t think about it – the rehearsal of a play or entertainment in the same spot a political meeting is held. Repeated disjunctions between the image we see and what is asserted about it. The point endlessly is social reform, a regeneration of a sense of self – as in Carlo Levi’s argument for eradicating fascism from Italy and set up a genuinely socialist egalitarian society, the basis must be self-esteem for all. That you have the right to be indignant, to fight for rights for rights. The one hopeful note is the boy, his son, better than him at recognizing absurdity, at sticking to a task, at sheer loving. The film asks the question of what is a hero? It’s anti-Italian state in all its forms. Dramatizing sports (very popular) but also gambling and fortune telling. Camerini in the 30s depicted the depression, unusual but not forbidden altogether, using inexperienced actors, improvisation, and in later years Camerini learned to talk of his use of montage – stills following stills. The story element not upper class. It also as far as it dares exposes the uselessness, meagreness of the Catholic church’s endeavors to function as a charitable space within a community. Bicycle Thieves shows a communal tragedy. Music is very evocative – in many of these films the musical paratexts and themes are central to part o their effect: they repeat and repeat. Are accused of sentimentality – maybe to the super-rich it is despicable sentimental to care about the troubles of others but I daresay that is not true of our own. The American Everyone’s Protest Novel is sentimental. Read Marilyn Fabe’s Closely Watched Films, Chapter 6: Bicycle Thieves (you must scroll down and click to enlarge) ******** Berry suggested Bitter Rice combined the techniques and outlook of neo-realism with highly melodramatic uses of film noir (especially at film’s end in the granary) – dark and light imagery. The presence of box office stars also skews it so we get highly theatrical presentations – the death by hanging from a hook of Walter (Vittorio Gassman), the PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) of Silvana after she’s been raped, led to shoot people, betray the other rice workers that leads to her suicide by jumping from the high top of a watchtower. Berry talks of 2 romances, but I fail to see how Walter’s behavior to either woman can be seen as romantic: the old myth of women attracted to vicious men is operative in this film. Ralph Vallone as Marlo, a brother type. Among the many feminocentric (before the word existed) motifs of the film is women’s friendships, women as a support network for one another – conversations about things other than men. It passes the Bechtel test before Bechtel was born. Women with babies. The central couple of the film are Francesca and Silvana – we have a use of announcer for over-voice. The film expands our geographical temporal understanding of Italian realities. On Silvana Mangano. To make a somewhat respectable career, she was somewhat careful what roles she took, and never became as famous or rich as she could have. This one of her early key remembered films. She also married the director and helped his career -– de Laurentis. As a committed Giuseppe de Santis was determined to expose the false myths about women as producers of food (that was the second essay I sent – a Song of Protest). Rice workers had a reputation for militancy. Silvana dressed to evoke Rita Hayworth (remember the poster poor Antonio in Bicycle Thieves was putting up so badly was of Rita Hayworth). Bitter Rice evokes a connection between the fecund female body and the landscape — this kind of association is a throwback, refusing to acknowledge independent individual action the way men are granted, she is not an animal. To De Santis credit the film is not picturesque, not sentimental; you redeem yourself by working; fighting over rules against non-union people are part of the reality. Silvana reads photo novels, dances American style dances (her mother was English); she is aspirational, moody irritable – all this sets her apart and makes her friendly with Francesca also an outsider. Read Pasquale Ianone: A Field In Italy Unlike Bicycle Thieves, Bitter Rice was excluded from chief festivals, criticized heavily as left-wing propaganda, nonetheless it made its way as proletarian romance, 5th highest grossing film in Italy 1949-50; NYTimes critic liked its plainness and directness. Another essays about its direct Italian context and defiance of fascist stereotypes show it was meant to expose the pressure women into becoming work horses, mothers as if that would make them powerful and happy. *********************** And now I have for a while concluded all the blogs I wanted to make out of the wonderful course I taught this spring, which matter I will do again, but with a different set of books & films from the era. The women returning to their shacks, working, laughing in the wet and rain Seeking the stolen bicycle in the downpour Ellen 1963 Tom Jones: Tom (Albert Finney), Sophia (Susannah York) — Tony Richardson & Tom Osborne (see blog) 1997 Tom Jones Fielding keeping count of characters passing by every which way (John Sessions) — Simon Burke & Metin Huseyin (see blog) 2023 Tom Jones Tom (Solly McLeod) and his mother, Bridget Allworthy (Felicity Montagu) overcome as they recognize one another as mother and son — Gwyneth Hughes and Georgia Parris (blog just below) Tom: Can a man ever be a gentleman if he doesn’t know who his father is? Aunt Bridget: Kindness and good conduct make a true gentleman … Dear friends and readers — and movie watchers, I’ve been having this deeply pleasurable time watching all three Tom Jones movies in a row, then separately, and then returning to the book, which I taught at both OLLIs in 2015, and then watching them all over again. Reading Osborne’s screenplay! all of which I’ve also written many blogs about (here at Ellen and Jim, there at Austen Reveries, and one paper at academia.edu.) Not to omit a 10 page paper long ago (1966, long lost sight of) as an undergraduate on the plot-design and introductory ironic chapters! Not to worry, this is not going to be another blow-by-blow account. Nowadays I don’t need to do that because of all the recaps on the Internet, and especially when it’s the tone and ideas/themes figured forth that matter rather than the literal happenings (though these count too). I’ve found 4 very thorough recaps for you. What these do not have and I’ve found little evidence for on popular sites is any knowledge of Henry Fielding’s book. The points I want to make about the first two movies follow in block form; the third I expatiate a bit. In 1963 the daring highly original independent artist, Tony Richardson, together with the playwright, John Osborne, one of those angry young men who wrote all male-centered plays, created a highly memorable striking 2 hours and 8 minutes of brilliant film making for the cinema. Under the impression the book is this good-natured and benign comedy (however savage in action, amoral in norms, coolly detached when it comes to poetic justice), distanced by a narrator, they elected to imitate film types — so we get speeding up and antics as if this were silent film with comical silent film type music. They opted (perhaps unconsciously) to make sex a hilarious joke (this is a male film where rape is a kind of joke, as it is in Fielding’s book). Subversive mischief is the feel of the whole thing. No one even now who ever sees the film can forget the hunt (first time ever done on film), the intensely sensual eating at one another of Tom and Mrs Waters (aka Jenny Jones [Joyce Redman) thought to be his mother at that moment. Both the 1997 and 2023 serials include an imitation of both. The terrified much put-upon Partridge (the unforgettable Jack MacGowan — the movie has a number of the Ealing comedy regulars in it) trying to hold up Tom on the road The characters remain at a distance from us, like puppets occasionally coming alive for intensities of emotion, both joy and exhilarated varieties. The film is brought to an end suddenly by replacing the last quarter of the novel with an imitation of Gay’s Beggar’s Opera, where Tom as Macheath comes near hanging, and he and Sophia finally fall into one another arms. Now and again Osborne’s screenplay has appercus about the action, humane nature, life that are worth a serious read and do show an understanding of Fielding’s work. I recommend studying the published screenplay which comes with 200 stills in black-and-white picked and judiciously scattered by Robert Hughes so as to repeat something of the experience with some understanding of what this is about that you imagine you are having in the movie-theater. ******************************************** In 1997 one of the finest of the BBC screenplay writers, Simon Burke, and the thoroughly professional director, Metin Huseyin, decided to make a paean to Fielding and his book, to truly faithfully put onto the screen a translation of as much of the book as they could, making Fielding a presence in the film as narrator, voice-over, traffic director, ironic commentator. I find it superior to either of the other two in conveying the complex and contradictory meanings of the book. The serial is 5 hours long and so the only one which can do justice to the tangled series of diabolical conspiracies (however burlesquely done) that come near to destroying Tom for real. The mood is comical melodrama for the characters as they come and go (however Polonius like this sounds). They’ve altered the frat boy forgiven perspective of the book: this is a pro-active Sophia (Samantha Morton), accompanied by an actively involved wry Honor (Kathy Burke inimitable. risking her job to do the right thing). Sophia is an overt feminist – she will not marry Tom until he proves himself faithful for two years (and we see in the fast forward of two small children, that he was made to so wait). The film-makers bring in the original allusions more: Mrs Waters (Camille Couduri) half-naked following Tom is a leering Eurydice and he a bewildered Orpheus as in the book. Note how different is the meeting of Tom (Max Beasley) and Partridge (Ron Cook) on the road — they hug frantically as long-lost father and son Now the characters are allowed to come up close to us as people: they considerably softened Mr Allworthy so that Benjamin Whitlow continually shows love, forgiveness, fondness for Tom, appreciation of him until Tom is betrayed by his own over-emotionalism (we are expected to feel in the film and also the book) upon Mr Allworthy’s recovery. Mrs Bridget (Tessa Peake-Jones) is very fond of Tom throughout; she tells him it’s necessary to do more than be virtuous; one must appear so. Here the women are not slathering all over Tom. I can’t speak too highly of Frances de la Tour as Aunt Western (crazed for status, money, luxury), Lindsay Duncan as Lady Bellaston, turned into a fiendish over-sexed termagant (a Madame de Merteuil), with Peter Capaldi as stalking rapist also roused by indignation, jealousy. The ending here resembles Les Liaisons Dangereuses as they attempt to press-gang, humiliate, frame, drive Tom into murder. They take the film’s social criticism of the society at the time seriously, have a wider range of application (like the Jacobite war), even if at the end the Team Tom has formed and saves Tom out of gratitude. Tom quietly takes charge of himself by the end of the third episode and is saving Nancy, refusing promiscuous sex (realizing how degraded he’s become). It’s also hilariously funny as the outward antics show the good characters hysterically trying to escape the nooses the bad characters set up for them, with people jumping out of windows. There are two spontaneous duels: Brian Blessed magnificent as Western simply shoots Fellamar – why bother with swords? It’s a very satisfying film. Watch it over and over. Sophia and Tom at the piano, Squire Western singing along … a joyous moment *************************************** And so we come to our newest entry: Gwyneth Hughes and Georgia Parris’s iteration is outstanding for having switched the perspective to that of a woman: our narrator is now Sophia (Sophia Wilde), brought over from Jamaica as the child of an enslaved black woman Squire Western impregnated (actually named! Beneba!) because the old man, Western (Alun Armstrong become a weakly affectionate lonely man) needs an heir and some hope in the form of a next generation. She speaks in the tone of deep memory; she organizes the events in the sequence she tells them so that she has equal time. Both Tom and Sophia are then are outcasts brought tenuously into the families now. Gwyneth Hughes wrote Miss Austen Regrets and if you follow her career has a record of turning masculinized works into women-centered ones with a genuinely female POV dominating (see my blog on her Five Days). Hughes’s Aunt Western (Shirley Henderson) says she never married and honestly doesn’t see why women should; she also hilariously and also frankly worries over the state of Sophia’s hair when her black lady’s maid, Honor, is not there to make it look polished or styled. Pearl Mackie as Honor is made to do a reprise of Kathy Burke only now the two women (Sophie and Honor) become equals and friends. Sneaking out to go on the road after Tom and to London to find the (false) safety of Lady Bellaston (played by the enormously tall and statuesque Hannah Waddington) and “Aunt” Harriet (Tamzin Merchant who in the book is Sophia’s cousin, Tamzin Merchant) who flees Mr Fitzpatrick far less frantically than in the book where his violence is rightly taken seriously. The new important emphasis is an increase of moral gravitas for this Tom: Solly McLeod evidences a tender gravity towards Sophia and an overt selfless kindness throughout — that is indeed what makes him a gentleman. In this film he worries about this as no Tom has before him. Well before he has to be stopped jumping into women’s beds; he hates writing the lying letter to Lady Bellaston as “it’s ugly.” Told by Black George that George stole the 500£ Mr Allworthy (James Fleet, playing his usual self-deprecating way) meant for Tom, and that he used it to build a new house for his family, Tom says he is glad to have been of use. The actor may have been chosen because he’s taller than Waddington (so their liaison will not seem grotesque), but he is no macho male (not a body-built like Sam Heughan aka Jamie from Outlander), and worries about hurting other people’s feelings. He is not so much imprudent (the incident of the drunkenness after Mr Allworthy recovers from an illness is omitted) but rather not looking out for himself: unsuspicious is the note hit. Partridge (Daniel Rigby) here becomes a hanger-on as he does not in the other versions (Fielding’s included) because Tom does have a mind of his own — the comedy comes from this Partridge’s yearning to return home. Close up we see there is no harm in the Squire and his sister The use of a female narrator and female POV just transforms it. Repeatedly events we saw from a particular’s POV or Fielding’s are now one of these women. Armstrong as Western keeps muttering about “the women in this family,” but in this film duels are seen as ridiculous things men do. When Tom is having sex with Mrs Waters at Upton, our POV is that of Sophia and Honor listening from the other side. When Fitzpatrick interrupts Tom and Mrs Waters, our POV is that of Mrs Waters ostentatiously (to us) pretending to be eager and waiting patiently for Fitzpatrick all this while. Again and again the mad-dog violent sexual predator is made to seem silly but also mortally dangerous and not to be trusted. The men are seen through immediately (that Mr Fitzpatrick has taken bribes); the women enigmatic. When Tom despairs in prison upon learning he may have fucked his mother, his words have a plangency rarely projected by men. Sophie Wilde is of course central too; she is wise beyond her years — the black actress moves into this princess role so gracefully — in one sequence she sings a lovely 18th century sounding song. Perhaps she is too without bitter memories (Georgiana Lambe in the latest Sanditon is more realistic this way), too trusting. This film is not color blind; it means to be color conscious but they did not want to register too closely the horrors of enslavement this pastoral skirts. Tom and Sophia dancing All the characters want to return home, and home is not Jamaica, or a particular house, but a yearning to escape individual trouble and vexation. It is a funny at times, but in a genuinely more benevolent way than the previous. The jokes are not aggressive (Partridge echoes Pistol from Shakespeare: “Speak or die!”), no one mocks anyone but Bellaston, Fellamar (Tom Durrand Pritchard) and the gloating spiteful Blifil (James Wilbraham) whom poetic justice leaves with in the city (at a gothic like door) with the cold ambitious Lady Bellaston. They are for the countryside, anti-artifice, and this links the film back to the 2007 Mansfield Park by Maggie Waddie — the ending of both is closely similar. A picnic wedding with a beautiful dance between our hero and heroine and then circle dancing of all as they look forward to peaceful future in this haven of Paradise Hall where once Blifil is ejected (presented as twisted by his envy and jealousy over everyone’s deep love for Tom, but especially his mother) all are safe, stable, contented. We are told Mrs Waters (Susannah Fielding) and Mrs Fitzgerald got on quite well together and never missed Mr F with his crazed sexual predation and violent turn for duels. Honor marries a black inn-keeper and becomes a pub-landlady nearby. I admit this is not a film where returning to Fielding’s book will do you much good if you want to deepen your understanding of what has given rise to the film. This anti-competitive theme is not taken from Fielding’s book but is a reaction to our world today. No one wants to hustle for gigs. The palette of the movie is pastoral repeatedly — mostly rich autumn colors. Frances Grey as Mrs Miller would not be out of place in the BBC Cranford. James Fleet as Squire Allworthy sheltering under a tree in the landscape Ellen The author’s real name is Carolyn Heilbrun, the detective Kate Fansler Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren) of Prime Suspect fame Friends and readers, An interim blog: this is me thinking out a few semi-conclusions I’ve come to after a couple of months of reading books about women detectives (history, literary criticism, culture, feminist) and reading and rereading a few such books by men and women. As I’ve written on my Sylvia I blog, I seem to be going through something of a transition after living in this world without Jim for some 9 plus years. Part of this is I am liking books I used to not be able to read, and able to accept optimism and at least sympathize with (understand in a new way from an outward transactional POV) some conventional transactional pro-social-ambition perspectives. To get to the point here, I find that I can’t resist reading and watching new kinds of material in the detective, mystery-thriller, spy genre kind, which I’ve come back to seeing as closely allied to the gothic. Not that I altogether rejected books with women detectives at the center: my first Internet pseudonym was Sylvia Drake, a minor character in Dorothy Sayer’s Gaudy night, and my gravatar for my political blog is a small picture of Harriet Walter as Harriet Vane looking thoughtful. From Strong Poison: she is supposed the murderer and this is in prison, she is talking to Lord Peter Wimsey (Edward Petherbridge) The reading came out of my preparing for my coming The Heroine’s Journey course this winter. As you can see, if you go over the look, there is no example among my four slender book choices of a female detective novel. That’s because I couldn’t think of one slender enough for such a short course until I came upon Amanda Cross’s (aka Carolyn Heilbrun’s) Death in a Tenured Position. Most recent and older female detective novels are average size, say 350 pages (Gaudy Night is about this size) because often many combine a “novel of manners” (or domestic romance) with the detective formula. But I found it to be a central category because since surfacing in novels in the 1860s, the type has multiplied in appearances until say today there may be several TV shows featuring a female detective available all at once. Although I’ve found dictionary-type books with lists and essays on women writers and their detective novels (Great Women Mystery Writers, ed Kathleen Gregory Klein, truly excellent; By a Woman’s Hand by Jean Swanson and Dean James, 200 short entries which have the merit of naming the author as well as the detective and offering enough information to give the reader a gist of what type of mystery fiction this is), it has been very hard to find any essay-like books treating just the category of female detective fiction by women writers. The nature of the material (influences, who’s writing what, movies as a group-creation) has led to many male writers putting female detectives at the center of their series, and many female writers putting male detectives, and these mixed gender creations (so to speak) are often superb in all sorts of ways. One of my felicitous reading and watching experiences this past year was Anthony Horowitz’s Magpie Murders (both book and film), which features a private detective, Atticus Pund (spelt without accents) in a 1950s novel as part of an investigation into a parallel murder today by the old trope amateur sleuth, Sue Ryland in (presumably) 2021 — for its witticism, self-reflexive uses of the core fantasies, styles and yes multi-gender empathies. Sue Rylands (Leslie Manville) is also intended to appeal to older unmarried career women (the spinster trope transformed & modernized at last) But as there is a real, findable, and demonstable fault-line and difference between male and female writing, and films made by mostly men or mostly women, and visual art, and music too, and one of my aims as a teacher and writer is to keep women’s literature alive and make it more respected; I’ve been after just the books by women albeit in a multi-gender context. I’ve also tried to stick to films where the central author originally (or continuously) is a woman, and evidence shows women directing, producing, doing set design. The qualification here is all of these are shaped by the kind of detection mystery genre the book/film is written in. I’ve followed Andrew Marr centrally here; Julian Symons’s Bloody Murders is also indispensable. I’ve come to a few tentative conclusions. I agree in part with Kathleen Klein’s brilliant analysis (The Woman Detective: Gender and Genre) of the depiction of female detectives mostly in books, but equally by men and women that often these may easily be read and are in fact intended (when conscious) as anti-feminist (meaning the movement for independence and equality) portrayals from a male (in some eras on TV lascivious) POV. This POV is on display in right now in the incessant arguments and brutal put-downs of Miss Eliza Scarlet (the ever patient Kate Phillips has played many an wholly abject woman, from Jane Seymour in the recent Wolf Hall, to Tolstoy’s hero Andrei’s long-suffering wife, the 2016 serial by Andrew Davies) by “The Duke” Inspector Wellington (the pugnacious, overtly insulting professional police detective played by Stuart Martin, doubtless chosen for his resemblance to the matinee idol type, Richard Armitage) who reiterates constantly a woman cannot be both a real or natural or happy woman and a detective; who needs strong men around her to protect her. Injury was added to insult in the most recent episode (Season 3, Episode 2) where a story was concocted whereby a mean and bullying ex-friend, Amanda Acaster, who repeatedly humiliated and nowadays derides her, is also used to criticize adversely Eliza’s character: Eliza is supposed now to have felt for Amanda trying to have a career using the same manipulative amoral tactics she did when the two were young. She is not charged though her measures were what encouraged a gang of thieves to use her restaurant as a front. But look she surpasses Eliza in the Victoria sponge cake line. The costuming of the program shows some knowledge of the illustrations for such stories in the 1870s/90s, the music is very good, and lines are witty (though usually at Eliza’s expense) and I’d call the presentation stylish. I have spent this much time on it as it’s contemporary and its perniciousness extends to endorsing bullying and mocking non-macho males (Andrew Gower as a homosexual man controlled by his mother). In many of these detective stories especially the hard-boiled type, and since the 1990s, the woman simply takes on male characteristics, and when she doesn’t and displays genuine female psychology, set of values, life experiences, and is as competent as the males and not just by intuition, by the end of a given book or series, we are to see she has not lived a fulfilled life, which must include marriage and motherhood. This is how Prime Suspect finally ends. In medias res, the female detective of whatever type is often allowed genuine common women’s lives characteristics and we see themes and archetypes familiar in women’s literature, e.g., recent film instance of the mother-daughter rivalry paradigm in Annika where the older heroine is divorced and lives with her teenage older daughter. There is now a line of disguised lesbian socially-conscious fiction, e.g., Val McDermid, seen in film recently featuring Karen Pirie played by Lauren Lyle, of Outlander provenance, dressed in unemphatically non-binary ways But I don’t agree wholly with Klein (or others who write from her vantage). At the same time, the way out is not to trivialize and pretend to treat as playful amusement “the lady investigator” and her now many daughters, grand-daughters and great-grand-daughters, all the while lightly coming to the same conclusion as Klein, with some face-saving and genuinely rescuing qualifications. This is the vein taken by Patricia Craig and Mary Cadogan in their The Lady Investigates: Women Detectives and Spies in Fiction: a very informative as well as insightful book; it covers amateur and private detectives as well as the spy genre, which Klein does not. Nor is it to ignore this aspect of the genre altogether: Lucy Worsley in her Art of Murder manages this, at the same time as she (curiously) denies that the mass audience for this kind of thing understands it as fantasy (that most murders are not solved, and when solved not by brilliant ratiocinative nor super-scientific techniques, but rather information from people involved) but out of a thirst for violence and fascination with death (this does ally it to the gothic). What we need to remember is the history of the genre: it first emerges in the later 19th century when women could get jobs and income on their own, go to college as woman (usually women’s colleges). The whole larger genre of detective fiction develops its characteristics when you first have men hired in visible numbers and a real police force. So there were male models for male detectives but no female models for female detectives. This changes (Miss Scarlet and the Duke is quite a startling throw-back) post-World War II when women held on to their array of male jobs and began to be hired, however slowly, and to be promoted to managerial positions in institutions, including the police (Lynda LaPlante modelled Jane Tennison on an actual woman detective). I suggest that the woman detective was an popular substitute for the “new woman” so distinguished by feminist literary scholars of the 1890s (which never achieved much popularity or was not lasting); she becomes liberated and a real woman as women in our western societies begin at any rate to achieve the right and education for financial and some real sexual independence. We see this in Horowitz’s Sue Rylands and I hope to show other women detectives from the post World War II era. So as a follow-on from this framework, I hope from time to time to write blogs here when the writer is a male and the portrait less than really feminocentric; on detective fiction found in both books and films; and on Reveries under the Sign of Austen (when the writer is female and the work genuinely l’ecriture-femme, which includes for me a genuinely anti-violence, anti-war and pro-woman political POV, which by the way I do think Prime Suspect was and is: Gray Cavender and Nancy C Jurik’s Justice Provocateur: Jane Tennison and Policing in Prime Suspect. The victims in these shows are often women tortured by male violence, young children, including boys destroyed and warped by male pedasty, immigrants, mostly women working menial jobs desperately, and yes prostitutes too, and women who murder (including one semi-accidental infanticide) too. First up for Austen Reveries will be Amanda Cross’s Death in a Tenured Position and, for this blog, the older masterpiece, Josephine Tey’s The Daughter of Time (Inspector Alan Grant investigates the character of Richard III) Of course Josephine Tey was a pseudonym; the author’s real name was Elizabeth Mackintosh, and the photo is of Jennifer Morag Henderson who wrote an excellent biography Ellen From Number 13 (Greg Wise as Professor Ander hard at work and Tom Burke as Tom Jenkins, a cheerful sinister presence) Gentle readers and patient friends, A few years ago, pre-pandemic, I wrote a series of blogs asking what is a Christmasy Story, and basically came up with a moral model, often, tellingly, involved with the death of someone (or near destruction), most of the time with a redemption, or renewal of hope in the future at story’s end. As I did this year over Trollope’s two American Civil War Christmas stories, I brought up how central to these winter tale traditions was the ghost story, mentioning in passing how Dickens’s A Christmas Carol differed so in its happy ending, poetic justice. Most ghost stories are Kafkaesque, nightmarish, uncanny, unnerving. What I’ve been leaving out is then a mystery of why these have been so much a part of Christmas, becoming explicitly so in the Victorian era. M. R. James in particular is utterly out of whack with most professed goals of festivity, joy, forgiveness and whatnot. This year seeking once again to watch and talk about Christmas stories on my now ancient Trollope & his Contemporaries listserv (@ groups.io), I proposed reading his Stalls of Barchester Cathedral and watching (it’s on YouTube), the 1971 film adaptation. I did both, but then dissatisfied with the weak film, too familiar with the story, I cast about to see what other films, if any, were available as ghost stories, and lo and behold discovered that in 2005 and again in 2017 the BBC attempted to revive the old traditions of the 1980s and make 30-40 minute films of short ghost stories, but this time in all cases, from M. J. James. The first one I watched was A View from the Hill (which held and made me very nervous), and then found short reviews of these, rightly recommending them. Wandering in a tomb: “Imagine, if you will … ” I found (as in the earlier ones), superb but not super-famous actors involved, intelligent subtle scripts, e.g., Number 13 (which begins in bright cheerful light). They do not seem to me as masterly as those done way back in the ’60s (Whistle and I’ll come to You, and the brought back Andrew Davies’s Signalman), but they are in color (not a small thing still), so beautifully photographed, or like illustrations, and as a group, compel me to wonder not why people want the thrill of magic, but why, as C.S. Lewis insisted, pain remorseless terror tropes of inexplicability as part of the season’s diet of renewal, remembering, human communal activities. I’ve no good answer to that, for it’s not enough to say it’s a metaphoric experience which makes us take into account our own powerlessness against the forces of the natural and social worlds. These stories are much more effective when the ghost is genuine, not a psychological projection. I did several years ago write about Oliphant’s ghost stories and the relationship of the gothic ghost story to Christmas. What is terrifying about Whistle and I’ll Come to You is you feel you have yourself brought the ghost out without quite meaning to, and you are not sure you won’t be tempted to do or somehow do that again. This resembles how Hyde begins to be able to come out of Jekyll and take over at will. The horror is also in this demon’s mocking breaking pf fundamental taboos against dwelling on death’s remains (e.g., playing with a corpse). Sometimes there was a crime perpetrated by the now victim (as in The Stalls) and sometimes (in Number 13), our researcher is digging up from the past real cruelties perpetrated by real people connected to present people’s interests and is warned away. I now invite you to watch A View from the Hill (the notable actors are Pip Torrens, David Burke, Mark Letheren) I provide four others in the comments. So there is a typical structure and mood to all M. R. James whether in verbal story form or film. He builds mood slowly; a character goes to a remote place meaning to do research into the past. When he does, he evokes either a lingering malignant presence whom others living there are half-aware of and too unnerved to speak. Small things are felt; say a claw put out, a cat’s meow; this then grows nervily, louder, and from just an intrusion becomes overwhelming in its brutality. The demonic presence attacks him swiftly. The ghost or revenant is not always a male in other authors, for example in Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black, where the ghost is a woman in black with unforgettable ferociously hating eyes, a mother whose child was taken from her and let die. When this eruption from some other realm is effective, the attack is fatal; the person vanishes forever; but it can also be the ending is inconclusive, and you are left waiting with that victim-person who is trying to flee, like say in A View from the Hill, where our previous researcher is waiting for a train that is not coming. What’s chilling is the obtuse person (Pip Torrens) he is visiting appears not to know about this murderous presence and yet is ever leading our victim-character into danger — and then walking off. A blow by blow account — if you need it. But this is what he sees: From far Then he is suddenly inside In A View from the Hill it’s this pair of binoculars that allows the central victim-hero to see and be inside a cathedral that is no longer there literally. He is then (apparently) hanged for doing this. The closest contemporary novels that come near this are by Kazuo Ishiguro: his Never Let Me Go has the same realistic surface as a ghost story, while the science fiction that is going on is cruel, and its apparent rational mirrors the senselessness of some modern medical technology uses — and connects us back to Shelley’s Frankenstein. But no one thinks of these as Christmas stories. M. R. James And now this delightful documentary by Mark Gatiss, about M.R. James as a man, his career, how these ghost stories emerged, and a brilliant analysis of them. It is 55 minutes, worth every second of it — many clips from BBC years. (I apologize if the link only takes you to a blockED video. You can type in M R James + Mark Gatis into the YouTube search engine and that may take you to this documentary. Poke around.) Gatiss suggests an important literary source of James’s visual imagination are the pictures in the medieval illuminated manuscripts James catalogued. And that James was repressed probably non-practicing homosexual. One amusing moment: Jonathan Miller (who did a brilliant adaptation) quietly insisting on how we are to see what happens in that story as nightmares (no ghost there literally), as if reassuring himself … Any thoughts, anyone? at any rate, back again (we hope) next Winter Solstice. Ellen
2205	dbpedia	3	93	https://pdfcoffee.com/the-literature-film-reader-issues-of-adaptation-pdf-free.html	en	The Literature Film Reader Issues of Adaptation	https://pdfcoffee.com/im…ion-pdf-free.jpg	https://pdfcoffee.com/im…ion-pdf-free.jpg	[ "https://pdfcoffee.com/pdfcoffee/assets/img/pdfcoffee_logo.png", "https://pdfcoffee.com/img/200x200/the-literature-film-reader-issues-of-adaptation-pdf-free.jpg", "https://pdfcoffee.com/pdfcoffee/assets/img/thumbnail_placeholder.png", "https://pdfcoffee.com/pdfcoffee/assets/img/thumbnail_placeholder.png", "https://pdfcoffee.com/pdfcoffee/assets/img/thumbnail_placeholder.png", "https://pdfcoffee.com/pdfcoffee/assets/img/thumbnail_placeholder.png", "https://pdfcoffee.com/pdfcoffee/assets/img/thumbnail_placeholder.png", "https://pdfcoffee.com/pdfcoffee/assets/img/thumbnail_placeholder.png", "https://pdfcoffee.com/pdfcoffee/assets/img/thumbnail_placeholder.png", "https://pdfcoffee.com/pdfcoffee/assets/img/thumbnail_placeholder.png", "https://pdfcoffee.com/pdfcoffee/assets/img/thumbnail_placeholder.png", "https://pdfcoffee.com/pdfcoffee/assets/img/pdfcoffee_logo.png" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Guest" ]	null	Descrição completa...	en	https://pdfcoffee.com/pd…e-icon-57x57.png	pdfcoffee.com	https://pdfcoffee.com/the-literature-film-reader-issues-of-adaptation-pdf-free.html	Citation preview From examinations of Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now to Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, The Literature/Film Reader: Issues of Adaptation covers a wide range of films adapted from other sources. The first section presents essays on the hows and whys of adaptation studies, and subse- Welsh & Lev FILM / LITERATURE quent sections highlight films adapted from such literature genres as classic and popular literature, drama, biography, and memoir. The last section offers a new departure for adaptation studies, suggesting that films about history—often a separate category of film study—can be viewed as adaptations of records of the past. The anthology concludes with speculations about the future of adaptation studies. THE Several essays provide detailed analyses of films, in some cases discussing more than one adaptation of a literary or dramatic source, such as The Manchurian Candidate, The Quiet American, and Romeo and Juliet. Other works examined include Moby Dick, The House of Mirth, Dracula, and Although many of these essays have appeared in Literature/Film Quarterly, more than half are possible. For this reason alone, this collection will be of interest to not only cinema scholars but also anyone interested in films and their source material. Ultimately, The Literature/Film Reader provides an excellent overview of this critical aspect of film studies. James M. Welsh is professor emeritus of English at Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland. He cofounded Literature/Film Quarterly in 1973 and served as its editor for more than thirty years. He also founded the Literature/Film Association. He is the author, editor, or series editor of numerous books, including The Cinema of Tony Richardson (1999) and The Encyclopedia of Great Filmmakers (2002). Peter Lev is professor of electronic media and film at Towson University. His books include The Euro-American Cinema (1993), American Films of the 1970s: Conflicting Visions (2000), and volume 7 of the History of the American Cinema series, Transforming the Screen: The Fifties (2003). For orders and information please contact the publisher SCARECROW PRESS, INC. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200 Lanham, Maryland 20706 1-800-462-6420 / fax 717-794-3803 www.scarecrowpress.com ISBN-13: 978-0-8108-5949-4 ISBN-10: 0-8108-5949-1 90000 9 780810 859494 ISSUES OF ADAPTATION original contributions. Chosen for their readability, they avoid theoretical jargon as much as LITERATURE/FILM READER Starship Troopers, which demonstrates the breadth of material considered for this anthology. THE LITERATURE/FILM READER ISSUES OF ADAPTATION Cover image from Bram Stroker’s Dracula © Columbia Pictures/Photofest Cover design by Janine L. Osif Edited by James M. Welsh and Peter Lev Literature.indd 1 7/20/07 9:45:03 AM 07_274_1Front.qxd 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page i The Literature/Film Reader Issues of Adaptation Edited by James M. Welsh Peter Lev THE SCARECROW PRESS, INC. Lanham, Maryland • Toronto • Plymouth, UK 2007 07_274_1Front.qxd 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page ii SCARECROW PRESS, INC. Published in the United States of America by Scarecrow Press, Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.scarecrowpress.com Estover Road Plymouth PL6 7PY United Kingdom Copyright © 2007 by James M. Welsh and Peter Lev All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The literature/film reader : issues of adaptation / edited by James M. Welsh, Peter Lev. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-8108-5949-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-8108-5949-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Film adaptations—History and criticism. 2. Literature and motion pictures. I. Welsh, James Michael. II. Lev, Peter, 1948– PN1997.85.L516 2007 791.43'6—dc22 2007009828 ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Manufactured in the United States of America. 07_274_1Front.qxd 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page iii To our friends and colleagues, early and late, whose efforts we do appreciate. Special thanks to Tom Erskine, who first suggested we form an association with annual meetings, and to the late William Horne, the congenial cohost of several such meetings. 07_274_1Front.qxd 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page iv Frankenstein No one sits beside the prof here in the dark, but behind me they whisper and giggle and bark their disdain for what? The poetry, the black and white, the naïveté of the monster, its lack of common sense, which they possess in spades? Aren’t we, too, pieced together from open graves? To the monster the child was like a flower, therefore she was a flower, and since a flower can float, so should the child. But she can’t, she dies. To the students, some thirty years younger than I, the monster is merely dumb, the girl a splash, like a punchline, a machine to produce laughs. The prof packs his notes, useless, dismisses the kids, a few linger with questions I can’t rid them of, ever—children drawn to the abyss. A bus passes; I wave it on. What is the night to do when its terrors shed their beauty? I stumble home, past villagers hungry for duty. —Tom Whalen 07_274_1Front.qxd 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page v Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction: Issues of Screen Adaptation: What Is Truth? James M. Welsh Part I: xiii Polemics Chapter 1 It Wasn’t Like That in the Book . . . Brian McFarlane Chapter 2 Literature vs. Literacy: Two Futures for Adaptation Studies Thomas M. Leitch 15 Adaptation Studies and the History of Ideas: The Case of Apocalypse Now Donald M. Whaley 35 Adaptation Studies Revisited: Purposes, Perspectives, and Inspiration Sarah Cardwell 51 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 v 3 07_274_1Front.qxd vi 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page vi Contents Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Part II: The Cold War’s “Undigested Apple-Dumpling”: Imaging Moby-Dick in 1956 and 2001 Walter C. Metz 65 Trying Harder: Probability, Objectivity, and Rationality in Adaptation Studies David L. Kranz 77 Classic and Popular Literature Chapter 7 What Is a “Shakespeare Film,” Anyway? James M. Welsh Chapter 8 Returning to Naples: Seeing the End in Shakespeare Film Adaptation Yong Li Lan 115 Pop Goes the Shakespeare: Baz Luhrmann’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo Juliet Elsie Walker 125 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Reframing Adaptation: Representing the Invisible (On The House of Mirth, Directed by Terence Davies, 2000) Wendy Everett Sucking Dracula: Mythic Biography into Fiction into Film, or Why Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula Is Not Really Bram Stoker’s Dracula or Wallachia’s Dracula James M. Welsh Chapter 12 Vertigo, Novel and Film Peter Lev Chapter 13 Heinlein, Verhoeven, and the Problem of the Real: Starship Troopers J. P. Telotte 105 149 165 175 187 Part III: Politics and Adaptation Chapter 14 Literary Hardball: The Novel-to-Screen Complexities of The Manchurian Candidate Linda Costanzo Cahir 201 07_274_1Front.qxd 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page vii Contents Chapter 15 The Oak: A Balancing Act from Page to Screen Odette Caufman-Blumenfeld Chapter 16 Adaptation and the Cold War: Mankiewicz’s The Quiet American Brian Neve Chapter 17 Part IV: All the Quiet Americans C. Kenneth Pellow vii 217 235 245 History, Biography, and Memoir Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Camille Claudel: Biography Constructed as Melodrama Joan Driscoll Lynch 259 W. C. Handy Goes Uptown: Hollywood Constructs the American Blues Musician John C. Tibbetts 271 Chapter 20 Memoir and the Limits of Adaptation William Mooney 285 Chapter 21 Getting It Right: The Alamo on Film Frank Thompson 297 Chapter 22 “Plains” Speaking: Sound, Sense, and Sensibility in Ang Lee’s Ride with the Devil John C. Tibbetts Part V: 307 Epilogue: The Future of Adaptation Studies Chapter 23 Where Are We Going, Where Have We Been? Thomas M. Leitch 327 Chapter 24 The Future of Adaptation Studies Peter Lev 335 Index 339 About the Editors 355 About the Contributors 357 07_274_1Front.qxd 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page viii 07_274_1Front.qxd 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page ix Acknowledgments The Literature/Film Association (LFA) grew from the friends and contributors of Literature/Film Quarterly (LFQ), and to attempt to name them all might result in hideous and embarrassing errors of omission. But without people like Rebecca M. Pauly of West Chester University, an astute counselor to both LFA and LFQ, or Victoria Stiles, first treasurer of LFA (now retired from SUNY Courtland), and so many others, neither the journal nor the association could have endured. We thank all of our LFA and LFQ colleagues for creating and sustaining a remarkable scholarly community. In the beginning, Tom Erskine, academic dean at Salisbury State College, could not have funded LFQ in 1972–1973 without the splendid administrative support of Dr. Norman C. Crawford, then president of Salisbury State. Thereafter, LFQ could not have survived over three decades without the continued support of later presidents Thomas A. Bellavance, K. Nelson Butler, William C. Merwin, and Janet Dudley-Eshbach, who currently heads the institution. We owe a debt of gratitude as well to the current editors of LFQ, Elsie M. Walker and David T. Johnson, and their capable business manager, Brenda Grodzicki. Many English Department colleagues at Salisbury were also supportive in many ways, especially the late Francis Fleming (former chair), Bill ix 07_274_1Front.qxd x 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page x Acknowledgments Zak (associate chair), Connie Richards (former chair and current associate dean), Elizabeth Curtain (current chair), and Timothy O’Rourke (current dean of the Fulton School at Salisbury). Donald M. Whaley, director of American studies at Salisbury, has been supportive in attending, organizing, and running LFA conferences. In the former Public Relations and Publications Departments of Salisbury State University, Gains Hawkins and Richard Culver helped to build public awareness of LFQ within the state of Maryland, while Carol Bloodsworth, director of publications, helped to keep publication on schedule. For two decades, Anne Welsh, who worked with Carol Bloodsworth in publications, was simply essential to the journal’s continuation. At Towson University, we thank Greg Faller and William Horne for their many contributions to LFA conferences, including creative and scholarly work but also moving furniture, as needed. Barry Moore, Jennifer Lackey, Ronald J. Matlon, Kit Spicer, Maravene Loeschke and Towson’s Design Center have been very helpful and supportive as well. We also thank Yvonne Lev for so graciously lending a hand at recent LFA conferences. Credits Tom Whalen’s poem “Frankenstein” originally appeared in LFQ 28 (3). Brian McFarlane’s “It Wasn’t Like That in the Book . . .” originally appeared in LFQ 28 (3). Thomas M. Leitch’s “Literacy vs. Literature: Two Futures for Adaptation Study” originally appeared in his book Film Adaptation and Its Discontents: From Gone with the Wind to The Passion of the Christ. © 2007 The Johns Hopkins University Press. Reprinted with the permission of The Johns Hopkins University Press. Walter C. Metz’s “The Cold War’s ‘Undigested Apple-Dumpling’: Imaging Moby-Dick in 1956 and 2001” originally appeared in LFQ 32 (3). James M. Welsh’s “What Is a ‘Shakespeare Film,’ Anyway?” was originally published in the Journal of the Wooden O Symposium 5 (2005). Reprinted with the permission of Southern Utah University Press. Yong Li Lan’s “Returning to Naples: Seeing the End in Shakespeare Film Adaptation” originally appeared in LFQ 29 (2). A shorter version of Elsie Walker’s “Pop Goes the Shakespeare: Baz Luhrmann’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet” originally appeared in LFQ 28 (2). 07_274_1Front.qxd 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page xi Acknowledgments xi J. P. Telotte’s “Heinlein, Verhoven, and the Problem of the Real: Starship Troopers” originally appeared in LFQ 29 (3). Odette Caufman-Blumenfeld’s “The Oak: A Balancing Act from Page to Screen” originally appeared in LFQ 26 (4). Joan Driscoll Lynch’s “Camille Claudel: Biography Constructed as Melodrama” originally appeared in LFQ 26 (2). Thomas M. Leitch’s “Where Are We Going, Where Have We Been?” originally appeared in LFA Newsletter 1 (1). Peter Lev’s “The Future of Adaptation Studies” originally appeared in LFA Newsletter 1 (1). 07_274_1Front.qxd 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page xii 07_274_1Front.qxd 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page xiii Introduction: Issues of Screen Adaptation: What Is Truth?1 James M. Welsh ‘“What is truth?’ said jesting Pilate, and would not stay for an answer.” —Sir Francis Bacon, “Of Truth” Overview After a century of cinema, movies have changed substantially, both technologically and stylistically, but after a hundred years, mainstream cinema is still telling and retelling stories, and most of those stories are still being (or have been) appropriated from literary or dramatic sources, as much as 85 percent by some calculations and accounts. Adaptation has always been central to the process of filmmaking since almost the beginning and could well maintain its dominance into the cinema’s second century. This collection investigates the present and future of screen adaptation and of adaptation study, through essays written by the editors of Literature/Film Quarterly (LFQ) further enhanced by the work of some of that journal’s most thoughtful contributors. The goal is to teach, by example or theory, and to explore some potential new avenues of discussion as well. This collection of essays has been assembled by Jim Welsh, the cofounding editor of LFQ, and by Peter Lev, long a member of the LFQ editorial xiii 07_274_1Front.qxd xiv 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page xiv James M. Welsh board. Both have also served as president of the Literature/Film Association (LFA) and are recognized senior scholars in the field of cinema studies and screen adaptation. Welsh is coeditor of The Encyclopedia of Novels into Film (now in its second revised edition) and of sixteen other books; Peter Lev’s latest book, The Fifties: Transforming the Screen, 1950–1959, published in 2003, appeared as volume 7 in the prestigious Scribners History of American Cinema series. Contributors to the present volume include teacher-scholars from England, Romania, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States; though the United States is best represented (at least quantitatively), one-third of the contributing authors are non-American. The (Alleged) Persistence of “Fidelity” One problem with cinema criticism and theory is that it has all too often involved a hermetic and limited society of scholars writing in codes for their mutual but limited enlightenment. LFQ has always reached out for a larger and more general audience. The fact that the journal has survived for more than thirty-five years is perhaps an indication that this goal has been achieved. The most basic and banal focus in evaluating adaptations is the issue of “fidelity,” usually leading to the notion that “the book was better.” This limited and “literal” approach is represented by bibliophiles and is the guiding principle of Robin H. Smiley’s Books into Film: The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of [sic] (2003), a book that was totally ignored by the cinema studies establishment. At the opposite extreme is Brian McFarlane, author of Novel to Film: An Introduction to the Theory of Adaptation (1996). Brian’s plenary address, quizzically entitled “It Wasn’t Like That in the Book . . .” and given at the University of Bath Millennium Film Conference in 1999, insists on film’s creative possibilities and opens the present collection. Certainly, fidelity hovers in the background of many of the essays included here, but the anthology also presents film as having a separate identity and separate aesthetic principles, as suggested by Professor McFarlane and others. In other chapters (see e.g., Thomas M. Leitch and Walter C. Metz), intertextuality is presented as a possible alternative to fidelity criticism. One “new” focus here is the attention paid to the problem of adapting historical conflicts (such as the battle of the Alamo and the war with Mexico for Texican independence: see Frank Thompson’s chapter) and the problems of adapting the lives of famous people in the genre of the biopic (see Joan Driscoll Lynch on the sculptress Camille Claudel and John C. Tibbetts on the biopic of the American composer W. C. Handy). 07_274_1Front.qxd 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page xv Introduction xv The Myth of the “Unfilmable” Let’s begin with the notion that everything is adaptable, that whatever exists in one medium might be adapted or translated into another, given the right imaginative initiative. Some may protest, of course, that the medium of film has its limitations, that it is epidermal, even superficial, that it cannot probe the depths of psychology or emotional consciousness. Countering these charges are the achievements of Ingmar Bergman in Sweden, of Michelangelo Antonioni in Italy, and of Yasujiro Ozu or Akira Kurosawa in Japan. Quite apart from human psychology, however, there are narrative and novelistic techniques that could be considered “unfilmable.” Shades of nuance in “voice” and tone, for example, could prove problematic. The experimental prose and drama of such writers as Samuel Beckett and James Joyce would seem to pose insurmountable problems, and yet the inner monologues of Ulysses were filmed by director/producer Joseph Strick in 1967, and the same filmmaker adapted the interminable musings of Stephen Daedalus (as represented by Irish actor Bosco Hogan) in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, released in 1977. Beckett himself wrote an exercise on the nature of perception in a film entitled, appropriately enough, Film (1965) and starring, appropriately enough, Buster Keaton. So much for conventional wisdom. “A Cock and Bull” Digression Take the example of Laurence Sterne’s comic novel, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1759–1767), adapted to the screen as Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story by writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce and director Michael Winterbottom in 2005. The book is a famously whimsical romp that turns narrative conventions upside down and delights in playing with unconventional structure. Charles McGrath describes the plot of this “unfilmable” novel as a series of “endless digressions, false starts and wheelswithin-wheels. The protagonist, who is also the narrator, isn’t even born until Volume III, and by the end of the book he still hasn’t progressed beyond childhood, much less become an opinionated gentleman” (2006, 13). So how did Michael Winterbottom solve this problem? According to Variety, he did it by “cheating flagrantly” (Felperin, 2005, 63). He transformed the whimsical spirit of the novel by imagining his film as a movie being made of a movie of a book about a book. Winterbottom recognized that this “insanely digressive” novel was about 200 years ahead of its time. As one of the actors remarks, Tristram Shandy was a “postmodern classic which was written before 07_274_1Front.qxd xvi 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page xvi James M. Welsh there was any modernism to be ‘post’ about” (McGrath, 2006, 13). So was Sterne’s novel “unfilmable”? Yes, certainly, in a way and to a degree. Could it be transformed in an agreeable way so as to make it seem “filmable”? Absolutely. Much of the adaptation is improvised by the actors Steve Coogan, who plays Tristram Shandy and Walter Shandy and an actor named Steve Coogan, and Rob Brydon, who plays Uncle Toby and an actor named Rob Brydon. Asked at a press conference whether either of them had ever read the book, Coogan said “I’ve read of it,” and Brydon said “Not in the traditional sense. You know, where you go from beginning to end” (McGrath, 2006, 28). So here is an “adaptation” partly created by actors impressionistically riffing on material they have not read or encountered directly. Go figure, and ponder the future of adaptation and what the process might mean nowadays. “In general, I’m not a fan of literary adaptations,” Michael Winterbottom told Sight and Sound (Spencer, 2006, 14). “Usually if you’re making the film of the book it’s because you like the book, but that gives you all sorts of problems in trying to produce a version of it. So there’s always something a bit restrictive, a bit secondhand about them. What was great here [in the case of Tristram Shandy] is that the book is about not telling the story you’re supposed to be telling, so it’s the perfect excuse for doing whatever you want.” Given the appetite that Hollywood and other film industries have shown and continue to show for novels, plays, biographies, histories, and other published stories, it is perhaps not surprising that the untouchable and “unfilmable” classics have been regularly touched and filmed, sometimes with good results. Consider, for example, the sprawling novels of Henry Fielding (director Tony Richardson captured the spirit of Tom Jones in 1963, followed by Joseph Andrews in 1977), William Makepeace Thackeray (Vanity Fair and even Barry Lyndon have been essayed), and Thomas Hardy (John Schlesinger’s Far from the Madding Crowd in 1967, Roman Polanski’s Tess in 1979, and Michael Winterbottom’s Jude in 1996 are interesting celluloid versions). Most of the novels of Jane Austen have been filmed and refilmed, with varying degrees of success. Indeed, the Austen adaptations have become a reliably commercial enterprise, with the recent version of Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightley holding its own with the Christmas blockbusters of 2005. We might add that Austen is a special case, appealing, on the one hand, to an academic audience for her splendid wit and irony and, on the other, to a far wider readership drawn to Austen for reasons having to do with romance, courtship, and “heritage” nostalgia. 07_274_1Front.qxd 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page xvii Introduction xvii “Unmanageable” Novels: Dickens and Oliver, with a Twist Of course, in the case of massive novels, length will almost certainly be a problem. One solution here is the “Masterpiece Theatre” television miniseries approach, applied, reasonably enough, in 2005 to the Dickens classic, Bleak House, originally written in twenty installments that appeared serially between 1852 and 1853 and adapted by screenwriter Andrew Davies to eight massive hours of programming. The screenwriter’s credentials included the successful and popular epic 1995 miniseries treatment of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Arguably, television might be the best medium for assuring the “persistence of fidelity” in adapting “classic” novels. Every facial tic and verbal nuance could be captured, lovingly, in an eight-hour adaptation, every gasp, every sigh, every wink of the eye. But what about a feature film that has to be captured in less than three hours? Roman Polanski’s Oliver Twist, filmed in 2004 and released in 2005, may serve as a convenient demonstration here. This adaptation was not a popular success, despite Polanski’s credentials and obvious talent. Even though Oliver Twist followed upon the tremendous success of The Pianist in 2002, and even though Polanski was working with much the same crew, including the playwright Ronald Harwood as screenwriter. Published in 1837 and 1838, Oliver Twist was the first success of young Charles Dickens, and is second only to Great Expectations in terms of popularity. Oliver Twist (played by Barney Clark) is the name given to an orphan of unknown parentage, born and raised in a miserable workhouse, where he is mistreated by the parish beadle, Mr. Bumble (Jeremy Swift plays Polanski’s Bumble-beadle). Oliver’s story has been considerably simplified for Polanski’s film, which begins with Oliver at age nine. Oliver runs away to London, where he falls in with bad company—a juvenile gang of thieves trained by Fagin (Sir Ben Kingsley), a caricatured Jewish villain—to work as a pickpocket with his more experienced colleagues, the “Artful Dodger” (Harry Eden), and Charley Bates (Lewis Chase). More dangerous than Fagin (who is somewhat humanized by Polanski’s treatment though still a Dickensian caricature), however, is the ruthless burglar Bill Sikes (Jamie Foreman), a psychopath who brutalizes both his companion, Nancy (Leanne Rowe), and Oliver. The spirit of the novel is retained and the adaptation is well directed, well acted, and entirely agreeable. According to Harwood, the “phenomenal variety of characters” found in the world of this Dickens novel had to be condensed, as well as the far-fetched complications of the subplots, particularly Oliver’s relationship to the benevolent Mr. Brownlow, who rescues the boy from a life of crime. 07_274_1Front.qxd xviii 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page xviii James M. Welsh Harwood described this simplified version as follows: “It’s about a boy, a little boy, who takes charge of his own life, escapes from terrible trials and dangers, and emerges triumphant.” Dickens purists should not have been offended, given the atmospheric beauty of the visualization and the integrity of the reimagined characterizations. The multilayered Dickens narrative is simplified to a story of survival in a grim and uncaring world. It’s hardly surprising that, after having adapted Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles in 1979 (and winning three Oscars), Polanski would eventually turn his talents toward adapting Charles Dickens’s first novel to cinema, even if that meant following in the wake of one of England’s greatest directors, David Lean, who adapted Oliver Twist in 1948 with a cast that included Alex Guinness as Fagin, Robert Newton as Bill Sikes, and John Howard Davies as Oliver. Indeed, the 1948 David Lean adaptation probably still constitutes the gold standard for film adaptations of this Dickens classic. In the Lean treatment, Fagin’s juvenile gang and Bill Sikes’s unrelenting psychopath are presented as diametrically opposed to Mr. Brownlow’s benevolence, as if representing two autonomous worlds. Lean used expressionist camera angles and lighting techniques to contrast the darkness of the underworld with the cozy whiteness of the Brownlow sequences. Polanski takes a similar approach. Mr. Brownlow’s home is ordinarily bathed in sunshine and seems to be located on the bucolic edge of town, whereas the mise-en-scène is often drab and gloomy, with brown tones dominant, in the slums frequented by Fagin and his crew. Adapting a Stereotypical Ethnic Villain One particular challenge in this example, beyond the obvious narrative sprawl that needs to be contained, is how to adapt the character of the Jewish villain in a way that may not be utterly offensive. The David Lean adaptation was so controversial for its characterization of Fagin that, according to Variety, “its U.S. release was delayed for three years” (McCarthy, 2005, 62). Sir Ben Kingsley took the challenge for the Polanski adaptation and was certainly capable of doing justice to the role. Without question, Kingsley’s Fagin would be familiar to anyone who had read the Dickens description: “a very shriveled old Jew, whose villainous-looking and repulsive face was obscured by a quantity of matted red hair” (quoted by Brownlow, 1996, 230). Even so, Polanski’s approach to Fagin was intended to be the opposite of the Lean/Guinness treatment, according to Todd McCarthy’s evaluation for Variety: “Kingsley and Polanski appear most interested in attempting to 07_274_1Front.qxd 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page xix Introduction xix humanize him, to argue that, even though he takes advantage of his boys and makes them break the law, this might be preferable to their fates if they were left to their own devices on the streets” (2005, 62). As a consequence, Kingsley’s Fagin exudes “a certain feebleness and insecurity that makes him more pathetic than hateful” (McCarthy, 2005, 62). Moreover, the film ends with Oliver visiting Fagin on an errand of mercy and forgiveness before that “wretched” man’s execution. Though it is certainly a challenge to rethink such a stereotyped character, this film presents Fagin as a “lovable” villain, a sorcerer whose wards are also apprentices; indeed, Kingsley saw this character as a magician. Polanski himself, born in 1933 and about Oliver’s age at the time of the Nazi invasions, could personally contextualize the Dickens story of survival. Polanski’s previous film The Pianist was also a story of survival, though involving a much older protagonist. Polanski’s Oliver Twist was praised by New York Times reviewer A. O. Scott as a “wonderful new adaptation” of Dickens (2005, B6). In his New Yorker review, however, Anthony Lane was offended by the anti-Semitic nastiness attached to the Dickens descriptions of Fagin, a “hideous old man [who] seemed like some loathsome reptile, engendered in the slime and darkness through which he moved: crawling forth, by night, in search of some rich offal for a meal” (2005, 107). For a director who had lost his mother to Auschwitz to even think of approaching such material, Lane implied, could be tantamount to a betrayal; but can such criticism be fairly applied to the director who made The Pianist? Polanski was pulled between the nastiness of Dickens’s Fagin and a desire to soften the character and thus move closer to contemporary sensibilities; his “solution” (if it is that) provides one example of how adaptors respond to contradictory pressures. A Question of Translation or Transformation? At first, early in the eighteenth century, English novels were considered inferior to works of history and biography, even immoral, in an era when sermons were commonly published and read for enlightenment. Readers expected honesty and truth; novelists therefore disguised their fictions as fact. Samuel Richardson pretended he had found a cache of letters written by Pamela Andrews to her poor but honest parents, for example; these fabrications were embraced as truth, as was Daniel Defoe’s shipwreck of a novel, Robinson Crusoe. Early novel readers had to be weaned away from their taste for accuracy and fidelity to the facts. Aristotle believed that art should imitate life, which is the mantra of The Poetics, his analysis of tragic drama. In English literature, the lines between art and life, between the fictional and 07_274_1Front.qxd xx 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page xx James M. Welsh the factual, began to blur first in fiction, then in theatre, as plays became increasingly realistic during the nineteenth century. The invention first of photography, then of cinematography, suggested that Aristotle’s injunction might be even more demanding and that art might even duplicate life. But if life is merely reflected through the lens, is it art? And what of the marriage between cinematography and theatre that enabled the cinematic illusion merely to extend the theatrical illusion? By the turn of the twentieth century, movies were “imitating” or “replicating” historical events in documentary-styled “actualities,” then dramatizing stories from the Bible (e.g., Judith of Bethulia) or great scenes from Shakespeare or remarkable moments in literature. All of a sudden, everything was adaptable, apparently, and naïve audiences expected fidelity (in the case of literary or dramatic approaches) or authenticity (in the case of historical events, such as the Battle of the Somme during World War I). Perhaps it is pointless to demand historical, biographical, or even fictive “truths” or to worry much about the issue of “fidelity” when historical events or personages or fictional narratives are adapted to the screen. On the other hand, should not one question the accuracy of such stories or histories? Can there be—or should there be—any more central issue in the field of adaptation studies? Even for nonbelievers and infidels? Some might claim that cinema inherently involves manipulation and illusion and is not really about “truth” or “reality.” Others might prefer to believe that the possibility of truth in the abstract could still exist and that fidelity is not only desirable but admirable. Even that erstwhile trendy semiotician, Christian Metz, believed that “‘cinematographic language’ is first of all [concerned with] the literalness of a plot,” as critic Robert Eberwein (1979) wrote, quoting Metz (189). In general, however, theorists cannot stand to be limited by “literal” constraints and would not therefore readily admit to being impressed by a merely “literal” adaptation. Adapting du Maurier: Hitchcock and Selznick Court Rebecca The problem will effectively be framed in an auteur context, perhaps, if we consider the example of the Daphne du Maurier novel Rebecca, adapted for the screen by Robert E. Sherwood and Joan Harrison. Significantly, Rebecca was the first film Alfred Hitchcock directed in America for producer David O. Selznick. Du Maurier, the true “auteur,” was not at all pleased with the project because she did not believe Hitchcock, the developing movie “auteur,” had been properly respectful in filming her first novel, Jamaica Inn (1939), adapted by Joan Harrison and Sidney Gilliat, with additional dia- 07_274_1Front.qxd 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page xxi Introduction xxi logue provided by novelist J. B. Priestley. She expected better treatment with Rebecca, and Selznick was determined to protect her future interests and integrity. Selznick assigned the Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Robert Sherwood as the lead screenwriter over Hitchcock regular Joan Harrison; no doubt Sherwood’s contribution (and prestige) helped to earn Selznick the Academy Award nomination. David O. Selznick sided with the novelist and was determined to harness Hitchcock’s tendency to manipulate the source novel, as he had done with Jamaica Inn. Selznick clearly stated his intentions in a memo dated 12 June 1939: “We bought Rebecca, and we intend to make Rebecca.” Thus the battle was joined, with both Hitchcock and Selznick seeking “auteur” status. According to Tom Leitch in his Encyclopedia of Alfred Hitchcock, the producer and the director each had his own notion about how to proceed with this adaptation: “Selznick’s allegiance [was] to an American tradition of quality based on fidelity to acknowledged literary classics and popular successes, Hitchcock’s to the generic formulas that subordinated character to situation and the flair for witty visual exposition that had served him so well in England” (2002, 271). Although Selznick won this battle (in fact, the film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards and won the Best Picture Oscar), Alfred Hitchcock ultimately won the war, when the auteur theory emerged in France in the late 1950s and in America a few years later. An industry dominated by Hollywood studios was clearly in transition, as the studio era, defined by all-powerful producers like Selznick and Irving Thalberg, was drawing to a close. Hitchcock the auteur director was not especially worried about absolute fidelity to his sources. This will be obvious if one considers the changes he made to Joseph Conrad’s The Secret Agent as he transformed that story into Sabotage (1936), a film that would teach him the consequences of sacrificing an endearing character in order to maintain suspense. British writer-director Christopher Hampton would remake the Conrad story in the 1990s and be far more respectful of the source decades later in an adaptation carefully guided by notions of fidelity, but this admittedly more “faithful” treatment hardly replaces the Hitchcock classic. Hitchcock was not destined to become famous for his adaptations, however; usually he did not assail the work of writers of the magnitude of Joseph Conrad, or the popularity of Dame Daphne du Maurier. Even so, Hitchcock did adapt all sorts of material to the screen, drama as well as fiction. His technologically daring film Rope (1948), for example, was adapted for Hitchcock by Hume Cronyn and Arthur Laurents from the play by Patrick Hamilton. Although not exactly a box-office success, this cult film became famous for 07_274_1Front.qxd xxii 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page xxii James M. Welsh its dramatic irony, its twisted style, and its technique (most notably for its inventive long takes). Hitchcock’s later dramatic adaptation of Dial M for Murder (1954), adapted by Frederick Knott from his own play, proved more popular but was also famous mainly for its gimmickry, particularly its 3-D cinematography (courtesy of Robert Burks), a potentially engaging attempt to involve viewers within the mise-en-scène. Despite such innovative experiments, Hitchcock’s best work was still to come. Hitchcock knew a good story but generally avoided “classic” adaptations. If traditional Hollywood cared about issues of fidelity, it was not especially out of respect for literature or for those who created it but in order to avoid disappointing readers who knew what they wanted and expected, as demonstrated by the uninspired literalness of the first Harry Potter movies, for example. By contrast, Selznick’s own Gone with the Wind might serve as an apt example of inspired literalness. As critic-reviewer Stanley Kauffmann might suggest, the more purely “literary” the achievement of the source novel, the less likely it is to be effectively or “faithfully” adapted to the screen. Can One “Repeat the Past” or Even Hope to Recapture It? Picture this: Jack Clayton’s The Great Gatsby (1973), adapted to the screen by no less a talent than Francis Ford Coppola, catches the flavor, the music, the amorality of the 1920s well enough, but even though it may replicate the Zeitgeist of the “Roaring Twenties,” it seriously mistakes F. Scott Fitzgerald’s satire of American optimism and materialism for a romance, and it unfortunately misfires accordingly, to be partially salvaged by the casting of Mia Farrow as a luminescent Daisy Buchanan (whose voice cannot really sound “like money,” though it perhaps comes close enough) and Robert Redford as gorgeous Jay Gatsby (his pink suit glowing in the dark). Though Redford may be able to wear that ridiculous pink suit, he is never entirely convincing as the bootlegger who has “business connections” with the gambler who fixed the World Series of 1919; but this was more a failure of imagination and casting than a lapse of fidelity. “Literal translations are not the faithful ones,” wrote André Bazin, the guiding spirit of the French New Wave. “A character on the screen and the same character as evoked by the novelist are not identical” (1967, 127). Robert Redford is able to sanitize a role by his very presence, removing all of Jay Gatsby’s rough edges and making the bitter and cynical Roy Hobbes seem absolutely heroic in Barry Levinson’s adaptation of Bernard Malamud’s The Natural (1984). That sanitized image will consequently change the nature of the character (in both instances) and the larger meaning of the story itself. While Jack Clayton and Francis Coppola’s Gatsby 07_274_1Front.qxd 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page xxiii Introduction xxiii merely fizzled away ever so gradually and boringly, Levinson’s The Natural completely reversed the corrupt and corrosive conclusion of Malamud’s novel in its desperate attempt to demonstrate the possibility of second chances. “Repeat the past?” Gatsby incredulously asserts to Nick Carraway, then answers himself, “Of course you can!” In fact Gatsby couldn’t repeat the past in his own lifetime, but ten years later Redford could as Roy Hobbes in Levinson’s crowd-pleasing (but outrageously distorted) adaptation of The Natural. The Persistence of Fidelity, Again Such flawed film adaptations are interesting because they at least play for high stakes. Levinson’s The Natural has been voted the most popular sports film ever made but only because it thoroughly dismissed any notion of fidelity and turned Roy Hobbes into a Romanticized “hero.” In the case of Fitzgerald’s perfectly crafted story of failed Romantic optimism and aspiration brought down to earth, Gatsby was crippled by its misplaced fidelity to the original, but it was more a betrayal of tone than of narrative structure and development. “More important than such faithfulness,” however, as André Bazin wrote, “is knowing whether the cinema can integrate the powers of the novel (let’s be cautious: at least a novel of the classical kind), and whether it can, beyond the spectacle, interest us less through the representation of events than through our comprehension of them” (2002, 7). For those who worry about the problems and the process of cinematic adaptation, Bazin’s statement still resonates and questions of fidelity still linger because any adaptation will necessarily demonstrate what the medium of film can or cannot achieve in relation to literary sources (whether reaching for the elegance of a Marcel Proust or the vulgarity of a Mickey Spillane), depending upon the imagination of the director and screenwriter. How was the story told? How is it retold? How is it to be sold? Is point of view a particular problem because of a first-person narrator (however limited by relationship or circumstance) or a third-person omniscient narrator? Is the story completely told? If not, has it been intelligently abridged, but if so, was anything lost as a consequence? Do the characters appear much as most readers might expect? Has the story’s meaning been changed and, if so, in what way or ways and to what degree? Has fidelity to tone and nuance been scrupulously observed? (Consider, for example, Francis Ford Coppola’s mistitled Bram Stoker’s Dracula [1992], which turns Lucy Westerna into a randy aristocratic tart, whose language and behavior is inappropriate by polite Victorian drawing-room standards.) Finally, has the film adaptation been true to the 07_274_1Front.qxd xxiv 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page xxiv James M. Welsh “spirit” of the original (subjective and problematic though such an assessment may be)? Should readers of Laurence Sterne be willing to settle for the “Cock and Bull Story” delivered by the film? Dancing in the Dark, to the Measure of History and Art For a final example, let’s consider John Lee Hancock’s The Alamo (2004), adapted from history, colored by myth and legend, not a “literary” challenge but a historic one because youngsters raised on this adaptation will no doubt “Remember the Alamo!” accordingly. Did screenwriters Leslie Bohem and Stephen Gaghan (better known as the writer-director of Syriana, one of the best films of 2005) and director John Lee Hancock get the story right? Were the characters dressed as they might have been in 1836? Was the casting “right”? Was Santa Anna, who called himself the “Napoleon of the West,” as vain and as cowardly, for example, as the actor Emilio Echevarría makes him seem? Did “Jim” Bowie and “Davy” Crockett die as heroically as Jason Patric and Billy Bob Thornton represented them in the film? Does it matter? Isn’t it “only a movie,” as Alfred Hitchcock once advised a disturbed actress? Well, yes, it does matter, we would argue (and for that reason we have included Frank Thompson’s essay in the collection that follows). Historical accuracy (which is to say, historical truth) should matter, if viewers or students are to have any authentic appreciation of Texican history. A young viewer’s understanding of The Great Gatsby or The Natural or Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence or The House of Mirth or even Gone with the Wind will certainly be influenced by the Hollywood treatment, which ought to place a responsibility on the filmmaking team. A good adaptation doesn’t necessarily have to be exactly “by the book,” but many will expect it to be at least close to the book and not an utter betrayal. And, as the essays that follow here suggest, the “book” could be a history book or a biography, as well as a novel or play. Celluloid is a notoriously unstable medium (literally, in terms of film preservation, for example), but it is a powerful one that makes an impact. In fact, it can be explosive. All the reading one does of Texas/Mexican history could well be obliterated by the silly icon of Fess Parker as “The King of the Wild Frontier” for an earlier generation of students raised on television images or of Billy Bob Thornton as “David” Crockett in John Lee Hancock’s The Alamo, who might rather fiddle than fight. Likewise, students who have seen Bram Stoker’s Dracula will have an oddly skewed impression of the relationship between Mina Murray and “Vlad” because Coppola’s odd screenplay goes well beyond the novel to suggest that Mina is somehow the reincarna- 07_274_1Front.qxd 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page xxv Introduction xxv tion of the count’s wife Elizabeta, who, Coppola’s newly invented prologue suggests, died of suicide in the Middle Ages while Vlad was out impaling Turks. Coppola’s disappointed Vlad turns against God in this “interpretation” and is made monstrous as a consequence. Coppola’s treatment builds sympathy for the monster and also builds in the means for his salvation. Presumably that was not what Bram Stoker had in mind. Cinema is wonderful, and film can be entertaining, but pedagogically it needs to be approached carefully. Fidelity, accuracy, and truth are all important measuring devices that should not be utterly ignored or neglected in evaluating a film adapted from a literary or dramatic source. The whole process of adaptation is like a round or circular dance. The best stories and legends, the most popular histories and mysteries, will constantly be told and retold, setting all the Draculas to dancing in the dark as their ghastly stories are spun, or the tall tales of brave Davy Crockett and his ilk, ’til the battle’s lost and won, ’til the dance is over and done. But the point is, it will never be, in cinema or in poetry. Of course, what we have outlined here does not exactly represent a consensus, and even the contributors to this volume may not agree with such notions concerning fidelity and accuracy. The great majority of these contributors to this project would surely agree that the relationship between film and literary (or historical) sources is the basis of the field, but they have different and varied notions about the importance of fidelity. No doubt some, such as Frank Thompson or David Kranz, would argue for “fidelity, accuracy, and truth” as being essential components for evaluating adaptations (though Professor Kranz prefers the phrase comparative criticism to fidelity criticism). Others are more interested in evaluating the relationship between films and their sources in different terms, giving more consideration, for example, to cinematic form (Brian McFarlane), intertextuality (Thomas Leitch), or intellectual history (Donald Whaley) or positing that a film may surpass its source (in the case of Peter Lev’s approach). Additionally, and finally, we have a few contributors such as Walter Metz and Sarah Cardwell—not coincidentally, they are among the younger authors in this volume—who work in adaptation studies but have little interest in the conventional relationship between films and their sources. Professor Cardwell advocates a “noncomparative” adaptation studies that analyzes British television adaptations of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century novels primarily as a genre and not as televisual versions of literary works. Cinema studies did not begin to come of age academically until the 1970s, following the enthusiasm created by what New Republic critic Stanley Kauffmann called “the film generation” during the 1960s, picking up on the 07_274_1Front.qxd xxvi 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page xxvi James M. Welsh excitement created by the inventive filmmakers of the French New Wave and their “Second Wave” counterparts in Britain, Eastern Europe, and, finally, Das neue Kino in Germany. The Italian neorealists (Rossellini, Zavattini, De Sica, and, later, Antonioni and Fellini) had built a tradition immediately after World War II. Sweden was a world unto itself, ruled by the godlike dramaturg-filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. New ideas were found in France, thanks to André Bazin and his magazine, Cahiers du Cinéma, which provided an intellectual haven for such filmmakers as François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, who began as budding film critics and who never quite lost their youthful enthusiasm for movie going, as well as filmmaking. Starting with the so-called auteur theory, simplified for Americans by Village Voice critic Andrew Sarris, French notions became ascendant. Bazin was later eclipsed by Christian Metz, who borrowed semiotics from learned linguists and turned it into something called “semiology.” Then in marched the structuralists, followed by the post-structuralists, the feminists, the queer theorists, and the postcolonists. Freud was rediscovered, along with Hitchcock; Derrida had his moment in the sun (as some began to probe his past), and Foucault and the wonderfully whimsical Roland Barthes listened attentively to “the rustle of silence.” These critics gave all of us a lot to think about, but some of them also created a verbal fog of obtuse jargon that could only confuse and befuddle the common viewer (the cinematic equivalent of the common reader). Film, once called the “democratic art,” was still for the masses, but criticism and theory began to levitate toward the ether, becoming ever more lofty and damnably abstract. This collection aspires to bridge that critical gap. All of the authors represented here will be familiar to the readers of LFQ, an academic journal that has always taken pride in its readability as well as its academic substance. Most of the essays included in this anthology are original; a significant few have been culled from recent issues of LFQ. Many of our contributors have written multiple books. Brian McFarlane is Australia’s foremost authority on adaptation and is the author of Words and Images: Australian Novels into Film (1983) and Novel to Film: An Introduction to the Theory of Adaptation (1996). Tom Leitch has specialized on crime films and has published two books dealing with the substance and style of Alfred Hitchcock, as well as writing an original work of adaptation criticism, forthcoming from Johns Hopkins University Press. Linda Cahir, who writes in the present volume on The Manchurian Candidate, has just published Literature into Film: Theory and Practical Approaches (2006). John C. Tibbetts has recently completed a book for Yale University Press that 07_274_1Front.qxd 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page xxvii Introduction xxvii covers composer biopics; he is also the author of Dvořák in America (1994) and is as well informed about music as he is about cinema and theatre. J. P. Telotte, the author of Science Fiction Film (2001), is perhaps the foremost film genre critic in America. Odette Caufman-Blumenfeld, an expert on feminist drama, is the author of Studies in Feminist Drama (1998) and chair of the English Department at the Alexander Ion Cuza University in Iasi, Romania, where she has created a graduate program in cultural studies. The scholarly credentials of all of the writers invited to this anthology may be considered secure. We are pleased and proud to present their work on screen adaptation. Note 1. Some of the material toward the end of this section—covering, for example, the dispute between Hitchcock and Selznick—has been reworked and rewritten from my foreword to Linda Cahir’s Literature into Film (2006). Works Consulted Bazin, André. 1967. What Is Cinema? Trans. Hugh Gray. Berkeley: University of California Press. ———. 2002. “M. Ripois, with or without Nemesis.” Trans. Bert Cardullo. LFQ 30 (1): 6–12. Brownlow, Kevin. 1996. David Lean: A Biography. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Cahir, Linda Costanzo. 2006. Literature into Film: Theory and Practical Approaches. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. Caufman-Blumenfeld, Odette. 1998. Studies in Feminist Drama. Ias¸i, Romania: Polirom Colect¸ia Ex Libris Mundi. Crews, Chip. 2006. “‘Bleak’ in Name Only.” Washington Post, 21 January, C1, C7. Eberwein, Robert T. 1979. A Viewer’s Guide to Film Theory and Criticism. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press. Felperin, Leslie. 2005. “Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story.” Variety, 19–25 September, 63. Lane, Anthony. 2005. “Hunting Dickens.” New Yorker, 3 October, 106–7. Leitch, Thomas. 2002. The Encyclopedia of Alfred Hitchcock. New York: Facts on File, 2002. McCarthy, Todd. 2005. “Oliver Twist.” Variety, 19–25 September, 62. McFarlane, Brian. 1983. Words and Images: Australian Novels into Film. Richmond, Victoria, Australia: Heinemann. ———. 1996. Novel to Film: An Introduction to the Theory of Adaptation. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. 07_274_1Front.qxd xxviii 7/24/07 6:08 PM Page xxviii James M. Welsh McGrath, Charles. 2006. “Meta, Circa 1760: A Movie of a Movie of a Book about a Book,” New York Times, 22 January, Sec. 2, 13, 28. Morgenstern, Joe. 2005. “Oliver Twist.” Wall Street Journal, 23 September, W5. Scott, A. O. 2005. “Dickensian Deprivations Delivered from the Gut.” New York Times, 23 September, B6. Smiley, Robin H. 2003. Books into Film: The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of. Santa Barbara, CA: Capra Press. Spencer, Liese. 2006. “The Postmodernist Always Wings It Twice.” Sight and Sound 16 (2) [N.S.] (February): 14–17. Telotte, J. P. 2001. Science Fiction Film. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Tibbetts, John C., ed. 1993. Dvorˇák in America. Portland, OR: Amadeus Press. 07_274_Ch01.qxd 7/24/07 6:09 PM Page 1 P a r t I POLEMICS 07_274_Ch01.qxd 7/24/07 6:09 PM Page 2 07_274_Ch01.qxd 7/24/07 6:09 PM Page 3 C H A P T E R O N E It Wasn’t Like That in the Book . . . Brian McFarlane The idea for this piece grew out of a discussion with an English Department colleague on the 1993 film version of The Age of Innocence. This colleague had enjoyed the film and had found it attractive but added, “Of course it’s not nearly as complex or subtle as the book.” I’d thought the film was a masterpiece and had actually—and, I felt, daringly—said so in print; I’d also admired the novel for many years, though perhaps not so extravagantly. I’m not setting my judgment up as being more accurate (whatever that may mean) than my colleague’s, but the exchange led me to reflect, not just on the matter of adaptation from literature to film, but also on the adequacy of a training in literature for dealing with film and, from the other corner, the adequacy of a training in film for dealing with literature. In Victoria where I come from, at least, it is now common for year 12 secondary school literature courses to offer one or more films as texts to be taught by trained English teachers. To the best of my knowledge, no comparable cinema studies course throws in a novel to be taught by trained teachers of film. I think “convergence among the arts” (in Keith Cohen’s memorable and resonant 1979 phrase in Film and Fiction) is a desirable ideal but that it probably involves a kind of training different from what has been common hitherto. 3 07_274_Ch01.qxd 4 7/24/07 6:09 PM Page 4 Brian McFarlane On a related point, the other impetus for this paper came from Australian novelist Helen Garner’s review of the latest film version of Anna Karenina, which she began by referring to “a class of literature that, by its very nature, is not adaptable to the screen” (1997, B27). What, I wondered, did she mean? That, in this case, it won’t be Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina? Or her idea of Tolstoy’s Anna? Or that such a classic, by its very nature, is beyond the resources of film? Filmmakers, in such cases, are out of their league, she asserted. Her claim that a great novel’s “central energy source” is its “narrative voice” may be unexceptionable, but she goes on to insist that “nothing available to mainstream cinema . . . can translate the authority of that voice” (1997, B27), and here she is simply ignoring—or ignorant of—the nature of film narration, to which this paper will return, and its capacity for asserting its own authoritative voice. The review reminded me of a good deal of middle-class, middle-brow criticism, even from someone as distinguished as Dilys Powell, who wrote of David Lean’s Oliver Twist that it is “careful in the preservation of the skeleton of Dickens’s book (since skeleton is all a film has time for)” (1948, 334). There is at work here little sense that film may have at its command narrational strategies as potentially subtle and complex as those of any other narrative or dramatic mode, and such thinking has led to the perpetuation of such myths as “second-rate” fiction is easier to adapt to the screen. Forty years ago, in his pioneering work Novels into Film (and the titles of such books, my own included, are depressingly similar), George Bluestone (1957) wrote of the overt compatibility but secret hostility between novel and film; in the intervening decades nothing has happened radically to challenge this perception. And when I talk to colleagues about film versions of novels or read the sort of criticism I’ve just been quoting, I am sometimes reminded of the late James Agee ,who wrote in 1946 that he had the idea that many serious-minded people wanted movies to offer more elevated themes or “a good faithful adaptation of Adam Bede in sepia, with the entire text read offscreen by Herbert Marshall” (he of the mellifluous tones) (216). It’s as if they want film to be more like literature and are oblivious to what might make film cinematically exciting. In this way, I suspect that a training in literature doesn’t simply fail to provide an understanding of how a film is working. I think it goes further, and more damagingly, to set up a sort of Leavisite evaluative judgment, a high culture/popular culture hierarchy, in which film inevitably comes below/behind the literary text. For such evaluations, the film is only really valuable as it approximates the precursor literary text. I have to say that my experience is that those of us with a literary training are far more likely to hold forth about film, especially in relation to adaptation, than are the film-trained to lay down the law about literature. Most no- 07_274_Ch01.qxd 7/24/07 6:09 PM Page 5 It Wasn’t Like That in the Book . . . 5 torious, perhaps, among the former—the literary-trained—was F. R. Leavis, who described the idea of filming Women in Love as “an obscene undertaking” (quoted by Christie, 1969, 49). He was, of course, speaking sight unseen. It’s partly, perhaps, a matter of the older discipline’s being wary about according equal status to the newer one; it may also be something to do with the huge popularity of cinema, which perhaps makes it seem dubious as a basis for study comparable with literature. On that matter, incidentally, it has always seemed to me curious to hold the belief that it is easier to produce a work of art which pleases many than it is to produce one which will please only the few. At the risk of this chapter’s containing something to offend everyone, I’d add that, as for the film-trained of today, they are often quite ignorant about literature, and indeed about the other arts in general, but, apart from, say, the reviewers whose favorite novel has been filmed in ways displeasing to them, they tend to limit themselves to the area in which their training has equipped them to recognize such qualities as complexity and subtlety. There are, though, younger film reviewers sometimes ready to court favor by expressing a hip impatience with, say, Shakespeare or Jane Austen, which leads them, almost as a reflex action, to prefer Baz Luhrmann’s film William Shakespeare’s Romeo Juliet or Amy Heckerling’s Clueless to more orthodox adaptations of classic literature. Our training in literature equips us to read complexity and subtlety in novels (I’ll stick to novels mainly for this chapter). We are trained to do more than to read for “mere” narrative, though, speaking as one who has recently read and taught Lady Audley’s Secret and The Woman in White in a melodrama course, I have to say I don’t think there is anything “mere” about narrative in the sense of referring to that skill that carries us breathless from one set of events to the next. We have been taught to be attentive to matters like how point of view is created: for example, to the different kinds of purchase on events which a first-person or omniscient author or a Jamesean “central reflector” allows us: how character is revealed by and precipitates action, how thematic concerns are articulated through character and action in collaboration, how to read—in more modern terminology—sometimes conflicting discourses of, say, gender and class. As a result of all this serious study of how literature works and means, we’re unlikely to see Pride and Prejudice (the novel) as no more than a “merry manhunt” or “a picture of a charming and mannered little English world which has long since been tucked away in ancient haircloth trunks” as the New York Times reviewer described the MGM film of nearly sixty years ago (Crowther, 1940, 191). The attitude of literary people to film adaptations of literary works is almost always to the detriment of the film, only grudgingly conceding what 07_274_Ch01.qxd 6 7/24/07 6:09 PM Page 6 Brian McFarlane film may have achieved. My contention is that their training hasn’t taught them to look in film for riches comparable to those they find in literature and that, in consequence, their filmgoing experience, especially when adaptation is in question, tends to seem thin by comparison. When viewing the film version of a novel or play they know, they want to find in the film what they valued in the literary work, without asking whether this is the sort of thing film can do. They are too often not interested in something new being made in the film but only in assessing how far their own conception of the novel has been transposed from one medium to the other. One hears such comments as “Of course, she [i.e., Gwyneth Paltrow] is not Emma,” with little thought for what this might mean in the context of a move from the merely representational mode to what Barthes (1977) calls a “mode of the operable” (89). She is not whose Emma? I suspect there is a yearning for fidelity, not just among those with a literary training, but among quite wide sectors of the filmgoing public, without any real concern for how much fidelity is either possible or desirable—or what it might mean. And such thinking begs the question that there is such a thing as a “true” or fixed meaning for a literary text—for any sort of text for that matter. A certain kind of literary training seems also locked into a mimetic approach which sees divergence from realist expectations as some kind of failure. If you want the same experience (and believe you can have just that experience twice) that you had in reading the novel, why not simply reread the novel? It’s much more likely to produce the desired effect. Fidelity is obviously very desirable in marriage; but with film adaptations I suspect playing around is more effective. The discourse on adaptation is perhaps more enduring and pervasive than any other in relation to filmgoing. When we come out of a cinema, we rarely hear people saying, “What sophisticated control of the mise-en-scène” or “Did you notice the poetic use of lap dissolves?” It is, however, quite common to come out of a cinema after viewing an adaptation or to engage in casual conversation about it afterward and to hear such comments as “Why did they change the ending?” or “She was blonde in the book” or, almost inevitably, “I think I liked the book better.” It is a subject on which everyone feels able to have an opinion, and most opinions, from the casually conversational to exegeses in learned journals, still tend to foreground the criterion of fidelity, whether in explicit terms or by tacit assumption. One such account in a scholarly journal is Nicola Bradbury’s essay on the film version of The Europeans in Essays in Criticism. Speaking of one episode, she writes, “It is not, quite, a picture from James’s novel, though it is thoroughly Jamesean in tone, and excellent cinema” (Bradbury, 1979, 299). By which she seems to mean, in her next sentence, that “every aspect of setting, action, dialogue, charac- 07_274_Ch01.qxd 7/24/07 6:09 PM Page 7 It Wasn’t Like That in the Book . . . 7 ter, image, and theme is interrelated”—and she might just as well be talking about the book. The film, she makes clear, is sensitive and discreet insofar as it matches James. My dissatisfaction with this approach does not stem from the idea of enjoying a particular novel more than its film version; it would be surprising if one had no preference. My dissatisfaction grows from a failure to distinguish between what one might reasonably expect to find transferable from one medium of display to another and what requires the invoking of the processes of what I call “adaptation proper.” Here, essentially, is where a literary training proves most inadequate. It is easy enough to tell, even to quantify, what narrative kernels (in Seymour Chatman’s term) or “cardinal functions” (in Roland Barthes’s term—i.e., what he deems “hinge-points of narrative,” opening up alternative narrative possibilities) have been transferred from the wholly verbal sign system to the system of audiovisual moving images. It is less easy, but a lot more interesting and rewarding, to consider how the processes of “adaptation proper” go about their business: This is where a knowledge of the strategies of film narration or enunciation becomes crucial. I mean here essentially the ways in which the three large classes of film narration—mise-en-scène, editing, and soundtrack, in their various subcategories—put before us the narrative events which, in their bare bones, may have been transferred from page to celluloid. To be ignorant of these is to be ignorant of how film creates meaning in those large areas which pervade a text vertically, as distinct from the horizontal causally linked chain of events. It’s important for me to stress that merely being bold in the matter of adaptation won’t ensure a good/interesting/stimulating film, whether it outrages devotees of the precursor text or not. A recent example is Jane Campion’s A Portrait of a Lady. A good deal of this seems to me intelligent in its rendering of a “young woman affronting her destiny,” making a sad mess of her life, and maintaining her integrity the while. However, whenever the film’s makers set out to be bold, their efforts look so self-conscious, so determinedly filmic, in the context of the naturalism of the classical Hollywood narrative style of the rest of the film, that these “touches” seem merely disruptive. I mean the opening with a lot of young Australian women talking on screen about kissing, all done in black and white, and in no clear way related to what follows; or the home movie scenes of Isabel’s travels; or the scene in which she imagines herself sexually fondled by three men. These constitute “bold” breaks with the expected in the sense, first, that they are departures from James, which one wouldn’t on principle object to, and, second, that they challenge unproductively the validity of the dominant narrative mode of film storytelling in which they are cast. The black-and-white prologue and the 07_274_Ch01.qxd 8 7/24/07 6:09 PM Page 8 Brian McFarlane washed-out old-photographs look of the home movies offers a disconcerting break from the prevailing Technicolor, and the scene of sexual fantasizing, while arguably an objectification of what is part of Isabel’s confusion, sits strangely with the rest of the film in which sexuality is suppressed and its manifestations discreetly if powerfully encoded. I would argue that these apparently bold touches have the effect of being grafted onto, rather than imaginatively integrated into, Campion’s incarnation of the novel’s concerns, that they are jarring rather than enriching or provocative. She has not made the really bold leap that characterizes such transformations as Welles’s Chimes at Midnight or Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho or Amy Heckerling’s Clueless or Alfonso Cuarón’s 1997 version of Great Expectations. In each of these cases, what is offered is, in some sense, a radical reworking of the precursor text, a kind of commentary on its great antecedent, a new work. But if merely being bold is no guarantee that the filmmaker will give satisfaction to audiences who may or may not have read the antecedent novel, neither is a slavish devotion to the original text: that is, to details of plot, character, and settings, for example. Not being bold can cripple the processes of adaptation, and one can end up with not so much an adaptation as an embalmment of a famous work. I place a good deal of BBC classic serial filmmaking in this category: I know enough people loved the serialization of Pride and Prejudice to warrant its being run twice in Australia within a few months (though I suspect the local chapter of the Colin Firth Fan Club of having a hand in that), but it seemed to me the work of an industrious bricklayer rather than an architect, with one event from the novel remorselessly following another, without any sense of shape or structuring, without any apparent point of view on its material. By this assertion, I mean a sort of dogged reproduction, incident by incident, of the novel’s narrative. In fact, the old Hollywood film may have had a surer sense of what it was up to: that is, it was a light-hearted romantic comedy, fuelled by the sorts of star presences and narrative blockages and inevitable closure that characterized the genre. The BBC’s version was eminently more respectable, as if it feared criticism from the academy; it took endless pains over the look of things in early nineteenth-century England; it filled out dialogue exchanges with no doubt well-researched episodes of country dancing and authentically got-up carriages travelling through picturesque countryside; but it seemed to have nothing to say dramatically about its material, except perhaps that sexual attraction was more potent than class or wealth—and we knew that if we’d read the novel, possibly even if we hadn’t. Some of the Merchant-Ivory versions of James and Forster belong in this category in my view: the decorous, undaring, step-by-step, filmmaking-by-numbers approach to the adaptation 07_274_Ch01.qxd 7/24/07 6:09 PM Page 9 It Wasn’t Like That in the Book . . . 9 of the classics, as if the aim was to placate an academy waiting with fangs bared to seize on any violation of the original. Violation, tampering: the sorts of terms used suggest deeply sinister processes of molestation. It may be beginning to sound as if I can’t be satisfied with adaptation of any kind, that I’m irritated by the merely bold and by the overreverent. I should say that this sort of captiousness is not the case and that, in relation to the latter (the close approximation in film terms of the functions of the original), fidelity to incident and character connections, to period and place, doesn’t necessarily produce a poor film or a film that can’t stand evaluative comparison with the novel. Peter Bogdanovich’s Daisy Miller is a striking example of what I mean here: with one exception, admittedly an important one, it transfers all the major examples of what Roland Barthes would call “cardinal functions”; its characters are given to do what they do in the novel and almost always where they do it in the novel. Nevertheless, while observing this surprising degree of transfer, I’d say there is enough of Bogdanovich’s own “commentary,” making itself felt in the film’s enunciatory procedures, on the action devised by James, to lead us to feel we are seeing something new. He seems to me, in adhering to the events of the novel, to provide a commentary on the nature and effects of repression, especially of sexual repression, rather than merely to reproduce the Jamesean complex fate. And one might also add that the Merchant-Ivory team achieve something similar in their adaptation of Howard’s End when the brutalities of class oppressiveness are made so poignant. The ideal seems to me to be, on the one hand, bold and intelligent and, on the other, determined to make something both connected to its precursor and new in itself. The film has the right to be judged as a film; then, one of the many things it also is an adaptation (it is also the product of a particular industrial system, a genre film, part of a tradition of national filmmaking, etc). That is, the precursor literary work is only an aspect of the film’s intertextuality, of more or less importance according to the viewer’s acquaintance with the antecedent work. In, for example, thinking about Olivier’s Hamlet, it may be as important to have in mind the nature of British “quality” cinema, the works that accounted for its postwar prestige, its relation to the British theatrical tradition, the Freudian psychologizing of Dr. Ernest Jones, and the film noir stylistic and thematic preoccupations so common at the time, as it is to have Shakespeare’s play. This is difficult for those of us trained in literature to accept: to approach a narrative mode which expends itself in, say, two hours and find in it complexity and subtlety in their own way as striking as those a novel may develop over several hundred pages and seven or eight hours of reading time. But I would claim that this does happen and 07_274_Ch01.qxd 10 7/24/07 6:09 PM Page 10 Brian McFarlane that the great works of adaptation, particularly of the classics, of works that have been valued by many people over a long period, make us reconsider the original in the light of what a later period and another sign system have made of it, bearing in mind the sorts of other influences I have talked about. I can imagine an approach to the recent film of The Wings of the Dove, which lamented the loss of the extended passages of interior analysis through which James gives us access to the machinations of Kate Croy and the reluctant acquiescence of Merton Densher in her scheme for him to marry the dying Millie Theale and then inherit her vast wealth. (Incidentally, I can also imagine an approach that welcomed such losses.) The film shears away many characters, reduces others to more or less shadowy figures in the wings and focuses the hard bright light of its intelligence and compassion on the central trio. Through decisions made about cutting between faces and the interception of glances, through the framing of faces either, say, in close-up or in sustained two-shot (e.g., Milly and Kate at oblique angles from each other as, from their balcony, they overlook Venice and talk of Merton), about costume and ways of looking, moving and sitting and gesturing, the interior nature of the drama at work among these three is conducted with a rigor that even the rigorous James might have approved. The film is updated to 1910, which may occasion purist objection, but it can also be argued that it enables convincingly just that much more freedom in the representation of sexual desire as to make Kate’s conflict accessible to us now. That she is strongly sexually attracted to Densher intensifies the sense of what she is compelling herself to suppress in urging him to press his intentions on Millie. On another aspect of the difficulties of her situation, that is the oppressiveness for a wellborn young woman in being without money, the film’s mise-en-scène is persistently rigorous and complex in suggesting the different ways in which different settings can oppress. In London, the opening sequence on the Underground at once suggests the difficulty which impoverished lovers might experience in finding privacy: The silent journey in which their space is confined by jostling others builds up mutely a state of tension in which erotic release is finally given in the kiss in the lift. Elsewhere, Densher’s rooms are located in a narrow street whose oppressive potential is created in the mise-en-scène: A low-angled shot stresses the daunting aspect of the slit of light between two high buildings of somber grey; color, light, and angle do the work of rendering not merely place but the quality of place, which, in a novel, might be done through the descriptive aspect of the discursive prose. At the country seat of Lord Mark, the aristocrat whom Kate’s aunt wants her to marry, the sheer scale of the establishment, first indicated in an imposing exterior, then elaborated in shots of its overbearing interior 07_274_Ch01.qxd 7/24/07 6:09 PM Page 11 It Wasn’t Like That in the Book . . . 11 grandeur, is again made palpable through the agency of the mise-en-scène, especially in the choices made about where to put the camera and where and when to move it. All these filming decisions are in the interests of making what Lord Mark has to offer the impoverished Kate seem as impressive as possible—and his motives as questionable. When the narrative moves to Venice, the mise-en-scène triumphantly furthers the whole drama of duplicity. Millie Theale’s innocence is seen as threatened by an ambience in which nothing is solid, where the possibilities for deceit are unlimited. Especially in matters of color and lighting, in the juxtaposing of the superficial beauties of the place with the actualities of its decay and the masquerade in which the lovers make use of disguise to pursue their liaison, the complex web of corruption is rendered in terms of image and editing. The camera—what it chooses to attend to and from what angle and distance and according to what kind of focus, whether it is still or moving, how it frames what is presented to its lens, or what information it chooses to withhold—is, in collaboration with the editor who decides on the suturing of shots to act out the director’s intention, as capable of complexity and subtlety, of ensuring emotional and intellectual engagement, as the writer is on the page in the exercise of a quite other sign system. I began by talking about The Age of Innocence, so it is perhaps appropriate that I should try to demonstrate what I mean by a few direct references to it. About twenty minutes into the film is a wonderful long shot of a substantial New York apartment building (possibly Mrs. Manson Mingott’s) standing at a snowy crossroads, while at the other three corners there is nothing to be seen but the earliest stages of foundation digging. This shot is preceded and followed by interiors, the former at Mrs. Mingott’s house and on its steps, with Mrs. Welland saying it is a mistake for the Countess Olenska to be seen going about with the raffish Julius Beaufort, and the latter over Mrs. Welland’s dinner table where the discussion is about Ellen’s behavior. The shot, intrinsically stunning in its composition, colors, lighting, and angle of vision, seems at first gratuitous. As I’ve said, it’s placed between two interior scenes thick with elegant decoration and charged social talk, and it is apparently offered without comment. In itself, though, it does constitute a comment: it reminds us that this city, with its pretensions, dicta, and assiduously preserved rituals, behaving as if its decorums were sanctioned by generations of lawgivers, is actually still in the process of being built. The mere fact of its being an extreme long shot is itself significant: it implies that if you could stand back and view the city from some detached, sufficiently distant perspective, you might get a very different view on its life from that to be had 07_274_Ch01.qxd 12 7/24/07 6:09 PM Page 12 Brian McFarlane in its socially acceptable purlieux. A single shot is, through the exercise of multiple cinematic strategies, including somberly dignified music on the soundtrack, imbued with a complexity and subtlety that cause it to stay in the mind long after the film is over. We can, of course, let it pass by without registering more than its aesthetic qualities, or not even that: I’m suggesting that, if we give it the kind of attention we expect to give the prose of a great novel, we shall be rewarded not only by its intrinsic beauty but by its commentative power as well. The second example I want to draw attention to occurs even earlier in the film. The passage begins at the opera at the moment when Mrs. Julius Beaufort traditionally rises from her seat (in a box of course) to go home to receive her guests for the Beauforts’ annual ball. A series of shots is joined by dissolves to remove Mrs. Beaufort at the usual moment from the opera to her waiting carriage to her home and to show the opulence of a home which can afford to have a large ballroom for use only once a year. Each successive dissolve signifies a lapse of time and a further stage in the preparation for the ball, over a period of days, perhaps weeks, before the night itself. The dissolves not merely link the shots but also comment on their interconnectedness: The first, for instance, gets Mrs. Beaufort from the opera house into her waiting carriage, as well as gives us a sense of the relative weight which these New Yorkers attach to high culture and high society—the latter wins hands down in any sort of competition for serious attention. This sequence of brief shots linked/separated by dissolves is accompanied by the narrator in ironic voice-over (and drawing on Edith Wharton’s own words) drawing attention to the habits of the natives, then homing in on the Beauforts’ pretensions in particular. The three shots of the ballroom itself represent the stages by which it is transformed from dust-sheeted emptiness to the gleam of readiness to the culminating moment of the orchestra’s playing “Radetsky’s March” as the dancers approach the camera with the exhilarating confidence of people absolutely assured of their place in society. The dissolves themselves act as signifiers of time passed, of time collapsed between three specific points, bringing us up to the moment of the dancing. And following the shots of the orderly dance, viewed in long shot from a high angle, to make the full formality of the occasion clear, the camera cuts to a close-up of the gentlemen’s identical gloves awaiting later collection, a further point mutely made about the formality and conformity of this sample of New York society. I’ve deliberately chosen a moment of no particularly crucial importance to the narrative to show how the film’s narrational resources can be marshalled in the interests of economical storytelling. 07_274_Ch01.qxd 7/24/07 6:09 PM Page 13 It Wasn’t Like That in the Book . . . 13 I’ll finish by referring to a brief, much later extract, which is important to the film’s main narrative line and in which, characteristically of this film, the visual and the aural work together in intricate ways, mediated by the subtlety of the editing. The scene dissolves from Ellen’s stepping into the sunlit street to meet Newland, then dissolves again to the lakeside tea table, where in a series of alternating medium close-ups the situation between the two wouldbe lovers is revealed. This gives way to a tighter alternation of each seen over the shoulder of the other, a way of stressing the inextricable connection between the two and tightening the tension between them, and there is then a brief alternation between their hands touching on the table and the previous set of shots in which the camera looks over the shoulder of one at the other. In the two dissolves that follow, she first vanishes from the scene leaving him deserted, then he vanishes while the camera stays briefly and poignantly on the empty verandah and the voice of Enya on the soundtrack sings the famous song of a dream of love’s tenacity, “I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls.” That it is no more than a dream is reinforced by its being the aural link between this segment and the next, which returns us to thriving New York. The solitary building I showed of the earlier extract is now no longer isolated (the mise-en-scène effortlessly but unobtrusively making a point about material progress) and an army of uniformed businessmen, in top coats and bowlers held on against the wind, moving in slow motion, makes with visual eloquence Wharton’s—and Scorsese’s—point about the conformity which Newland will now find hard to escape. As the song on the soundtrack ends, he emerges from this anonymous crowd. The three categories of narrational strategies—mise-en-scène, editing, and soundtrack—work together to imbue these two transitional sequences of shots with a complexity and subtlety which I think ought to have satisfied my colleague if her training had equipped her to look for these in film and to read the distinctive grammar of the medium. There is a good deal of overlap in areas of intellectual and affective response to a novel and to the film derived from it, but these responses are, of course, the result of two different processes of articulation. It may seem uphill work, but I think it is important for those of us involved in both film and literature to urge more strongly the dropping of a high culture/popular culture hierarchy or even dichotomy, the abandoning of the fidelity approach in favor of a more productive invoking of intertextuality, and the attention to what makes for such qualities as subtlety and complexity in film rather than complaining of the loss of what is peculiar to literature. Film is perhaps so easy to enjoy that it becomes even easier not to notice that a lot is going on. 07_274_Ch01.qxd 14 7/24/07 6:09 PM Page 14 Brian McFarlane Works Cited Agee, James. 1946. Agee on Film. New York: McDowell Oblonsky. [Reprinted from Nation, 19 July 1947.] Barthes, Roland. 1977. Image-Music-Text. Trans. Steven Heath. Glasgow: Fontana/ Collins. Bluestone, George. 1957. Novels into Film. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Bradbury, Nicola. 1979. “Filming James.” Essays in Criticism 29 (4), October, 293–301. Christie, Ian Leslie. 1969. “Women in Love” (Review). Sight and Sound 39 (1): 49–50. Cohen, Keith. 1979. Film and Fiction. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Crowther, Bosley. 1940. “Pride and Prejudice” (Review). New York Times, 9 August, 19. Garner, Helen. 1977. “Unhappy Families.” The Australian, 9 July, B27. Powell, Dilys. 1948. The Dilys Powell Reader. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Reprinted in 1991.] 07_274_Ch02.qxd 7/24/07 6:09 PM Page 15 C H A P T E R T W O Literature vs. Literacy: Two Futures for Adaptation Studies Thomas M. Leitch These are great times to be writing about the cinematic adaptation of literary texts, partly because there has been such a renascence of publications in the field, partly because a productive rupture has arisen between the theory and practice of adaptation studies. This rupture appears in ritual response to each new film adaptation of a canonical novel. On the release of Mira Nair’s brisk, colorful adaptation of Vanity Fair, the director disputed an interviewer’s remark that “Thackeray condemns Becky more than you do,” arguing that the novel was serialized “in a tabloid and editors would respond to him constantly about his last episode. That’s what I ascribe to the classic ‘Hollywood interference mode’: the inconsistencies of the character. . . . He was actually admonished: ‘You’re enjoying Becky too much. Make it clearer who’s the virgin and who’s the whore’” (Wilmington, 2004, 3). Contributors to the Indiana University’s VICTORIA listserv (n.d.) responded with predictable outrage. Patrick Leary, disputing Nair’s suggestion that “she has somehow rescued Thackeray’s original, frustrated intention” as “pure fantasy,” insisted that “the ever-compliant Bradbury & Evans never once in all their long association with Thackeray had anything in particular to say about the content of the fiction he published with them. Nor would Thackeray have paid them any attention if they had.” Sheldon Goldfarb 15 07_274_Ch02.qxd 16 7/24/07 6:09 PM Page 16 Thomas M. Leitch agreed that Vanity Fair was serialized not in a “tabloid” but in its monthly parts, adding, “The ending in the novel reflects the tension that builds up in its latter stages: a tension between the desire to get into high society (the social climbing impulse) and the fear of getting into it (the fear of then being set upon by all the high society ladies, etc.). This is a very interesting tension in the novel (I think reflecting a tension in Thackeray himself), and it is much better expressed by the novel’s ending than the film’s.” Micael Clarke defended Nair’s film as “follow[ing] the novel in important ways”: its “surface sumptuousness,” its critique of society, its sympathy for women. Sarah Brown added that “the Natasha Little version of a few years back [written by Andrew Davies and directed by Marc Munden, 1998] was conspicuously good— sophisticatedly alert to Thackeray’s irony—and it had a real sense of narrative drive and momentum which I don’t think is consistently true of the novel.” Tamara S. Wagner added, “Talking about videos and dvds, I have just been given a catalogue by my university’s AV department: a list of ‘Highly Acclaimed Video Programs from Professor Elliot Engel (They’re Light & Enlightening),’ featuring such titles as ‘The Brilliant and Bizarre Brontës’ and ‘A Dickens of a Christmas.’ Has anyone ever seen (or used) any of those? (Otherwise, we’ll rather go on and order movies like Wild Wild West or Round the World in 80 Days [sic] starring Jackie Chan—light and entertaining enough, I suppose, if one wanted to be entertained of course.)” Despite their differences of opinion, all these statements, including Nair’s, ignore fifty years of adaptation theory in uncritically adopting the author’s intention as a criterion for the success of both the novel and any possible film adaptation. Only Brown suggests that the film could actually improve on the novel. Even she shares the habit, articulated most openly by Wagner, of ranking films based on canonical literary sources above merely “entertaining” films and, incidentally, in preferring evaluation to analysis when considering films in general and adaptations in particular. Although it is unlikely that these commentators or their colleagues would defend these positions as theoretical principles, they do not hesitate to adopt them in practice. One reason that adaptation theory has had so little impact on studies of specific adaptations is that until quite recently, adaptation study has stood apart from the main currents in film theory. As the titles of most of the volumes listed above indicate, they trace their descent more directly from literary studies. Studies of Shakespeare on film, for example, use Shakespeare as a locus around which to organize their analysis of film adaptation. As the center around which individual adaptations orbit or the root from which the adaptations all grow, Shakespeare or Thackeray provides not only an organizing principle for the study of specific adaptations but an implicit standard 07_274_Ch02.qxd 7/24/07 6:09 PM Page 17 Literature vs. Literacy 17 of value for them all. Kamilla Elliott observes that “theories of the novel and of the film within their separate disciplines appear to have been significantly influenced by interdisciplinary rivalries” (2003, 13). More specifically, studies of adaptation tend to privilege literature over film in two ways. By organizing themselves around canonical authors, they establish a presumptive criterion for each new adaptation. And by arranging adaptations as spokes around the hub of such a strong authorial figure, they establish literature as a proximate cause of adaptation that makes fidelity to the source text central to the field. Few empirical studies of adaptation accept these assumptions uncritically. In what is widely regarded as the founding text in adaptation study, George Bluestone notes that “changes are inevitable the moment one abandons the linguistic for the visual medium” (1957, 5) and concludes, “It is as fruitless to say that film A is better or worse than novel B as it is to pronounce Wright’s Johnson’s Wax Building better or worse than Tchaikowsky’s Swan Lake” (5–6). Both Sarah Cardwell’s study (2002) of television adaptations of four classic English novels and most of the essays collected in Deborah Cartmell and Imelda Whelehan’s recent anthology (1999) question the primacy of literature as a touchstone for cinema. To the extent that adaptation study subordinates both specific adaptations to their canonical source texts and cinema as a medium to literature as a medium, it serves either faithfully or not, however, adaptations are studied under the sign of literature, which provides an evaluative touchstone for films in general. This approach has dominated a half century of adaptation studies for several reasons. None of the first generation of scholars who led the charge to introduce film studies to the academy had received formal training in film studies themselves. Most of them came from English departments where they had been absorbed the pedagogical habits of close reading and the aesthetic values of literature—what James Naremore calls “the submerged common sense of the average English department . . . a mixture of Kantian aesthetics and Arnoldian ideas about society” (2000, 2). Although Naremore traces these Arnoldian ideas to Culture and Anarchy, the program of comparative evaluation at the heart of Arnold’s own aesthetics emerges more clearly in “The Study of Poetry.” Having offered poetry, in which “the idea is everything,” as a substitute for a religious tradition undermined by such heterodox facts as the discovery of ancient fossils and the theory of evolution, Arnold urges, We should conceive of poetry worthily, and more highly than it has been the custom to conceive of it. We should conceive of it as capable of higher uses, 07_274_Ch02.qxd 18 7/24/07 6:09 PM Page 18 Thomas M. Leitch and called to higher destinies, than those which in general men have assigned to it hitherto. More and more mankind will discover that we have to turn to poetry to interpret life for us, to console us, to sustain us. Without poetry, our science will appear incomplete; and most of what now passes with us for religion and philosophy will be replaced by poetry. (1903, vol. 4, 2) If the burden Arnold places on poetry seems quaintly anachronistic, the passage may readily be freshened by replacing the term with literature or novels or indeed cinema—though not, clearly, with popular culture, from whose degrading influence Arnold assigns poetry, as successors like Tamara Wagner would presumably assign canonical cinema, the specific function of rescuing us. The earliest films to come in for academic study under the Arnoldian dispensation that still ruled in American universities in 1960 fell into two categories: adaptations of canonical classics that served as adjuncts to the literary canon and classic works of cinema that could be studied as members of a supplementary quasi-literary cinematic canon. The first approach generated myriad courses in Shakespeare and film, the second courses in the masters of European art cinema from Dreyer to Bergman, Antonioni, and Godard, and, still later, in quasi-canonical American masters like Chaplin, Welles, and Hitchcock. Under this dispensation, many films were studied under the aegis of the literary works that gave them currency. Courses in Shakespeare and film were often courses in Shakespeare through film. Other courses were conducted under the sign of literature, analyzing and evaluating the films at hand as if they were literary works themselves, mining them for the ambiguity, complexity, penetration, and personal expressiveness traditionally associated with literature. In every case, specific literary works and literature in general were stipulated as touchstones. Elliott has traced in trenchant detail the conflict between categorical approaches to adaptation, which follow Lessing’s Laocoön in emphasizing the differences among such sister arts as literature, painting, and cinema that make them distinct modes with different expressive and representational possibilities, and analogical approaches, which follow Horace’s “Ars Poetica” in emphasizing similarities among the arts that make it reasonable to imagine translations from one medium to another. What she does not emphasize in opposing these two approaches is their shared assumption that adaptation study is essentially aesthetic. Both categorical studies of adaptation and studies that emphasize analogies among the arts take as their central line of inquiry the question of what makes works of art successful—or what, in the more old-fashioned language adopted by both Horace and Lessing, makes them beautiful. 07_274_Ch02.qxd 7/24/07 6:09 PM Page 19 Literature vs. Literacy 19 This inquiry is remote from the central inquiry of academic film studies, which from its beginnings had staked its insurgent disciplinary claims by rejecting the aesthetic appreciation of literature and developing a competing methodology of cultural critique rooted in the revolutionary intellectual ferment in France during the 1960s and 1970s. Films were valuable not because they formed a canon of fully achieved works of art according to traditional aesthetic criteria but because they raised illuminating questions, offered insight into overdetermined historical moments or the contemporary scene, exploded shibboleths that stifled critical discussion, or otherwise promoted a more thoughtful analysis of what Michel Foucault called the human sciences. The rift between the aesthetic approach of literary studies and the analytical approach of cinema studies marked adaptation studies in two ways. It isolated adaptation studies from film studies, aligning it more closely with the programs in literary studies from which so many of its early practitioners had come. The further film studies drifted toward the left, unmasking film after film for political critique, the more firmly adaptation scholars dug in their heels on the right, championing the old-guard values of universalist humanism. At the same time, the rift widened between the theory and the practice of adaptation studies, which continued to take literary aesthetics as its touchstone and canonical works and authors as its organizing principle. It could hardly have been otherwise, since even potential methodological inversions of Shakespeare on film—Hitchcock’s literary sources, for example—would have enshrined Hitchcock the auteur, film studies’ version of the literary classic, in place of Shakespeare as the locus of meaning and value. The persistence of humanist values in adaptation studies is not so much a triumph of Arnold as a triumph of evaluation that insists that originals are always touchstones of value for their adaptations, unless of course the adaptations are better. Even the staunchest partisans of textual fidelity, after all, urge their students to revise their papers. Fidelity makes sense as a criterion of value only when we can be certain that the model is more valuable than the copy. In the absence of this certainty, teachers license Hitchcock’s free adaptations and urge students to revise, not because
2205	dbpedia	1	65	https://www.biblio.com/book/charlie-chans-caravan-earl-derr-biggers/d/1539076310	en	3 titles in one volume copyrights 1926, 1929,1930.	https://d3525k1ryd2155.c…39076310.0.x.jpg	https://d3525k1ryd2155.c…39076310.0.x.jpg	[ "https://d3525k1ryd2155.cloudfront.net/i/en20/Biblio-logo.svg", "https://d3525k1ryd2155.cloudfront.net/images/flags/de.svg", "https://d3525k1ryd2155.cloudfront.net/images/flags/de.svg", "https://d3525k1ryd2155.cloudfront.net/h/310/076/1539076310.0.m.jpg", "https://d3525k1ryd2155.cloudfront.net/h/310/076/1539076310.0.m.jpg", "https://d3525k1ryd2155.cloudfront.net/images/flags/us.svg", "https://d3525k1ryd2155.cloudfront.net/h/672/631/543631672.0.b.jpg", "https://d3525k1ryd2155.cloudfront.net/h/191/906/1128906191.0.b.jpg", "https://d3525k1ryd2155.cloudfront.net/i/en20/Biblio-seal-logo.svg", "https://d3525k1ryd2155.cloudfront.net/i/en20/BBB-logo-ftr.png", "https://www.biblio.com/images/track.php?_i=1539076310&_c=37727798&_d=2534234&_t=book&_p=" ]	[]	[]	[ "Short Stories; Mysteries; Fiction; Movie scripts; Charlie Chan detective series;" ]	null	[ "Earl Derr Biggers" ]	1930-08-12T00:00:00	Early 20th century Earl Derr Biggers. b.1884, Warren, Ohio - d. 1933 in Pasadena, California. At Harvard he worked at that college's student-run "Lampoon", he worked as a journalist initially, then found success writing for the movie industry. His…	en	https://assets3.biblio.c…c.7501rBEfXw.png	Biblio.com	https://www.biblio.com/book/charlie-chans-caravan-earl-derr-biggers/d/1539076310	Early 20th century Earl Derr Biggers. b.1884, Warren, Ohio - d. 1933 in Pasadena, California. At Harvard he worked at that college's student-run "Lampoon", he worked as a journalist initially, then found success writing for the movie industry. His first novel, Seven Keys to Baldpate, was popular in 1913, and George M. Cohan quickly adapted the novel as a hit Broadway stage play of the same name, and it became a movie in 1917. This collection includes short stories. His series of detective novels featured the fictional Charlie Chan, inspired by the true Chang Apana. Lower spine damage compromises this book moderately, but is holding together; very readable. Dull water damge evident across lower page block. 30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged. Return postage is not offered for returns considered discretionary. Please read the description of the item or book thoroughly before placing an order. A few photos specific to the book may be requested before ordering. Shipping is most economical by media mail, and quickest by U.S. Priority Mail. Occasionally a lightweight item will be upgraded to 1st Class Mail domestically as a courtesy. Heavy and / or large items to be shipped internationally often require additional postage, mutually agreed upon via biblio.com.
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"https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/c5f16228ab8c9107f369ed287b99991c707b69fa6aea91bfcb4740a5855b2570?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/c5f16228ab8c9107f369ed287b99991c707b69fa6aea91bfcb4740a5855b2570?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/b97ba84b63801111b9bc5973d5a793289603261b19952d90de896e9d182c0ed2?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://s2.wp.com/i/logo/wpcom-gray-white.png", "https://s2.wp.com/i/logo/wpcom-gray-white.png", "https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?v=noscript" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	Posts about Parker Novels written by fredfitch	en	https://s1.wp.com/i/favicon.ico	The Westlake Review	https://thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/category/parker-novels/	For of all sad words of tongue or pen, The Saddest are these: “It might have been!” From Maud Muller, by John Greenleaf Whittier, but then Kurt Vonnegut reworded it slightly in Cat’s Cradle, referring to Whittier only as ‘the poet’, and now everyone attributes it to Vonnegut. To paraphrase Oedipus, Hamlet, Lear, and all those guys, “I wish I had known this some time ago.” From Sign of the Unicorn, by Roger Zelazny, and notice how he credits his sources, even though he’s just paraphrasing? Ah, hindsight. Had I but known. That’s considered a mystery subgenre of sorts, you know. But I didn’t, you see. There’s the rub. When I started this blog, I was but an aging neophyte with regards to the mystery genre. I knew Westlake pretty well–or so I thought–but not the ocean he spent most of his life navigating. So when it came time to talk about the influences on a given novel or story, I might, by chance, be familiar with this or that possible source (I was reading a long time before I knew Westlake existed), but there would be so many others I had no inkling of. And then, later, I stumble across one, smite my forehead. Then another. And yet another. The forehead shows signs of bruising. Mr. Westlake was a most erudite mariner. Or if you prefer, he’s Arne Saknussemm, and as I tunnel my way through this genre, I keep finding his mark, to indicate he’s been here before me. Perhaps you’ve seen his mark too, here and there. (Or are we the marks? God save us.) To be a professional genre writer, you have to know the territory–those who came before you may have tricks of the trade to share–or have made mistakes you want to avoid–and you certainly want to avoid plagiarism charges. The trick, and it’s no mean one, is to borrow, constantly, without stealing. To see something worth recycling, run your own variations on the theme–perhaps improve on them, as Bach ofttimes improved upon Vivaldi (Vivaldi might disagree). And if you do it just right, you can make your influences clear without ever copping to them (thus opening yourself up to the legal representatives of an irate estate). Clear, that is, to those who pay attention, and the rest can just enjoy a good story. Like Mitch Tobin, sagest and saddest of his reluctant detectives, Westlake was a completist. You need as much context as you can muster, to see as many of the worlds within this world as you can, in order to pierce the mystery (which is about so much more than whodunnit). Mystery is not one form but rather hundreds, perhaps thousands. I don’t think he read everything (nobody could), but he covered the bases, mastered the essentials. And perhaps for no reason other than to challenge himself (and to make a living), he would identify a discrete form within the form, study its best practitioners–and set out to create his own take on it, possibly without telling anyone he was doing that. The result wouldn’t always turn out equally well (trial and error leads to a great deal of the latter), but it kept him amused, and I think he had no greater enemy than boredom. The sense of repeating oneself, going through the motions. He had to keep writing. And what he wrote had to come partly from himself, his ideas and experiences, but you run out of those so quickly (as Hammett learned). And then what? Then, Westlake reasoned, you combine stale ideas with fresh perceptions. Anyway, I’ve come across what I consider three separate instances of this penchant of his–I’ve already mentioned one in the comments section for the relevant novel–hadn’t thought it enough of a find for its own piece, but it will do as one wheel of a tricycle. Let’s start with that. I’m working from home of late (call me eccentric), and as fate would have it, I’m helping to catalogue a large assortment of old mystery novels, anthologies, assorted miscellenia (hmm–aren’t all miscellenia assorted, by definition?) One title caught my eye–The Chinese Parrot. The second Charlie Chan novel (of six), by Earl Derr Biggers. Westlake directly referenced the Chan novels and movies in his third Samuel Holt mystery, What I Tell You Three Times Is False. In that novel, Sam is trapped in a huge mansion on a remote island with several other actors known entirely for playing a fictional detective, one of whom is Fred Li, described as the first Asian to play Chan, which isn’t quite accurate–there were several early adaptations (including a silent adaptation of The Chinese Parrot, of which no extant prints are currently known to exist) featuring Korean and Japanese actors as Chan (because they all look alike and Chinese immigration had been banned for a while), but for reasons too tiresomely predictable to mention, the detective’s role in the story was greatly reduced. Chan only became the protagonist of his own films once he was played by Occidentals in makeup. All this merely serves to establish Westlake’s famliarity with the character, which shouldn’t really require proof, since his generation routinely went to see Chan movies in the theater, then watched them on latenight TV later on. Very popular. Those of us familiar with Mr. Westlake will further divine that he wouldn’t have stopped with the Hollywood yellowface. He would have gone back to the originals, at least some of them. The second book in a series, in some ways, matters more than the first (you don’t have a series until you have a second book) so safe bet he read it. Equally safe bet he wouldn’t use plot elements from it in a novel where an actor playing Chan is a character. But years later, when he was writing the penultimate Parker novel, I believe elements of this book came back to him. Let’s come back to that after I do a very quick synopsis. (I can do that when forced.) This is the only Chan novel I’ve ever read, and I skimmed it, mainly because most of the characters are white people, and these white people are dull. By which I mean not only uninteresting, but exceptionally thick-witted. It’s normal in a detective story for nearly everyone other than the detective and killer to be clueless (or what’s the detective for?), but Chan novels take this to the extreme, so I mainly just skipped to the parts about Chan himself, and soon discovered why these books have endured, in spite of their dating, and their defects. Charlie Chan is a sphinx with many secrets–not only in the caucasian world, but even amongst his relations, some of whom he visits on his trip to the west coast. The previous novel having established him as a police detective in Honolulu, he goes to visit a cousin in San Francisco, who thinks he’s doing the bidding of ‘white devils.’ (The cousin also objects to his pretty assimilated American-born daughter working as a switchboard operator, but that second generation tends to laugh off such objections from old fuddy duddies, as those of us with recent immigrant roots know full well.) He is there, ostensibly, to deliver a valuable necklace to a wealthy buyer, as a favor to a former employer fallen on hard times, but there is murder most fowl (humble apologies, dishonorable pun was lying there waiting to be sprung)–a pet parrot in the buyer’s desert home is poisoned. Apparently because he talked too much. “Poor Tony very sick before he go on long journey,” Chan continued. “Very silent and very sick. In my time I am on track of many murders, but I must come to this peculiar mainland to ferret out parrot-murder. Ah, well—all my life I hear about wonders on this mainland.” “They poisoned him,” Bob Eden cried. “Why?” “Why not?” shrugged Chan. “Very true rumour says ‘dead men tell no tales’! Dead parrots are in same fix, I think. Tony speaks Chinese like me. Tony and me never speak together again.” Many justly defend Biggers from intended bigotry, but it must be said, a man as smart as Chan, born and raised in the future 50th state, could speak better English than that if he wanted to. Then again, a man as smart as Lieutenant Columbo probably could too, when questioning snooty rich guys–only he appreciates the advantages of being underestimated by his social superiors, who prove not so superior after all–and guess where that idea came from? The shadow of Chan is large indeed. For the usual contrived reasons, Chan spends much of the book masquerading as a domestic, with even more stereotypical dialect, in the rich man’s desert home, with a few confederates knowing of the imposture (not as few as he’d prefer, since his trust in caucasians is only slightly greater than his cousin’s). “Charlie,” said Bob Eden, “this is a friend of mine, Mr Will Holley. Holley, meet Detective-Sergeant Chan, of the Honolulu police.” At mention of his name Chan’s eyes narrowed. “How do you do?” he said coldly. “It’s all right,” Eden assured him. “Mr Holley can be trusted—absolutely. I’ve told him everything.” “I am far away in strange land,” returned Chan. “Maybe I would choose to trust no one—but that, no doubt, are my heathen churlishness. Mr Holley will pardon, I am sure.” “Don’t worry,” said Holley. “I give you my word. I’ll tell no one.” Chan made no reply, in his mind, perhaps, the memory of other white men who had given their word. He’s always wearing a mask, hiding his true self from those around him–now he’s wearing a mask over his mask, because much as white devils underestimate a Chinese policeman, they barely notice a Chinese servant. This allows him great freedom of movement, ample opportunity for investigation. The case is cracked, and let’s just say it’s not the greatest mystery ever written by a long shot (I gather it’s not the best Biggers was capable of), but that’s not really the point of anything, since it’s a story about human motivations, and a man who studies them closely, carefully, quietly, because his professional success depends on such observations. As to his true feelings, his own motivations, those always remain, to some extent, opaque–one might say inscrutable. You want to know what Chan really thinks of us? Might as well ask the parrot. Yeah. So that’s where the hook for the best of the final three Parker novels and one of the most haunting and intriguing books of the entire series, comes from. (Though to be fair, fish out of water stories are older than the Paleoarchean hills, as are stories about disguised wanderers.) To make it even more clear, there’s an abandoned mining town key to the story, and a crazy old hermit who comes out of nowhere, then disappears from the story, after providing a useful if misleading clue (but he isn’t shot down by mistake then left for scavengers, like the equivalent character from the Stark novel). As usual, where Westlake seeks to improve upon his model is motivation. Chan, as a policeman, self-effacing hero of the piece, and a self-conscious attempt by Biggers to counter racial stereotypes (only to end by perpetrating them, because it’s never that easy), has to behave honorably at all times. Even though you get the distinct feeling he does so under extreme sufferance. As a felon on the lam in upstate NY, Parker only has to survive. His imposture, in a dying little town, done at the behest of a poor man seeking restitution, who knows Parker’s secret, and has one of his own Parker smells profit in, is much easier to justify. Not only is he not called upon to solve the parrot’s murder (which is no mystery, except in the sense so much of we do is mysterious), he never even learns about it, nor would he give a damn if he did. The story wouldn’t be much different if Stark’s nameless parrot (less garrulous than poor Tony, though it’s his decision to speak that gets him shot) wasn’t there–yet he’s the title character. How come? The parrot is there to tell us where parts of this story came from. A respectful and nigh-inscrutable nod of the head to a predecessor who taught him a few tricks of the trade. A subtle hint to the reader, that went unnoticed by most, since these two novels really couldn’t be much more different. (Marilyn Stasio, who reviewed several late Parker novels, provided an introduction to a recent reprint of The Chinese Parrot–did she pierce the mystery? I greatly misdoubt it, but that edition is not evailable.) (In both books, the titular parrot is not nearly so colorful as the ones on most of the covers.) All that being said (and Stark’s parrot is the wiser bird by far), Westlake knew very well Parker could never equal Chan’s ability to blend into the background, by putting on a cook’s clothing and chattering like Hop Sing from Bonanza. Parker is suspected, almost immediately, by several suspicious locals, of not being who he claims to be–Chan is only exposed at the climax, through a chance encounter, the fool’s mask slipping away to reveal the hunter beneath. The race/class element is not present, and the story told to justify Parker’s sudden presence in Tom Lindahl’s world is even more hastily improvised, under the far sterner exigencies Parker faces. For all that, it’s still a story about how most people see only what they’re prepared to see, and Parker, like Chan, sees what’s really there. Thankfully, Parker doesn’t have to speak in hokey dialect. He has the luxury of a white skin. Not that he gives a damn. Just another mask. The Chinese policeman and the Wolf in sheep’s clothing would understand each other very well, in spite of their professional divide. I would not go so far as to say Parker is Chan’s Number One Son, but again, dishonorable joke was impossible to resist. So from one of Westlake’s finest novels to perhaps his very worst–I’ll give this one short shrift. This is an easy catch, but to make it, you have to know the source, and it’s not a much-watched film these days. TCM and DVR–what did we ever do without you? Jane Russell was Star of the Month for April, and I could hardly refrain from recording a few of her films I was not familiar with. (This gentleman does not invariably prefer blondes.) The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown? Didn’t sound promising, but what the hell. It ended up being the only one I watched without fast-forwarding (much). One of her personal favorites, though according to her own perceptive commentary (Russell, as you all should know, was a damn smart broad) it ended up foundering on a difference in vision between herself and the director, Norman Taurog. She wanted a more serious satiric film, in black and white–he wanted a color romp. It ended up going both ways. You can see the joins. She’s great in it–one of her best performances–like her chum Bob Mitchum, she never really exerted herself much, unless she found the role challenging. With looks like theirs, it wasn’t necessary. Neither is a synopsis. There’s no point in my trying to prove Westlake saw this film prior to writing his take, since Westlake only wrote that half-baked kidnap caper after working up a script with that general premise at the behest of disreputable film producers (very nearly the only kind he ever got to work with. The flick was never lensed, but he retained the novel adaptation rights (hated to waste work). I have no idea who first had the idea of kidnapping a sexy starlet and holding her for ransom, but Taurog’s comedy is the earliest instance I know of where somebody actually made a film with this precise subject, and given that it had been just about ten years since the last attempt, some producer probably figured it was worth another go. It’s not easy to write a romantic comedy about an ex-con (wrongly convicted, of course) who decides to kidnap a famous sex bomb who is bored with her life (though very good at her job), roughs her up a bit when she gets out of line, and they end up falling madly in love with each other. Westlake probably did know the earlier film (maybe had it screened for him), and would have noted all the gyrations you have to go through to make that work. He decided to switch the romantic angle from the star who is bored with her life to a younger woman who wants that life for herself, or so she thinks. The kidnapping in the Taurog film is very perfunctory, and far too easy. Westlake, who had only written capers as Stark up to that point, made it into a carefully planned girl heist (computer-planned, in fact) that gangs a mite aglae, but still works out well for all concerned (except for the English grifters who for all I know were a legacy from the original film concept). The kidnappers, sterling lads all, actually get their cash, get away clean, and the gangleader gets his girl, while the movie star goes home well-rested. Were they going to do all that if the film was made? They didn’t in Russell’s flick. There’s little point in trying to decipher how much of Sassi is Westlake, how much is the fuzzy nightgown, and how much is the threadbare borrowed concept he was handed by his former employers. That’s not my point of interest here. It is rather the origin of the earlier film, which was, if you’d believe it, based on a novel that may have been the basis for the self-faked kidnapping of a very minor Hollywood starlet. (No, her name wasn’t Jimmy, but she was some kid.) So did Westlake know about Marie McDonald’s fictionally inspired self-snatch? Did he check out the Sylvia Tate novel? I would, but damn, expensive–though the first edition hardcover is often cheaper, because it doesn’t have Jane Russell on the cover, like the paperbacks that came out with the movie. The book is not e-vailable, and life is short, you know? Shorter all the time. Life imitating art imitating life imitating whatever. Shades of the Peugeot snatch, that inspired the third Dortmunder book. Did all that stick in his mind, and a few years later, he found an opportunity to tell a version of the same story, only this time exploiting all the latent satiric potential that Russell and Taurog couldn’t get close to? With a gang that wasn’t the least bit glamorous, but were always good for a laugh. (Incidentally, the great Keenan Wynn plays the kidnapper’s best friend and confederate, and wouldn’t he have been a great pick to play Kelp, if Kelp had actually been a thing in the 1950’s?) I think that’s all I want to say about this one. So elsewhere amidst all the quaint and curious volumes of forgotten lore I’m helping to catalogue (some of which were penned by Poe), I became aware of Mary Roberts Rinehart. One of the most influential and successful of early mystery novelists, by no means forgotten today, though not quite the icon she used to be. (Through her industrious sons, her last name decorated several major publishing houses over the years.) She it was who inspired The Butler Did It meme that everybody knows, and almost nobody knows the origin of (it was actually a stage adaptation of a novel of hers that got that into popular parlance–the line does not appear in her novel, but people would describe what happened, and the rest is history). Her most famous and influential novel of all is the one you see up top. (That link leads to Project Gutenberg.) And that novel (along with many others that followed in its train) inspired a less well-known term, that subsequently inspired the ribaldry of Ogden Nash– Personally, I don’t care whether a detective-story writer was educated in night school or day school So long as he doesn’t belong to the H.I.B.K. school, The H.I.B.K. being a device to which too many detective-story writers are prone; Namely the Had-I-But-Known. In this case, the critics done it. Readers loved her books, bought them by the carload, but were not required to read them for a living, and become overly innured to the inevitable tropes. So peevish reviewers began pointing out that book after book would begin with the narrator of the ensuing mystery lamenting that if she (it was often a she) had only known what would happen, things would have gone much differently. Foreshadowing, a technique for getting the mystery reader interested in finding out what terrible things would happen, as if the genre itself wasn’t a damned good clue. But isn’t that life, friends? Don’t we all go around lamenting thusly, of our unfortunate uninformedness, that led us into one pickle after another, and sometimes the waiting embrace of a body bag? Is the mystery writer to ignore this inevitable outcome of being an autonomous, self-aware, yet not omniscient being? (“Had I but known that when I went to the corner store to buy Kleenex, a woman would just walk up to the counter, right next to me, her unworn mask dangling down her neck, wanting to buy a pack of gum….” Three days ago. I’ll stop obsessing over it in another eleven. I trust. “Had we but known Donald Trump was a self-obsessed idiot…”–oh wait, we did know that. But what’s the worst that could happen, huh? Better not waste any more time on second-guessing.) Let it be said, Rinehart was not a bad writer at all (most styles date at least a bit) and Westlake was hardly the first, by a very long shot, to inject wry humor into the mystery trade. This is the story of how a middle-aged spinster lost her mind, deserted her domestic gods in the city, took a furnished house for the summer out of town, and found herself involved in one of those mysterious crimes that keep our newspapers and detective agencies happy and prosperous. For twenty years I had been perfectly comfortable; for twenty years I had had the window-boxes filled in the spring, the carpets lifted, the awnings put up and the furniture covered with brown linen; for as many summers I had said good-by to my friends, and, after watching their perspiring hegira, had settled down to a delicious quiet in town, where the mail comes three times a day, and the water supply does not depend on a tank on the roof. And then—the madness seized me. When I look back over the months I spent at Sunnyside, I wonder that I survived at all. As it is, I show the wear and tear of my harrowing experiences. I have turned very gray—Liddy reminded me of it, only yesterday, by saying that a little bluing in the rinse-water would make my hair silvery, instead of a yellowish white. I hate to be reminded of unpleasant things and I snapped her off. “No,” I said sharply, “I’m not going to use bluing at my time of life, or starch, either.” The opening passage of The Circular Staircase. And here is a less whimsical, more existential approach to the same answerless rhetorical question. The ticket window was to my left, and on impulse I went over and asked the man when was the next train back to New York. Without checking anything, he said “Four-ten.” It was not yet eleven-thirty. Would I have gone back if there’d been a train right away? Possibly, I don’t know. The house would have been empty, Kate and Bill already gone to Long Island. I would have had a month to myself, Kate wouldn’t have had to know I’d stayed home until she herself returned. And of course by then it would have been too late to make me go back to The Midway. Would that have been better, as things turned out? But that’s a meaningless question, really. In a life in which nothing really matters, nothing can be either better or worse. If you’re looking for it, it’s not at all hard to see (which I suppose is one possible answer to the Had-I-But-Known thing–we are not sufficiently mindful of our surroundings, or of past life lessons learned, then forgotten–not our stars, but ourselves.) However, he knows better–having read Rinehart, and many others–not to harp on it too much. It’s all so much less busy, and there is far more attention paid to motivation, character development–to making it a story about people, not plot devices. This much I can know–Westlake wrote Wax Apple quite consciously in the H.I.B.K. vein. It is entirely about belated recognitions, Mitch Tobin figuring things out just a moment too late to avoid the consequences, to himself and others. He typically feels no sense of triumph in identifying the guilty party here, already in stir, you might say. It’s diverting, gripping–but there’s no sense of fun to it. What’s so fun about people dying? (Rinehart’s protagonist is already missing the excitement by the end, planning to find another country house to rent, hoping for more distractions from her boring existence, which is of course what people read books like this for.) While this is not an uncommon feature in detective stories, and Tobin especially, it is especially pronounced here, and to exceptionally fine effect. I consider this the best of the Tobin novels, and far as I’m concerned, the best H.I.B.K anyone ever wrote, though I’d have to slog through a whole lot of so-so mystery books to know that for sure. He indubitably read some of Rinehart’s work. He probably knew about the disdain some critics held this type of story in (most of them being male, and filled with the usual derision towards lady scriveners not named Austen or Sand), and while he was something of a critic himself, he knew professional book reviewers are mainly good at missing the point of things, as they did so often with him. But would they even notice the well-worn plot device here, in a hard-boiled detective story, whose protagonist is not an aging spinster, but a disgraced and depressed former police detective, visiting not a grand old country manor, but a halfway house for mental patients? I am not aware of anyone but myself ever twigging to that, and me only by virtue of being stuck at home, pouring over endless lists of books most people will never read again. That doesn’t mean no one ever did. Could I but know…… So to sum up, this is my lament for all the things that had I but known them, I would have put in my earlier reviews of these three books, and so many others. But I did not know, had nary the inkling, and all I can do now is bewail my past ignorance, and be grateful the consequences here are relatively inconsequential. Nobody died. Right? And the upside is, I can write many more articles about all the things I didn’t know heretofore. And since I know so very little, I can bore you all here for years to come with my belated recognitions. If I can but avoid being one of the many casualties of ignorance. Would that you all avoid that as well. Parker is the classic antihero, with lots of free-floating hostility and, of course, fulfilling male fantasies, all the “dames” in the novel are crazy about him on sight. But to clear up a few facts: There isn’t a spot at the approaches to the tollbooths where any kind of hero, anti or otherwise, can be offered a ride; only a world-class spitter could possibly hit a rapidly moving hubcap; and the Hudson, at the point where Parker throws his cigarette into it, is a tidal estuary, not the ocean. Also, there are those of us who take issue with the suggestion that anyone heading for New Jersey is a “nobody.” However, none of this stopped Hollywood from twice making films inspired by The Hunter: Point Blank (1967), starring Lee Marvin, and Payback (1999), starring Mel Gibson. From The George Washington Bridge: Poetry in Steel, by Michael Aaron Rockland (Rutgers University Press) We went up the Henry Hudson Parkway and over the George Washington Bridge. We took the lower level and Dad said “This is new.” “This part of the bridge? It looks nutty.” We went up 9 to 17,and then west on 17 toward Binghamton From 361, By Donald E. Westlake. I’ve got about a hundred articles I’m thinking about writing. Thinking about writing isn’t writing. (Barely qualifies as thinking.) I’ve even started a few. Then I get sidetracked. Bogged down. Or there’s too many books crossing my desk at the library. Enterprise of great pith and moment, currents turned awry, you know the drill. But this past week, a book crossed my desk at the library. The one quoted up top. Which was published in 2008 (a few months before Mr. Westlake went out of print), but for whatever reason, we got it in 2020. It’s supposed to be the first book ever written specifically about The World’s Busiest Bridge, which Prof. Rockland justly feels is unjustly slighted in favor of the one in Brooklyn–but in fact another one came out in 2006, probably after he started writing his. Not evailable, that one. I ordered a used copy, just to be thorough. And because I love that damn bridge. Not quite as much as I love a certain story that begins there. Now you know me, pals. You know exactly what I did. Same thing you’d do in my place. Flipped forward to the index, headed over to the ‘w’s, and there it was. ‘Westlake, Donald.’ That’s right. But when I flipped back to Chapter 8, ‘The George Washington Bridge in Literature,’ what I found was not an enconium to epic pulp writing, but a curt backhanded diss. Prof. Rockland was not impressed with Richard Stark’s–starkness. Parker, the protagonist, has been double-crossed by his partner, shot by his wife, and left for dead in a burning building. The novel begins on the New Jersey side of the bridge with a tone more than a little reminiscent of Mickey Spillane’s unremitting, often misogynistic, malice: Followed by a truncated quote from the book’s opening. Followed by the jaundiced offhanded critique you can read up top. And that’s it. He gives The Hunter a lot less ink than several other novels referenced in the chapter on literary references to the GWB. Even though, as he somewhat begrudgingly concedes, it’s the only one that inspired two major motion pictures, that people actually still watch, unlike Up the Sandbox, based on an out-of-print novel by Anne Roiphe, a film even a Streisand fan couldn’t love. (That movie doesn’t feature the bridge, and neither do the two based on The Hunter, which is what Rockland ought to be mad about–I sure am.) But you know, he’s got a right to his opinion. He likewise gives short shrift to Howard Fast’s Redemption, and James Baldwin’s Another Country–he thinks they’re good books, but they aren’t bridgey enough. Other than the out-of-print Up the Sandbox, (included because of a fantasy sequence where the heroine helps blow up his favorite bridge) you can get most of the novels he references for Kindle–some for free, if you have Kindle Unlimited. The Hunter you’re going to have to shell out for. People actually still want to read that. Ah, but here’s the rub. At the time Rockland must have submitted his manuscript, The Hunter was also out of print, at least in America. The University of Chicago Press edition came out the same year as Poetry in Steel. So cut him some slack. He thought he was writing about some Spillane wannabe who had been lucky enough to sell a few books to Hollywood. He didn’t know he was writing at the dawn of The Starkian Renaissance, courtesy of Levi Stahl. Neither does he seem to have known that Mr. Westlake was, like him, a New Yorker born, who lived a fair bit of his life in New Jersey. No indication he knows Westlake set many a brilliant novel there; nor does he seem to have twigged to the fact that Parker spends most of the series holed up in Passaic County with Claire. If he had known all that, I think he might have been a mite less jaundiced about the eight best paragraphs of prose ever set on that most complex of edifices spanning the majestic Hudson. Prof. Rockland is a noted Jersey Chauvinist (he helped popularize the term ‘Jerseyana’), and speaking as one myself, I’ve no problem with this. Most of the bad attitude that reeks from his brush-off stems from what he mistakenly reads as a typical Jersey Slur from a Manhattanite. Stark is saying the traffic going into New Jersey on a weekday morning is light, which is correct–not that the people going there are nobodies. (It’s the people heading into Manhattan who are subjected to Stark’s sardonic scrutiny, and Parker barely even knows they’re alive.) Parker’s alienation from humankind as a whole likewise gets written off as sexist machismo (Rockland’s not the only one making that mistake). I’m scratching my head a bit about his air-quoting “dames”, since that word appears not even once in the book (in fairness, Darwyn Cooke has Parker call Lynn a slut in his graphic novel adaptation of The Hunter, and that’s not in the book either–there’s always a lot of projection going on with these books, somehow–your reaction to them probably says more about you than the author). But pretty clear that many other books he writes about more favorably have that problem as well–he dismisses one of them as ‘chick-lit’ (that’s a bit misogynist, wouldn’t you say?) but still gives it a lot more attention. So it’s the Jersey thing. And the general ignorance of who Donald E. Westlake is thing. Hey, he’s not the only one who can get his back up over a slight. (And not even posthumous–barely possible Westlake could have seen Rockland’s book before he headed off to Mexico one last time.) But let’s cut to the reveal. Even if this book came out after the U. of Chicago edition, I’d know which one he read–Pocket Books. 1962. Has to be. Because of the throwing the cigarette butt at the ocean thing. I had never noticed this before–Westlake changed something. I have both the Pocket Book PBO and Gold Medal reprint published as Point Blank! to go with the film release. In the latter, Parker throws his cigarette butt at the river. That’s the only change I can see, at least in the opening chapter. So Rockland’s only relevant complaint was corrected four decades before he got around to making it. (Not that the phrase ‘tidal estuary’ would have any place in the passage we’re dissecting here.) Possible somebody mentioned it to Westlake, maybe there were letters from distressed limnologists, perhaps an editor at Fawcett suggested the tweak. But my guess is that while reading over the book prior to republication, Westlake the word nerd decided that while to Parker it’s the ocean, to Stark it’s the river. Stark cares about getting that kind of thing right, Parker doesn’t give a damn. It’s salty, there’s fish, it’s the ocean. The first edition is channeling Parker more directly; in the reprint, Stark translates for us. The narrator voice in that series was a lot more focused and fine-tuned by the Mid-60s. And so was the man behind it. Who always knew the Hudson was a river. He grew up alongside that river, near Albany. He wrote one hell of a good Parker novel set on and around it, if Rockland had only thought to check. But try telling that to the distressed Jerseyanist, who can’t stop himself from going back there later in the chapter, when in the midst of analyzing a poetic paeon to The George by a Lithuanian immigrant named Israel Newman, feels obliged to state– The line “Here where the Hudson feels the sea” is beautifully suggestive of the G.W.B.’ s site, not to mention a welcome corrective to Donald Westlake’s confusing the Hudson with the ocean. It’s saying the same exact thing, in more flowery language, but the poem doesn’t disrespect New Jersey, or even mention it, so no umbrage is taken. (How did he come to read the first edition paperback? Hardly to be found at your local used book shop in the early 21st. Borrowed from a friend? Interlibrary Loan? Amazon Marketplace? [That’s how I got it.] Rutgers library doesn’t seem to have The Hunter in its collection, though they’ve got Comeback. Did he realize The Hunter had been reprinted scores of times over the course of half a century, all over the planet, in English, French, Russian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese?–no doubt Lithuanian as well. And what would he say were he to learn not one of those books featured the George Washington Bridge on its cover? Don’t even ask. I get the distinct impression he didn’t even know there were 23 more Parker novels after this one, and of course the first edition wouldn’t inform him of that. No “Other books by” page in there.) So that leaves the very first nitpick–that nobody could have offered Parker a ride before the tollbooths. Now in this very book I’m nitpicking, there are a whole lot of stories about things happening on the GWB that are not supposed to happpen. Like did you know a small plane once crash-landed there? Much of Rockland’s book, in point of fact, devotes itself to such anomalies, like a herd of goats escaped from an overturned truck, a man stopping his car in mid-bridge to jump off it, an elderly cyclist who found the pedestrian walkway closed, so she rode across the bridge with the cars and trucks, and didn’t ask if that was okay, because if you ask they’ll probably say no. Probably not a day passes without something happening on that bridge that isn’t supposed to happen. I’ve actually caught a ride from the Bridge Plaza, not far from the toll booths–turns out drivers who want to be charged the much lower carpool toll will look around for passengers in Fort Lee–they’ve been ticketed for that (even though it isn’t technically illegal), but they keep right on doing it, whenever and wherever they can get away with it. But agreed, it would probably be pretty hard to openly hitchhike right in front of the toll booths–except, first of all, Parker isn’t hitchhiking. He’s just walking across the bridge. And, as I am suddenly realizing, he’s not using the pedestrian walkway. He’s walking with the cars and trucks. Heavy morning traffic. Slow moving vehicles. And this explains so much else (like how hard is it to spit on the hubcap of a vehicle stalled in traffic that you’re walking right through, like some implacable unstoppable force of criminal retribution?) (Darwyn Cooke figured all this shit out a long long time before me.) But wait–there’s more! Because the book is set in 1962–and Westlake’s own fateful walk back from New Jersey, that inspired the opening scene, was a few years before that. And let’s just say the toll plaza looked a bit different then. Wanna see how different? YouTube, do your stuff. There’s a few cops, yeah–because they’re sending a film truck through. Putting up a front. But every morning? Early in the morning? Heavy commuter traffic? Cops there all the time? I don’t think so. And there’s scads of room for cars to pull over, offer someone a ride. So why did the fresh-faced guy in a Chevy stop and ask Parker if he wanted a lift? Because Parker isn’t on the pedestrian walkway. Maybe it isn’t open yet. Maybe Parker just doesn’t give a damn. He’s going to walk right through the traffic, right past those women getting vibrations above the nylons, and the guys remembering when they didn’t have a car and thinking they’re empathizing with him–and who’s going to tell him he can’t? You’ve read the description of how he looks that morning. Would you? And if a tollboth worker called the law, by the time they got there, he’d be long across and down into the subway hole. (It looked really different on the other side as well back then, as you can see up top). A long time before 9/11, and stuff still happens on that bridge now that nobody wants to know about. But it was changing, very quickly, right around the time Westlake was writing. They were putting in the lower deck, referenced in both The Hunter and 361, but it didn’t open until August of 1962. We’re told how Parker is irritated by the way the bridge surface ‘trembles and sways in the wind’–the wind effect used to be a lot more pronounced, before the extra weight of the lower deck (charmingly referred to as ‘The Martha’ by many–hey I learned some things from Rockland’s book) stabilized it. The amazing Othmar Ammann, Switzerland’s gift to American bridge design, had worked it all out decades before. When Westlake took his own walk across the bridge, in a troubled state of mind, the lower deck wasn’t in place yet. The Cross Bronx Expressway, the GWB Bus Station–still in the works. By the time his mirror twin noirs, published under two very different names, came out, he knew people would have come to terms with the Martha beneath the George, so he must have written that in. But the George Parker is stalking across early one morning is somehow still a bachelor, so still swaying madly in the wind, signifying Parker’s chaotic unsettled state of mind, that he can only fix by killing Mal Resnick and getting his money. It all makes perfect sense. If you take the time to understand it. If you realize this isn’t some two-bit hack, writing trash for a living. This is Richard Fucking Stark, bitch. And you missed every last thing he was trying to tell you. Yeah, I’m mad. Apparently that’s what it takes to get me to finish an article these days. I’ll feel better after I hit the button that says ‘Publish.’ Oh there’s a trashy aura to it–part of its charm, as Rockland should know, since he once penned a scholarly work called Popular Culture: Or Why Study Trash? that my workplace doesn’t have and Amazon doesn’t seem to know exists. (I forgot to mention that he’s a Professor of ‘American Studies’ at Rutgers. Is that what Charles Kuralt majored in? Aren’t we all of us here technically studying America, all the time? Not carefully enough, it seems. Now Donald Westlake–there was a veritable polymath of American Studies. For all anyone noticed.) Now I’m being mean. I am aware of this. Writing even a short mass market book about such a storied bridge (even if it is a bit too full of folksy asides and personal anecdotes to be a serious history, and I’m hoping something better comes along for the 100th Anniversary)–that’s a lot of research. A lot of moving parts. Just the two chapters on books, stories, poems, artwork, and films featuring the GWB would have been time-consuming. It’s not reasonable to expect he’d drop everything to become a Westlake expert (and online resources were scarcer then, though they existed). He somehow found out The Hunter begins on the George, he read it, and he didn’t have the context to appreciate it–but so many people have read that book with zero context, and loved it. (Westlake probably got at least as much fan mail from black men for the early Parker novels as James Baldwin got for Another Country). We love what we love, we hate what we hate, and there’s room for all kinds. The bridge book was worth reading. But few will ever read it twice. And far fewer who read The Hunter stop at just once. Now I said that not one edition of The Hunter (or 361) that I can find features an image of the George Washington Bridge or any aspect of that opening scene on its cover. And that is true. But there’s a caveat. That is, without question, the most engrossing visual of the entire book, Parker walking through that traffic, the wind blowing his hair like a bad toupee, his face like chipped granite, his onyx eyes set on the city before him in a ten thousand yard stare, his big gnarly hands swinging at his sides and the ocean (yeah, I said it, Rockland!) down below him, cold and dark and hungry, waiting for bodies to drop, and they will. It’s one hell of a visual, and no artist worth his salt would have missed it. Here’s to you, Darwyn Cooke. You got it. (But Parker doesn’t say ‘slut’–not his style.) Well damn–I’m done. PUBLISH. (or perish) “I wanted to read it again. I wanted to see if maybe Kelp had a good idea after all.” “Kelp with a good idea.” He finished his Jell-O and reached for his coffee. “Well, he was smart to bring it around to you,” she said. “He wouldn’t be able to do it right without you.” “Kelp brings a plan to me.” “To make it work,” she said. “Don’t you see? There’s a plan there, but you have to convert it to the real world, to the people you’ve got and the places you’ll be and all the rest of it. You’d be the aw-tour.” He cocked his head and studied her. “I’d be the what?” “I read an article in a magazine,” she said. “It was about a theory about movies.” “A theory about movies.” “It’s called the aw-tour theory. That’s French, it means writer.” He spread his hands. “What the hell have I got to do with the movies?” “Don’t shout at me, John, I’m trying to tell you. The idea is—” “I’m not shouting,” he said. He was getting grumpy. “All right, you’re not shouting. Anyway, the idea is, in movies the writer isn’t really the writer. The real writer is the director, because he takes what the writer did and he puts it together with the actors and the places where they make the movie and all the things like that.” “The writer isn’t the writer,” Dortmunder said. “That’s the theory.” “Some theory.” “So they call the director the aw-tour,” she explained, “because that’s French for writer.” “I don’t know what we’re talking about,” Dortmunder said, “but I think I’m getting caught up in it. “Hey,” she said, “where am I?” She could have answered the question herself. She was, to judge from appearances, in an especially squalid shack. The shack itself was fairly close to a highway, judging from the traffic noises. If she had to guess, she would place the location somewhere below the southern edge of the city, probably a few hundred yards off Highway 130 near the river. There were plenty of empty fishing shacks there, she remembered, and it was a fair bet this was one of them. “Now just take it easy, Carole,” the thin man said. “You take it easy and nothing’s going to happen to you.” “You kidnapped me!” “You just take it easy and–” She squealed with joy. “This is too much! You’ve actually kidnapped me. Oh, this is wild! Did you call my old man yet?” “No.” “Will you let me listen when you do?” She started to giggle. “I’d give anything to see his face when you tell him. He’ll split. He’ll just fall apart.” They were both staring at her, open-mouthed. The younger man said, “You sound happy about it.” “Happy? Of course I’m happy. This is the most exciting thing that ever happened to me!” “But your father–” “I hope you soak him good,” she went on. “He’s the cheapest old man on earth. He wouldn’t pay a nickel to see a man go over the Falls. How much are you going to ask?” “Never mind,” the thin man said. “I just hope it’s enough. He can afford plenty.” I should probably explain. Not long ago, a book crossed my desk at the library. Portraits of Murder, a hardcover collection of short stories from Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine (still very much an extant publication) which debuted in 1956, and provided many a much-needed check for Donald Westlake and his partners in crime fiction. Many of the stories in Westlake anthologies first saw print there, and of course I checked to see if his name featured in the table of contents. No dice. Possibly because Mr. Westlake’s best stuff for AHMM was already spoken for, or didn’t fit the profile for whatever the editors were looking for. But two stories by Lawrence Block, the first of which was quite near the front of the book, and was about a kidnapped child. Well, minor. Well, she’s seventeen. And precocious. And sexy. And not to be underestimated. It’s Block. This brief exercise in sardonic suspense (less than ten full pages in the book) entitled The Most Unusual Snatch, appeared in the April 1967 issue. That’s the cover up top. Next to a French edition of a 1974 Westlake novel, the identity of which my most irregular regulars shall no doubt deduce without any difficulty. That is also about a kidnapped minor, but younger, and male, and not at all sexy, but still–precocious. And a bane to all would-be abductors. Well, they both read O. Henry, right? Man, been so long since I did a synopsis here: Carole Butler, pretty teenaged daughter of a wealthy doctor, is kidnapped by two men. One tall skinny sourpuss named Howie who fully intends to kill her once they get the money, more or less just because he thinks that’s what you do when you kidnap somebody. One younger (and to Carole’s eyes, not unattractive) thug named Ray, who is on the fence about killing her, and whose physical description matches up pretty well with Block’s. (One of the most attractive things to her about him is that he’s not terribly bright, at least where females are concerned, as if any male ever has been, but there are degrees.) As you can see up top, she’s delighted at first. She had fantasized about faking her own kidnapping, and now it’s happened. She hates her father (who seems besotted with her, no mother in sight, perhaps best not to inquire further), would love to see him lose his shirt getting her back. She’s full of helpful suggestions for her not over-competent captors, even tells them dad’s got a hundred grand stashed in a safe in the basement at all times, and that he wouldn’t want the IRS to ever get wind of that, probably wouldn’t even call the cops if he got her back in one piece. Maybe even if he didn’t, but she doesn’t intend to let it come to that. Howie is the main problem. Her charms won’t work on him. But Ray’s an easy touch, wants to touch her, so they enjoy a quick canoodle while Howie’s away. She’s scared, obviously–but enjoying the danger. And the sex. And calculating her odds all the while. She’s a bit crestfallen when he ties her up again afterwards (Shades of Mavis in The Rare Coin Score, published in ’67 as well–but Carole is no Mavis, and Ray’s sure as hell no Parker.) Here’s where it gets interesting–well, it’s Block, so interesting all the way through, but I mean for my purposes, since I’m no less conniving than Carole in my own way. The thing that worries Howie is the pick-up. Carole doesn’t think her old man will call the cops, but if he does, they’ll be waiting to grab him when he goes to get the cash (and then what might happen to her?) She has anticipated this wrinkle–and has the answer. She pretends not to know where the hideout is, but says she knows the perfect spot for the transfer, if they just happen to be near the south end of town. She told him about it–the overpass on Route 130 at the approach to the turnpike. They could have her father drive onto the pike, toss the money over the side of the overpass when he reached it, and they could be waiting down below to pick it up. Any cops who were with him would be stuck up there on the turnpike and they could get away clean. “It’s not bad,” Ray said. “It’s perfect,” Howie added. “You thought that up all by yourself?” “Well, I got the idea from a really super-duper movie.” Howie is so struck with admiration for her devious criminal mind, he makes a little slip, saying it’s a shame and all, then pretends he didn’t say what they all know he just said. She knows there’s no way she’s getting out of this thrill ride alive–Howie’s dead set on tying off loose ends. Ray’s too weak to stand up to him. She does a brilliant job terrifying her father over the phone, making up two additional gang members, then explaining to the puzzled crooks that she’s laying a false trail for the cops. While Howie’s off getting the cash, she talks Ray into letting her go–the idea is, they’ll make it look like she hit him from behind with the revolver butt, and got away. She’ll give phony descriptions, the police will be looking for three men and a woman, everybody wins. Ray, possibly thinking they can meet up for more nookie later on, hands her the automatic and tells her where to hit him, make it look good. She promptly shoots him dead with the business end. Then the astonished Howie, returning with the loot, so elated about what he thinks is the biggest score of his career, but he was sadly mistaken there. Then she cleans up the crime scene a bit, so nobody can connect her to it. She hikes to a payphone (remember them?), calls dad, tells him a story about inter-gang violence, and somehow the two survivors left her alive, taking the money with them. He comes to pick her up, sees the bodies. He says it’s best they not call the police, too many questions. He only gave them ten thousand (he says)–it’s just money. All that matters is her. She smiles, hugs him, and laughs to herself, thinking what she’s going to do with the hundred thousand she buried near the shack. I don’t think Patricia Highsmith would have been ashamed to call this one her own. Only she never wrote for the pulps (got her start in comic books), her Carole would have pretended to enjoy sex with Ray, and the father would have probably died too. We all have our quirks. In short, it’s a cracking good yarn in this vein, and no doubt Mr. Westlake thought so too. So when I wrote my review of Jimmy the Kid, I didn’t know about this story, so I talked about the influence that was obvious to everyone (The Ransom of Red Chief), and the one Westlake himself wryly referenced in a piece he wrote for a 1978 anthology Brian Garfield put together; namely the kidnapping of French automotive heir Eric Peugeot, where the kidnappers used a Lionel White crime novel called The Snatchers as their blueprint, and it all worked out fine until they got their money, and started spending it. The book hadn’t told them what to do after you get the money, since the kidnappers in the novel never reached that point. As I observed then, Westlake’s novel ended up being about the dysfunctionally symbiotic relationship between fiction and reality; how each inspires the other, but they never do quite connect. The kidnap victim was somewhere between the quietly fascinated (and very young) Master Peugeot, who had never really spent time with grown men before, and the western-crazed red-headed hooligan from O. Henry’s story, who made two grown men cry uncle. It was also one of the funniest things he ever wrote, and having now reread it yet again, I’m even more inclined to think it’s a high-water mark for the Dortmunder series. But see, I assumed the notion that the ‘victim’ would be not merely enjoying the experience but using it to his own coldly calculated advantage was Westlake’s contribution–as you can see, not necessarily so. That Westlake read his close friend and sometimes collaborator’s story, in a magazine he himself contributed to multiple times, cannot be reasonably questioned. Nor can the multiple confluences between the two, up to and including the means whereby the kidnappers arrange the ransom drop-off via a highway overpass, that Carole says she got from a movie, but damned if I can figure out which flick that might have been, and that reference strikes me as a bit of a wink from Mr. Block–only I don’t have the context to know who he’s winking at, or why. (Definitely not The Master of Suspense.) But in the story, it doesn’t quite work, does it? If Carole’s old man knows in advance that’s the plan, and he has gone to the law, there’ll be cops lying in wait beneath the highway, as well as above. Now as it happens, for purely self-centered reasons Carole herself foresaw, her father never did call the cops, so it all worked out fine (for her), and maybe it’s just her way of lulling her captors off guard, or she’s actually having fun planning her own kidnap, as she used to fantasize doing–but either way, it’s a plot hole, since Howie at least should spot the logical flaw that they’d have to tell Dr. Butler where to drop the money before he left the house with it. No mention of any phone in his car. Phones in private limos began to become a thing in the 50’s, but only the very rich had them. Carole’s dad isn’t that flush (no chauffeur), and is clearly a bit of a skinflint anyway. By the 70’s, they were less of a big deal, service was pretty good, and a partner in a big law firm might have one just to do business while being driven around. Still rare enough that even the FBI didn’t have much expertise in putting a trace on one (though they would have other ways of tracing where the money went). And so the Richard Stark of Dortmunder’s universe writes a novel called Child Heist, that Andy Kelp discovers doing a short stretch in a county lock-up. In this ersatz escapade, Parker and his cohorts figure out how to make the highway drop work for them–find a vantage point where they can watch for limos entering Manhattan, scope out one that is regularly transporting a rich kid in and out of the city, that also has a mobile phone line. Then tell whoever’s coughing up the ransom to use that car when setting out with the money. They’ll get in touch along the way. (It’s never explained how they got the number, since that chapter of the nonexistent novel isn’t included in Jimmy the Kid) but given the relatively small number of mobile lines in a given area, probably not that hard, and why quibble if you’re having fun?) The cops won’t have enough time to get their Duckbundys lined up (if you read the book, you’ll see what I did there), and by the time they figure out what’s happening, the gang will have the money, and return the kid unharmed, because that way the law doesn’t come after them as hard and parents don’t write angry letters to ‘Richard Stark.’ Another perfect score by Parker! (Except I have to wonder why the fictional Parker of Dortmunder’s dimension doesn’t have problems with double-dealing accomplices, lousy drivers, unstable significant others, unforeseeable snafus, etc. Nothing goes wrong, everybody does his job right. It sounds kind of humdrum and routine, just another day at the office, a clockwork kidnap, but that’s what Kelp loves about it. And Westlake loves sending up his own alter-ego.) So this fixes the problem in Block’s story, while creating many more to throw in the path of Dortmunder & Co. Whatever seems straighforward in Parker’s world is fraught with frustration in Dortmunder’s. Like what if the frightened father is also a confirmed workaholic, and you didn’t tell him to keep the line free? At the Burger King, Murch’s Mom dialled the operator, and yelled, “I want to call a mobile unit in a private car!” “Well, you don’t have to yell about it,” the operator said. “What?” “You have trouble on your line,” the operator said. “Hang up and dial again.” “What? I can’t hear you with all these motorcycles!” “Oh,” said the operator. “You want to call a mobile unit?” “What?” “Do you want to call a mobile unit?” “Why do you think I’m putting up with all this?” “Do you have the number?” “Yes!” Harrington was saying. “Now in the matter of that prospectus. I think our posture before the SEC is that while the prospectus did speak of home sites, it does not at any point say anything about a community. A community would necessarily imply the existence of available water. A home site would not. Country retreat, weekend cottage, that sort of thing. Have Bill Timmins see what he can root up by way of precedents.” “Yes, sir,” said the secretary. “Then call Danforth in Oklahoma and tell him that Marseilles crowd just will not budge on the three-for-two stock swap. Tell him my suggestion is that we threaten to simply bow out on the railroad end. of it and carry our venture capital elsewhere. If he approves, try and arrange a phone conference with Grandin for nine-thirty tomorrow morning, New York time. If Danforth has a problem, give him my home number, and tell him I should be there in, oh, two hours at the very most.” “Yes, sir,” said the secretary. “But the line’s busy!” the operator said. “Well, try again!” Murch’s Mom said. (I half-suspect Mr. Westlake scanned some of the Get Smart novels produced in the 60’s by William Johnston, which at times were even funnier than the TV show, featured as a recurring character the snarky operator Max had to deal with whenever he made a call via footwear, and demonstrated how a phone that traveled around with you might not always be an unqualified asset to your endeavors. But you know, great minds.) And as is the case with any tightly plotted scheme, even the slightest deviation leads to chaos. (Also the case with tightly plotted train schedules, as I learned during a trip to Germany.) A comedy of errors ensues, but I’ve written about that already. I think the money transfer is Westlake’s way of crediting Block, since nobody who had read both stories could easily miss the parallel there–a sort of backhanded credit, inadmissible in a court of law (since Block probably got the idea from somewhere else also). But the primary point of influence is between Carole Butler and Jimmy Harrington, who are not at all similar in age, gender, or characterization, but who share nonetheless several key attributes, not least of which a desire to not merely escape their abductors, but to profit from their credulity. (And of course, each ends up with the ransom money from daddy, though Jimmy by somewhat more honorable means, and at least he left a tip.) It all plays out very differently, since Westlake’s novel isn’t written for a magazine that specializes in grisly twists, and he will have need of Dortmunder & Co. in future; and it should go without saying nobody in the Dortmunder Gang is having sex with a twelve year old (or anyone, at this stage of the series.) But for all the cunning variations on a theme, the influence simply can’t be denied. It is, as they say in over-formulaic British crime fiction, a fair cop. Westlake borrowed directly from Block. So. Did Block know about it? Did Westlake ask him if it was okay? Did these men who used to write pseudo-porn together, taking turns writing chapters, routinely steal from each other, and wait gleefully to see if the pilfery was detected? Remember, these guys both wrote so much, it would be easy for either to forget a story tossed off in a hurry to pay for a kid’s braces or whatever. But that seems a mite unprofessional for these two. Is there some other explanation? I have one–see that little exchange between Dortmunder and May up top? The first big gag of the novel is that Kelp not only brings an idea for a heist to Dortmunder, but that this time he’s brought a plan to go with it–which is supposed to be Dortmunder’s purview. Dortmunder is most disgruntled over this. “Kelp brings a plan to me.” So suppose Mr. Westlake was grousing over a few bourbons at some disreputable bar & grill (maybe there was a back room) that he was having story problems with this new Dortmunder, having already had the idea of a comic kidnapping inspired in equal part by O. Henry and the Peugeot case, but that’s just an idea for a caper, not the caper itself. He’s got the premise. Not the plan. Where’s the hook? And Mr. Block, ever a generous colleague, as well as a competitive one, brought up his own humble effort in this sub-sub-genre (since his kidnapping was also comedic, however dark). I have speculated that the Dortmunder/Kelp dynamic is at least partly based on the long informal partnership of Westlake and Block. And while there is some of Kelp in Westlake, far more of him is Dortmunder. So did his Kelp bring a plan to him? Hmm. Reading both Block and Westlake, one must always be aware that each scribe read the other’s output assiduously, as did others in their circle. Westlake penciled in many a gag aimed not at the funny bones of his readership, but those of his poker-faced poker buddies. See if he could get a rise out of them. I’m guessing he did pretty well. And they got a few chuckles in return. But in this case, being first doesn’t count for much. The Most Unusual Snatch is a nifty little short that got anthologized a few times. Jimmy the Kid turned out to be a bit of a phenom, much like its title character. DonaldWestlake.com lists no fewer than eighteen editions in seven languages (good bet that’s not all). And there were three film adaptations–Italian, German, and the one with the kid from Diff’rent Strokes. (Probably they’re all terrible, but it’s the check that counts.) Not for nothing did Westlake dedicate this one to his agent Henry Morrison, who probably badgered him into doing more Dortmunder books. I wanted to write this as a companion piece to my previous article, about how Suzuki & Co. stole from Westlake (and a fair few other pulpish writers, no doubt) to make a surrealistic crime movie. Much as I don’t think Westlake would have been offended, it was still unacknowledged borrowing (had to be, since there was no money in the budget to buy up the adaptation rights, or even time to negotiate for them across an ocean and a language barrier). And of course these two masters of noir never met, so there was no winking going on in either direction. But the reason I’m sure Westlake would have given Suzuki a pass had he known was that he knew all good storytellers steal. It’s how you do it that matters; whether you add something of yourself to the mix. Suzuki and his collaborators did that, and so did Westlake here (rather better, I think). Stolen plot elements can become remarkably personal expressions, so long as you don’t get all your loot from the same bank. Ideas are just building blocks. Put them together in your own way, and see what happens. Make it an unusual snatch. His hand on the knob, she called his name. He turned around, questioning, irritated, and saw the Police Positive in her hand. He just had time to remember that it had to be either Chester or Mal–the two who’d been given the revolvers–when she pulled the trigger and a heavy punch in his stomach drove the breath and the consciousness out of him. It was his belt buckle that saved him. Her first shot had hit the buckle, mashing it into his flesh. The gun had jumped in her hand, the next five shots all going over his falling body and into the wood of the door. But she’d fired six shots at him, and she’d seen him fall, and she couldn’t believe that he was anything but dead. He awoke to heat and suffocation. They’d set fire to the house. I shouldn’t need to tell you. Rojini has offered cease-fire agreement in Paakaa. However the truce was broken by the traitor of the organization. But the son of man aiming secretly position of boss took the gold, Paakaa you charge the brunt of the attack, increase the fire, strikes back to unscrupulous traitor! Villain Paakaa and his friends, Ru Osoikaka mighty criminal organization. Premier epic yelling prime all the charm of the series. Promotional text from the first Japanese edition of Butcher’s Moon, run through an online software, which only goes to show that some things are gained in translation. Japanese film is yet another thing I loved a long time before I ever heard of Donald Westlake. And as I now discover, much to my delight, I can conclusively link up the two. (This will be a short piece. Hopefully get the motor running again.) Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, Kobayashi–I’ll admit I tended to favor the Jidaigeki, or period costume dramas, often dealing with the heavily mythologized samurai class, and creatively rebelling against those myths. My first love was the Kaiju Eiga , naturally–what other Japanese flicks is an American kid going to know in the 60’s and 70’s? Crush the grown-ups, Godzilla!) I know many other names besides those three above. But I was never enough of a maven to know them all. Too rich a vein to ever fully mine out, unless you’re Quentin Tarantino, which I am decidedly not. You branch out over time–I’ve gotten a fair few kicks from Takashi Miike, ‘J-Horror’ being something many in the west have learned to warily love (and assiduously copy) in the 21st, and the variety of stuff available on cable and Region 1 DVD has kept expanding. Japanese film isn’t what it once was, of course, but what is? Miike also did Yakuza films, of which I’ve only seen the intentionally over the top and confusing Ichi the Killer, which being a David Lynch fan, I had no trouble following. Well, maybe a little, but it didn’t bother me. You’re either along for the ride or not, right? Last chance to leap out of the getaway car. Here we go….. So TCM has recently been showing a lot of Japanese crime films (you can call them noir if you like, everybody else does) from the late 50’s and 60’s, usually in the wee hours of the night, but that’s what DVR is for. Many of these were produced not by Toho or Toei, but by what you might call in Hollywood terms, a poverty row studio, Nikkatsu. Founded in 1912, it opted in the post-war era to make the Yakuza thriller and the police drama its twin wheelhouse, because they couldn’t afford to hire the best samurai stars, and didn’t really know how to make good monster suits and tiny model cities for them to stomp on. If you can’t afford the top names, make your own, right? That’s what they did. Worked for Warner Bros in the early 30’s (didn’t work out quite as well for Nikkatsu). One of their top stars made himself, you might say–Joe Shishido, sometimes called Joe the Ace, though I struggle not to refer to him as Gerbiljaw. A conventionally handsome man with both talent and ambition, he decided he needed something to make him stand out from the farflung field of fashion plates (and didn’t want to play cheesy romantic leads), so he had plastic surgery to enlarge his cheekbones, leading to a face looking like– well……a chipped chunk of concrete with eyes of flawed onyx? At some angles, chipmunk would be more like it, but he usually had directors who knew how to point their cameras. Regardless of whether the new look caused vibrations above the nylons among female filmgoers (definitely had that effect on women in his films), Shishido became the definitive star of the Yakuza Eiga. And he frequently worked with a creative young director named Seijun Suzuki, who just recently passed away at the age of 93. At times, the studio heads wanted Suzuki to be less creative. He would actually trim his budgets, just to get them to leave him alone to do what he wanted, and as so often happens with geniuses, this made the films even more creative (and therefore, more problematic for the studio). He claimed it was never his conscious intent to be surrealistic. It just came out that way. He’s been written about a lot. Many a cult western filmmaker has waxed elegaic. I’m not a film critic, and I haven’t seen most of his movies (and I have to admit, sometimes I fast-forward the ones I record off TCM, when he’s wanking around too much). So let’s cut to the chase, since this blog ain’t The Suzuki Scenario. Came a point when Suzuki souped up the motorcycle too much for his own good. It was when he got brought onto a project about a steely-eyed assassin working for the Yakuza, with Shishido playing the surly strong-willed hitter, like he’d already done a few times before. Joe had the right face (paid well for it). According to the Wikipedia article for Branded to Kill, the studio hated the original script, brought Suzuki in to rewrite it, then told him they couldn’t understand the script he handed in (a not-uncommon complaint), but there was no time for a do-over, because release schedules. They told him to go ahead and film it. Even though the auteur theory was by this time a thing, Suzuki had no such pretensions, and was simply following orders–he just followed them his own way. A true rebel doesn’t have to say no–he just does it. Suzuki didn’t believe in storyboarding. He wrote and directed by what I think could be justly called The Push Method, which is probably harder than it looks, and in his line of business, there wasn’t much time for rewrites. He would often come up with ideas for a scene the day before shooting it, or while shooting it. He did as few takes as possible, exposing the bare minimum of celluloid, which he said was a habit he picked up in the days after the war, when film stock was hard to come by, but maybe also because he didn’t want the studio to recut the film in a way he didn’t like (is any of this sounding eerily familiar to long-time readers here?) 25 days allotted for shooting, three for post-production, but he finished editing the sucker in one. (Now don’t talk about efficiency, that’s racist.) It was released on June 15th, 1967. Just shy of nine weeks before John Boorman’s Point Blank premiered in San Francisco. There is not the slightest chance either film impacted the other. And yet, they somehow share a subplot and a scene. As well as the distinction of being revered visionary cult films that bombed to hell at the box office because audiences couldn’t figure out what the fuck was going on in them, but that’s just something that happened a lot with studio films in the 60’s and 70’s. The subplot and the scene–that’s a bit different. See, in Branded to Kill, Goro Hanada, #3 hitman in Japan, has a wife named Mami, who likes to talk about how terrifying her husband is, then have wild sex with him after he smells pots of cooking rice (don’t ask). A conniving Yakuza boss starts chatting her up, and she is aware that Goro has been lustfully eyeing another woman (played by half-Indian actress, Annu Mari, and I for one don’t blame him), and she’s particularly concerned when he blows a major job because a butterfly landed on his rifle barrel (lousy special effect, but that’s hardly the point of anything). Goro is planning to leave the country, while Mami lies in bed, holding a gun, looking scared. To save her own lovely skin (of which we see a lot in the movie, which broke new ground in onscreen nudity), she shoots Goro in the stomach (just once, with an automatic) and flees in a panic, while he lies on the floor, seemingly dead. For no rationally comprehensible reason, we see flames spring up outside the window immediately after her naked form scampers out the door. Well, the film isn’t trying to be rational. Goro isn’t dead, though. The bullet glanced off his belt buckle (Suzuki does a close up of the bullet hitting it, just so we’ll know). He’s hurt, but alive–and enraged. Off-kilter. Bad stuff ensues. Yeah. Maybe this is a good time to mention that The Hunter (aka Human Hunting Parker/ Villain) was published by Hayakawa in 1966? You can see the cover up top, along with a written dedication from the translator, Nobumitsu Kodaka, who seems to have sent Westlake a copy in 1975. (These images courtesy of the Official Westlake Blog.) So you know, just because you’re a brilliant artist doesn’t mean you don’t steal from other artists sometimes. As Akira Kurosawa might have said to Sergio Leone if they ever met. I don’t see anything else in the film specifically from the work of Richard Stark (who doesn’t make organization men his heroes, however surly they might be). I don’t think Westlake would have blamed Suzuki at all–he was known to lift the odd few things himself, though he was rarely this obvious about it. (Godard would be another matter, since that involved welshing on a debt.) What’s interesting is how both Suzuki and Boorman independently decided they had to justify the wife’s treacherous behavior, and have her be attracted to a criminal colleague of his (who isn’t all that attractive), be dissatisfied with her marriage–she couldn’t just shoot her heinous hubby because she panicked under pressure, saw no other way out. (Played out about the same way in Payback). She has to be a willing pawn, I suppose, to justify what’s coming later, so the anti-hero doesn’t seem too anti-heroic for taking revenge (and of course, nobody ever goes with the face mutilation thing from the novel). But Suzuki, who was never much inclined to pull his punches, doesn’t make his two-timing missus take the coward’s way out–hey, remember the floating hair thingy at the end of the climactic sword fight in Kill Bill Vol I? (Mami saying they’re beasts, as she does earlier in the film, is also interesting, as if Suzuki is picking up on Parker’s lupine nature, but if so, he’s not seeing it as a positive.) But understand, it’s not just one scene–there’s a build-up to that moment where the film goes full DaDa on us (because Goro is going mad), and it all clearly stems from the twisted relationship between Parker and Lynn in Westlake’s novel, that moment of betrayal that first introduces us to that strange mental state Parker goes into when someone betrays his trust. Only Goro, while genuinely dangerous, is in a very different type of story, and doesn’t know himself the way Parker does, which is Suzuki’s point, fair play to him. And the intent, as with Point Blank, is to send up the whole genre, deconstruct it (I doubt Suzuki used that term). And, in many ways, to make a fool of the rugged hitman, cut him down to size, even while mythologizing him. As Westlake in a sense tried to do with Parker when he wrote what became The Hot Rock–only to realize it wouldn’t work. Do I agree this is a work of visual genius, that influenced generations of filmmakers? It’s every bit of that, whether I think so or not. Do I think it’s a great film? Ehhhh…..remind me what I said about Point Blank when I wrote about it? Only that had Lee Marvin, and he didn’t need any surgical enhancements, did he? There are some pretty serious second act problems. I feel that Suzuki missed a great opportunity with the Annu Mari character, a female assassin, ice cold, deadly, and oddly vulnerable at the same time, who is written out far too quickly, and replaced by a less interesting (and far less alluring) male counterpart to Goro whose primary claim to fame is that he never uses the toilet when he has to go, because that would be unprofessional. The film is not long, but seems endless, as bad dreams invariably do. There’s a bit too much self-conscious posing for the camera, a bit too little attempt to make the nonsense make sense (as the best work of David Lynch does, for example). It’s got the makings of a masterpiece, and in a certain limited sense it is (as is Point Blank), but not in the sense I’m looking for when I decide whether to call a film that or not. Because a movie theater isn’t an art gallery. In a movie theater, story matters, and stories have messages, however nuanced and ambiguous–and as with Point Blank, which I also admire from a visual standpoint, I am not at all sure this film has any message to convey other than “Isn’t this cool?” It definitely is, but I need more. Suzuki was on the cusp of a new style, but he hadn’t quite figured it out, and because of a famous legal battle with Nikkatsu that put his career on hold, he never really got the chance until much later, by which time his meandering muse had largely deserted him (studio suits can be annoying, but for some artists, they can be a necessary irritant). It’s never easy to be in the vanguard, and I will say, I want to see more of his early work; what he constructed before he started with the deconstruction. I don’t begrudge him one bit of his belated recognition as a cinematic trailblazer. But remember, they just handed him this project, he shot it in 25 days, edited it in one, got paid a whole lot less than Boorman, and film buffs are still studying it. Maybe someday they’ll find a plot in there somewhere (and be shot for their pains). Nobody has to look for the plot in Westlake’s novel–it comes hunting for you, and good luck trying to escape it. It’s been hunting us down since 1962. Cutting to the proverbial chase, Branded to Kill is not an uncredited adaptation of The Hunter, but was sure as bloody hell directly consciously influenced by it. Coincidence my Aunt Fumiko. An unquestionable match. Still and all, if anybody wants to question it, here I am, waiting. There’s no butterfly on my rifle barrel. Sayonara for now, suckers. Tom Reagan: Don’t think so hard, Eddie. You might sprain something. Eddie Dane: Except you ain’t. I get you, smart guy. I know what you are. Straight as a corkscrew. Mr. Inside-Outski, like some goddamn Bolshevik picking up his orders from Yegg Central. You think you’re so goddamn smart. You join up with Johnny Caspar, you bump Bernie Bernbaum. Up is down. Black is white. Well, I think you’re half smart. I think you were straight with your frail, I think you were queer with Johnny Caspar… and I think you’d sooner join a ladies’ league than gun a guy down. Then I hear from these two geniuses they never even saw this rub-out take place. Frankie: Boss said to have him do it. He didn’t say nothing about… Eddie Dane: Shut up! Or maybe you still got too many teeth. Everyone is so goddamn smart. Well, we’ll go out to Miller’s Crossing… and we’ll see who’s smart. Ned Beaumont leaned forward. Muscles tightened in his lean face. The wrapper of his cigar broke between his fingers with a thin crackling sound. He asked irritably: “Did you understood what I said?” Madvig nodded slowly. “Well?” “Well what?” “He was killed.” “All right,” Madvig said. “Do you want me to get hysterical about it?” Ned Beaumont sat up straight in his chair and asked: “Shall I call the police?” Madvig raised his eyebrows a little. “Don’t they know it?” Ned Beaumont was looking steadily at the blond man. He replied: “There was nobody around when I saw him. I wanted to see you before I did anything. Is it all right for me to say I found him?” Madvig’s eyebrows came down. “Why not?” he asked blankly. Ned Beaumont rose, took two steps towards the telephone, halted, and faced the blond man again. He spoke with slow emphasis: “His hat wasn’t there.” “He won’t need it now.” Then Madvig scowled and said: “You’re a God-damned fool, Ned.” Ned Beaumont said, “One of us is,” and went to the telephone. ‘We weren’t thinking so much of gangster pictures, just novels,’ Joel says of the influences on Miller’s Crossing. The prime influence was Dashiell Hammett, whose work Joel says uses the gangster genre as a vehicle to talk about people. ‘In Hammett, the plot is like big jigsaw puzzle that can be seen in the background. It may make some internal sense, but the momentum of the characters is more important.’ The production notes for Miller’s Crossing acknowledge the influence of Hammett’s 1929 noel Red Harvest (the one that gave Blood Simple its title) on the Coen’s script. However, there is no mention of another Hammett novel, 1931’s The Glass Key, whose central character, Ned Beaumont, is the right-hand man of Paul Madvig, the boss of a corrupt city….The similarities between The Glass Key and Miller’s Crossing have sometimes been overstated: some have suggested that the Hammett estate could have sued for plagiarism. It isn’t the same story, but a number of similar characters are present and the relationship between Ned Beaumont and Paul Madvig is very similar to that between Tom and Leo. From Coen Brothers, by Eddie Robson. (Emphasis added.) Tom: Friendship’s got nothing to do with it. Leo: The hell you say. You do anything to help your friends. Just like you do anything to kick your enemies. Tom: Wrong, Leo. You do things for a reason. Caspar: We all know you you can be useful to us, a smart kid such as yaself, the man who walks behind the man, who whispers in his ear. …Nothing more foolish than a man chasing his hat. So what’s the rumpus? After I got interested in Westlake through the Parker novels, I read The Mercenaries. I knew it wasn’t close to his best work, nor was it typical of most of his output, which could be attributed to it being his first real attempt at a book he’d want his name on. Killing Time, his second crime novel, was likewise a bit of an outlier, but I knew why that was. He was rewriting Red Harvest, making a new story out of it, with a different point. I’d read that, so wasn’t hard to spot. I’ll be rereading it pretty soon. Still seeking the screenplay adaptation Westlake did of it years later. I think of funny things to do. As I read my way through other crime fictioneers (Parker proved to be a bit of a gateway thug), I would stumble across some earlier book that told the same basic story as The Mercenaries. “Ah-hah!” says I, “I’ve found his influence!” But then I’d find another. And yet another. Ranging from 1949 through 1960. Mob novels about a fixer and his boss, usually tragic in nature. And with the exception of Rabe, from authors who didn’t write much about organized crime. Was this some kind of nervous condition they went through? St. Valentine’s Day Dance? I read The Glass Key recently, because I got interested in exploring Hammett as a way of understanding his aptest pupil. And it worked–because that was the influence, on Westlake and all the others who wrote some version of this story. (Hammett being the ultimate gateway thug.) But while registering its influence on all these other mystery writers I liked, I didn’t think The Glass Key was all that good. Except for the parts that are great, naturally. Great dialogue, great atmosphere, great premise–it pulls you in–then pushes you away. Too many red herrings. Too many dead end plot threads. Too much that doesn’t work, obscuring all the things that do. And, as I said a while ago, the female characters in particular are weak. Contrary to what some critics have said, Hammett could write great women. This time, he didn’t. My significant other just read it herself, after recently devouring the Op stories and novels, the way she once devoured the Parker novels, and with the same enthusiasm. I never told her my reaction, she didn’t read my review, and she came to the same conclusion. Without the need to bloviate incessantly about it. Her talents lie elsewhere. All the pieces are there for a great novel, maybe Hammett’s best, as he sometimes claimed it was–but it doesn’t hang together right. Hammett had found something new, something important, but for whatever reason, he never had a firm grip on the material. It got away from him, like a fedora blown into the woods. It’s his worst novel. And perhaps his most surreptitiously imitated. Why is that? Funny thing–Ned Beaumont, going by the book, sounds a lot like Hammett himself in his 30’s, when he was working as a private cop. Tall, dark, thin, mustached, physically a bit frail, temperamentally a bit fey, but still tough, determined, relentless, sardonic–and observant–about clues, and about people. Loyal to the crew he worked for, yet troubled about it, finally walking away from it, never to return. Hammett looked nothing at all like The Continental Op or Sam Spade, superior protagonists in superior novels. Nick Charles does resemble Hammett a bit, but an older sadder wiser Hammett (married to an urbane young heiress he based on Lillian Hellman), who has lost his life’s work, and can’t get over it. And Hammett created nothing of note after he wrote The Thin Man. Life tragically imitating art. I got the notion lodged in my noggin that there had to be a reason there were all these books that were based on The Glass Key, yet diverging from it on crucial points. And my answer to this mystery was that these writers liked the story, and its confusing criminal combatant, but saw problems with both, and as a creative (and commercial) exercise, set about trying to make them come out right. To fix the fixer. (Implicit puns are such a joy; why do I keep spoiling the fun by making them explicit?) So having worked my way through all the duplicate keys I knew of in book form, I knew it was time to get to the one that wasn’t a book. The one that some of my comments sections regulars have been raving about for years, and when I made faintly unenthused remarks, based on bits and pieces I’d seen while channel-flipping, demanded I give it a fair trial before I hung it. I watched the DVD. Jury’s in. I was wrong. Miller’s Crossing is a great film, that richly deserves its avid cult following. But you don’t need me to tell you that. That isn’t the mission statement here. I could probably grow old(er) and gray(er) pouring over books and online articles about Miller’s Crossing. It’s that kind of movie. But this is not a blog about movies, unless they in some way impinge on Westlake. The Coens are over-analyzed. He isn’t. I’m am neither going to review Miller’s Crossing, nor synopsize it. It’s been done. To death, even. (There will, needless to say, be major plot spoilers because that’s how Freddie rolls.) But I am interested in comparing and contrasting it to all the duplicate keys that came before, and most of all the Master Key. Because make no mistake, this is a movie that is, in every sense–in the very best sense–a remix of a book. Hammett’s book. Just that book. No other. Oh there’s a few other tips of the hat to other things Hammett wrote, but The Glass Key is the only source worth mentioning. Chopped up into pieces, rearranged, retooled, remastered, and edited down into a story that works far better than Hammett’s. You heard me. They fixed the fixer. That opening scene everybody thinks is a reference to the opening of The Godfather? It’s a reference to the scene where Madvig and Shad O’Rory face off, disguised as a reference to The Godfather. Later in the film, Tom talks to a guy named Shad on the phone, and says about Leo’s hitting Caspar’s club “It’ll mean killing” just like Shad says at the meeting, only it’s bunched in with a lot of other words. (But still spoken in a deadly soft lilting brogue–that interestingly, the Coens didn’t want Byrne to use, but he talked them into it.) That closing scene everybody thinks is an homage to the The Third Man? That’s a deliberate inversion of the concluding scene from The Glass Key, and I’m not convinced Joel Coen even thought about Carol Reed when shooting it. (Possible Reed was thinking of Hammett while making The Third Man. That film does, after all, have a quixotic American pulp fiction author as its detective/hero, and is about a doomed friendship.) Obviously the Coen style, the Coen ethos, is different, and any Prohibition-era gangster story told decades after Prohibition is going to be a lot more self-conscious and artsy, the tropes all fossilized, exaggerated (that was my main beef with the film before, but in retrospect, I must admit–they make it work for them.) Like all the keymakers before them, they’re out to improve, not imitate. I don’t claim it’s the same story. Even deliberate plagiarists never write the same exact story. That’s not how plagiarism works. That being said, if the Coens ever had been dumb enough to say “Yeah, we got a lot of ideas from The Glass Key, what of it?” they would have been leaving themselves open to a lawsuit from Hammett’s heirs, whoever they were in 1990. It’s that close. It’s that blatant. It’s that unapologetic. It’s that respectful–they didn’t have to name Bernie Bernbaum after Bernie Despain, to name just one example out of seeming hundreds. They didn’t have to keep referring to hats (the word hat appears at least 70 times in Hammett’s book, and in the title of a key chapter). It’s an honest caper they’re pulling here. Barely a scene passes without some reference to the source material. They want you to know. They want you to know they want you to know. But they know that cineastes, amateur and pro alike, will assume they’re doing movie homages, even when they say they’re basing this entirely on novels. And will take them at their word when they say the Hammett novel they drew on was Red Harvest. The way plagiarism law works, you almost need a written confession to get a conviction. Why else would Westlake call Dig My Grave Deep ‘a second rate gloss’ of The Glass Key, but never once mention his first novel, The Mercenaries, was glossy and glassy itself? Because nobody could sue Peter Rabe on the basis of another man’s opinion, however well-informed. It has to come from the horse’s mouth. Far as I know, that’s the only time Westlake ever mentioned The Glass Key. I’d say there was some encoded self-criticism there. His hand points one way, his eyes another. Far as those production notes mentioned up top go, Red Harvest is a red herring. That’s a movie homage, all right–to Kurosawa, avowing with a straight face (I can’t very well say inscrutable) that he didn’t base Yojimbo on Red Harvest, but was somewhat drawing upon a different Hammett novel. One guess which Hammett novel he said that was. (And somewhere, Sergio Leone grinned to himself, and maybe said something about sauces, geese, and ganders, only in Italian.) Those cute Coen bastards. They inverted that too. They think they’re so damn smart. Well, I guess they are at that. But let’s to go out to Miller’s Crossing and find out why they’re so smart. Miller’s Crossing, like The Glass Key, is mainly about a friendship between two men that irreparably breaks down, but for better-defined reasons, and in a larger social context. Tom Reagan has been working for Leo O’Bannon for an undefined period of time, during Prohibition, and as in Hammett’s book, what they do straddles the line between corrupt politics and outright gangsterism (which wasn’t so uncommon during Prohibition–at one point Tom makes the toast “To Volstead.”) Ned Beaumont has only known and worked with Paul Madvig a year. Which simultaneously makes the depth of the relationship less believable, and its ending less tragic. There’s no sweet silver-haired mother for Leo. There’s no vengeful suicidal daughter. There’s no pretense he could have been what he is so long without having anyone killed, though he only does it as a last resort, mainly in self-defense. There’s a murder mystery, but Leo’s not a suspect, and it’s peripheral–a small detail in the larger mosaic, that gets solved (by Tom) almost as an afterthought, and nobody really cares. There’s no upcoming election to worry about, and all of these absences take a lot of unneeded stress off the narrative, free it up, give it more focus, though it does ramble some. There is a subordinate gangster looking to move up at Leo’s expense, but he’s Italian, and isn’t improbably knocked off by one of his own flunkies (the flunkies had better watch out for him). And that works better than the subplot involving the upstart Shad O’Rory challenging Madvig (who is no Irishman, but succeeded one, his mentor). See, Prohibition gangsterism was a true multi-cultural endeavor–everybody was in on it. But the Italians were the ones moving in, and up. Taking over. Creating a national organization, where only Italians were welcome at the very top. The Irish, independents to the core, were mainly just holding on in various local redoubts, with that stubborn streak for which we are so justly noted–a prolonged rearguard action that went on for generations (reportedly still going on in Boston). So it works better that you’ve got two Irishmen–one either American-born or got off the boat a long ways back–and another who was raised in the sod (I tell a lie, Byrne’s no culchie and neither’s Tom). Tom showed up just in time to see the end of Irish dominance in the rackets. He can’t stop it, but he can slow it down some. Leo is his friend, but even more, his chieftain, and when an Irishman gives you that kind of loyalty, it’s to the death. Of somebody. Possibly a lot of somebodies. This is key to the story–and the answer to the mystery of what Hammett was getting at to begin with. Friendships, and most of all deep friendships, are breakable, because they’re based on the compatibility of two personalities, and personalities, most of all complex ones, never stop evolving. If one friend changes too much, the friendship ends. But loyalty–that runs deeper. In some people. Leo’s in love all right, but not with the silly swooning scion of some sappy supercilious Senator–no social climber Leo. No, his cap is set for Verna, a delectable dark-haired adventuress, played by a young Marcia Gay Harden, and while she’s the only female character of note in the piece, let me just say–that’s some piece. “Drop dead” is her leitmotif, and she plays it to perfection. If you don’t like her, you can lump her. (Or she you, watch the right hook.) She’s in love with Tom, which matches up nicely with Hammett, but she’s willing to settle for Leo, and the security he can give her. Tom’s in love with her, but what’s that got to do with the price of hooch? Trouble is, she comes with heavy baggage, namely her brother. Bernie Bernbaum is the most important character in the film, other than Tom–much more significant than his bookie namesake in The Glass Key (who vanishes from the plot early on). Infinitely more twisted and treacherous. Also Jewish (maybe even practicing, since there’s a rabbi at the end). Honestly, if two Jews hadn’t made this movie, I’d call Bernie a stereotype, though a damned complex one (and you know, stereotypes are usually dumbed-down, for the benefit of those that go for them). Played by an Italian, but you know, Brooklyn’s an ethnicity all to itself, and Turturro speaks the lingo like a native, because he is. But pivotal though he is, you don’t see much of him, and you never see him at all when Tom’s not around. Do we see him with his sister, who loves and protects him? With any of his co-conspirators/lovers? Schmoozing any of the local power-brokers? Enjoying the local nightlife? Nyet. With one brief exception (just so we’ll know he’s not a figment), we only see him alone with Tom, exchanging sardonicisms, matching wits. A secret sharer, except Bernie’s not much for sharing (though he will tell you things you didn’t need to know, like the time his sister taught him about sex). Begging for his life in the film’s most famous scene, he makes a lot of the affinities between them. Both gamblers, though only Bernie makes a living at it. Neither is a natural-born killer, a tough guy. There’s different kinds of toughness, we should remember–it’s not always about how hard you hit. The other hoods in the film are all masters of violence, Leo, Caspar, The Dane. Tom can’t dish it out for beans, but boy can he take it. Bernie’s not tough at all, but chutzpah like you wouldn’t believe. Point is, he and Tom make their living by brains alone. By manipulating others, by bending the truth, seeing the angles, spotting opportunities, exploiting weaknesses. The difference–and it’s crucial–is that Bernie’s only loyal to himself. And he assumes Tom’s the same way. People without loyalty figure it’s only for rubes, and he knows Tom’s no rube. So it makes sense the final confrontation is between Tom and Bernie, and their parallel yet diverging outlooks. And ends with a twist even the most twisted guy in the movie can’t see coming. What makes sense to me is that Bernie is Tom’s doppelganger–a repository of fascinating yet repellent qualities in Ned Beaumont, that the Cohens wanted to make use of, but couldn’t put in a guy who is, after all, the hero of a major motion picture. That’s why Verna is drawn to Tom, as she has been in the past to her brother–that’s why she can’t kill Tom, even when she thinks Tom killed Bernie. That’s equally why Tom is drawn to and yet wary of Verna. She’s more dangerous to him than any of the tough guys, because she’s the ultimate temptation. By killing Bernie (you remember I warned you about the spoilers) Tom’s not committing murder, but killing the dark half of his own soul. Winning the battle to be himself without all the moral compromises. He loses Verna, but that’s a price he’s ready to pay. At the end, he’s walking away from this poisoned town (yeah, there’s some Red Harvest there) clean and unencumbered–free at last. Ned Beaumont is a very twisted person, for all his loyalty and guts. One problem with The Glass Key is that the book can’t seem to make up its mind about him. He does some despicable things in the course of his story, and they don’t seem to bother him that much. Not that he’d admit it if they did. Yeah, that’s true of the Op, and Sam Spade, maybe even Nick Charles, but Ned’s a different order of heel–and yet he’s the hero. It’s a norm-shattering conception–the genesis of the modern crime novel, one might argue, with its frequently amoral protagonists, its jarring twists and turns–but Hammett couldn’t commit to it enough to make it work. Because, we may suppose, he was getting so close to his own demons there that he couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger on his own doppelganger. (Or, if you want to go full Dorian Gray, slash the picture.) I reread The Glass Key this past week, and I liked it a bit more, understood it better, having worked my way through all these variations on its themes. But I still ended up feeling that Hammett never achieved anywhere near the full potential latent there. I’d suspect the Cohens could have easily enough gotten the rights to do another film based directly on it–why didn’t they? I mean, they rem
2205	dbpedia	0	2	https://stevecotler.com/2010/10/13/charlie-chan-chinaman-or-chinese-man/	en	Charlie Chan: Chinaman or Chinese Man \| Steve Cotler	http://stevecotler.com/tales/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Charlie-Chan-racetrack.jpg	http://stevecotler.com/tales/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Charlie-Chan-racetrack.jpg	[ "https://stevecotler.com/tales/wp-content/themes/express-blog/images/dad-full-sized-mast.jpg", "https://stevecotler.com/tales/wp-content/themes/express-blog/images/nameplate.png", "http://stevecotler.com/tales/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Charlie-Chan-racetrack.jpg", "http://stevecotler.com/tales/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/chan-bk.jpg", "http://stevecotler.com/tales/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Verrett.jpg", "http://stevecotler.com/tales/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/keye-luke.jpg", "https://waxcreative.com/images/global/wax-social/twitter.png", "https://waxcreative.com/images/global/wax-social/facebook.png", "https://waxcreative.com/images/global/wax-social/tumblr.png", "https://waxcreative.com/images/global/wax-social/pinterest.png" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Steve Cotler" ]	2010-10-13T00:00:00	Steve Cotler,	en	https://stevecotler.com/…ad-fav-32x32.jpg	Steve Cotler	https://stevecotler.com/2010/10/13/charlie-chan-chinaman-or-chinese-man/	In the October 28, 2010, issue of The New York Review of Books, Richard Bernstein reviews Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and his Rendezvous with American History by Yunte Huang. As a child of the first television generation—I was six when we got ours in 1950—I devoured Laurel and Hardy, The Bowery Boys/East Side Kids, westerns, World War II movies, and especially Charlie Chan. This was a world before the civil rights movement. But there were stirrings. South Pacific opened in New York in 1949, addressing racial prejudice as a main theme. But contrary to the lyrics of You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught, which assumes that children are pure in opinion unless they are… taught to be afraid of people whose eyes are oddly made, and people whose skin is a diff’rent shade …in a January 2009 blog post, I noted that the converse is also true: you have to be carefully taught to be colorblind. In my childhood’s climate of commonplace and pervasive racial stereotypes, I was fortunate to have parents who lived and carefully taught that lesson. Growing up Jewish in a small, racially diverse, Southern California farming town, I first became aware of prejudice contemporaneously with that original TV in our living room. I had heard stories of the Holocaust, but they were faraway and, because I had no family destroyed in its horror, unapproachably evil. Separated from children of color by the Southern Pacific tracks that ran like a fence through my town, I sat in primary school classrooms that were almost entirely white. Nonetheless, my parents were unwavering in their efforts to bring social justice into the lives of their children. I was made aware that the typical Negro movie role of servant, laborer, or shuffling incompetent was spectacularly and unfairly stereotypical when my father’s choice to build an addition onto our home (I was ten) was an African-American contractor whose daughter, Shirley Verrett, later became a world-renown opera singer. So when I watched Charlie Chan solve mysteries solely with his intellect, without force, I was intrigued and appreciative. Sure he talked in a fractured Chinglish… • Bad alibi like dead fish – cannot stand test of time. (“Charlie Chan in Panama”) • Cannot see contents of nut until shell is cracked. (“Charlie Chan in Paris”) • Innocent act without thinking; guilty always make plans. (“The Sky Dragon”) • Mind, like parachute, only function when open. (“Charlie Chan at the Circus”) …but his Number One Son (Keye Luke) spoke perfectly, so I assumed the immigrant detective, a transplant to Hawaii, was no less intelligent than my Old World-accented grandmothers (either whom I suspect could have solved any mystery). The review of Huang’s book addresses how some Asian-Americans have expressed displeasure at the image that Charlie Chan projected: bowing, deferential, mincing steps, a feminine/passive demeanor. I always saw him as the smartest man in the room. I saw him as a hero. * * * * *
2205	dbpedia	1	49	https://www.historylink.org/File/21023	en	Luke, Keye (1904-1991)	https://www.historylink.…ference-1976.jpg	https://www.historylink.…ference-1976.jpg	[ "https://www.historylink.org/Content/Media/Photos/Small/Keye-Luke-The-Amsterdam-Kill-press-conference-1976.jpg", "https://www.historylink.org/Content/Media/Photos/Small/Inspector-Nelson-orders-Lee-Keye-Luke-uncuffed-Charie-Chan-on-Broadway-lobby-card-1937.jpg", "https://www.historylink.org/Content/Media/Photos/Small/Richard-Munsell-watching-Keye-Luke-paint-Chouinard-Night-School-promotion-1939.jpg", "https://www.historylink.org/Content/Media/Photos/Small/Gordon-Jones-and-Keye-Luke-as-Green-Hornet-and-Kato-The-Green-Hornet-Universal-Pictures-1940-promotional-photo.jpg", "https://www.historylink.org/Content/Media/Photos/Small/Keye-Luke-self-portrait-Seein-Stars-by-Feg-Murray-February-25-1945.jpg", "https://www.historylink.org/Content/Media/Photos/Small/bio_2047_01.jpeg", "https://www.historylink.org/Content/Media/Photos/Small/Governor-Donald-Cory-Keye-Luke-in-Star-Trek-episode-Whom-Gods-Destroy-1969.jpg", "https://www.historylink.org/Content/Media/Photos/Small/Keye-Luke-as-Master-Po-Kung-Fu-1972-1975.JPG", "https://www.historylink.org/Content/Media/Photos/Small/Graumans-Chinese-Theatre-lobby-Hollywood-California-2014.jpg", "https://www.historylink.org/Content/Images/creative-commons.png" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	Growing up in Seattle, Chinese-born Keye Luke knew that he wanted to be an artist, and he did just that. To his surprise, he also became a movie, television, and stage star. In the 1930s, he played t		/Content/i/favicon.png		https://www.historylink.org/File/21023	Growing up in Seattle, Chinese-born Keye Luke knew that he wanted to be an artist, and he did just that. To his surprise, he also became a movie, television, and stage star. In the 1930s, he played teenager Lee Chan, Honolulu police detective Charlie Chan's "number one son," in a series of popular movies. In the 1970s, he became just as famous as Master Po, a blind sage in Kung Fu, a hit television series. In a screen, stage and television career that lasted more than half a century, Luke racked up more than 150 credits as a movie, television, and voice actor. A founding member of the Screen Actors Guild, he was honored in 1991 with a star on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame. Artistic Leanings From an Early Age Although his family had already lived in California for two generations, Luke was born in 1904 when the family was visiting Guangzhou, China, then known as Canton. They moved to Seattle when Luke was 3. Another branch of the family included a cousin, Wing Luke, after whom a Seattle museum and school are named. Keye Luke's father, Lee Luke, had been an art dealer in San Francisco before coming to Seattle. Lee Luke & Co., described as "Importers of High Grade Chinese and Japanese Art Curios," opened in 1910 in downtown Seattle on 3rd Avenue between Marion and Madison streets. The shop sold high-end imports, including teak, rattan, and ebony furniture; ivory, brass, bronze, and fine porcelain objects; and silk kimonos, "mandarin coats," opera coats, and dressing gowns. As a child, Keye Luke went to a Seattle Chinese academy as well as the public Pacific Grammar School. In 1917, some months after the United States entered World War I, young Luke was one the school's three finalists in a Seattle Daily Times composition contest on the theme "Why Buy a War Bond?" But his real interest was art. He was inspired in large part by a kindly Seattle librarian who helped him select art books. She also broke the rules and let him take reference books home overnight. In 1919, by then at Franklin High School, he joined a Times youth organization called Junior Citizen ("Our motto -- Love, Loyalty and Service"). Its members provided poems, stories, and art for the paper's youth page for prizes and cash. Years later he remembered earning $5 from Junior Citizen. A frequent contributor, his 1921 pen and ink drawing called "A Junior Santa" showed a teenager delivering Christmas toys through the snow to sad-looking needy children. The paper praised his "exceptionally fine drawing" of Santa Claus on a rooftop and posted it in its offices as well as running it in the paper on Christmas Day. He also submitted cartoons, including one discouraging plagiarism among other junior citizens. By the following spring, however, the Times kid's page announced that "Keye Luke was too busy with Franklin annual work to send anything in." He was the art director of the Class of 1922 yearbook, lavishly illustrated with his pen and ink drawings. The yearbook wrote of him: "Could that boy throw ink!" and in a senior prophecy cast him as a world famous artist. Luke also played baseball on a field at 12th and Yesler. He had no interest in acting, and said that he was such an introvert he skipped English class when he was scheduled to give a talk in front of the classroom as part of the school's "oral interpretation" curriculum. Into the Art World, Off to Hollywood After graduation, he was soon part of the town's adult art scene. The Seattle Art Club's 1922 Halloween party featured trendy young artists showing off their avant-garde costumes on the dimly lit dance floor, surrounded by décor featuring cubist cats and bats. Entertainment included Cornish School dancers and a "chalk talk" with Keye Luke. His illustrations also appeared in Town Crier, the official publication of the Seattle Fine Arts Society. Another art-minded Seattleite was his friend Richard Fuller, a few years older than Luke, and later a founder of the Seattle Art Museum. In a 1973 interview Luke recalled Fuller showing him his jade snuffbox collection, adding, "Both he and I were championing Mark Tobey in those days -- when a great deal of art in the Northwest had to do with painting Douglas firs." (Voorhees). As a young man, Luke dreamed of art school -- but his parents told him it would be more practical to become an architect. He duly enrolled at the University of Washington as an architecture major, but his father's sudden death meant he had to leave college and go to work, presumably to help support his widowed mother, two brothers, and two sisters. He began making a living as a commercial artist, and working for an advertising agency. One of his clients was the Fifth Avenue Theatre, then a movie palace. Besides newspaper layouts and lobby cards, he came up with a slogan for the theatre: "an acre of seats in a palace of splendor." In 1926 and 1927, he took on a big project -- a Chinese-themed mural for the tearoom of the art deco Bon Marché department store. His local movie promotion work led to similar assignments in Hollywood, and in 1927, he moved to Los Angeles, where he began a successful career working for the Fox (later Twentieth Century Fox) publicity department. His elegant rendering of a giant ape graced lobby cards and other promotional materials for the movie King Kong. He was hired as muralist, painting the fairy tale gardens and a huge ceiling mural inside Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and he served as a technical adviser to art directors on Asian-themed movies. Alongside his commercial career, Luke took classes at the Chouinard Institute, a leading art school that later became part of what is now Cal/Arts. In the 1920s and 1930s, his work was exhibited in Seattle, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles, as well as in Paris and Vienna, and he illustrated a book about Marco Polo. In 1938, The Los Angeles Times said his work "formed a bridge between Asian and Western art" (Keye Luke: Beyond ..."). His style was often compared to that of English illustrator Aubrey Beardsley. In 1934, the 27-year old Luke was offered a lead role in Ho for Shanghai, a film meant to be a sequel to the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical Flying Down to Rio. The studio wanted a leading man for famous Chinese-American movie star Anna May Wong. By the ironclad rules of the day, any love interest for her had to be Asian. The studio had to look no farther than the publicity department where Luke, a suave, good looking young man with an amiable personality, a great speaking voice, and a reputation as one of Hollywood's best dressers, was already working. The project fell through, but not before getting Luke some publicity about his casting, provided by his friends Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper. The women were syndicated Hollywood columnists for whom he supplied line drawings and caricatures of movie stars. 'The Nice Chinese Guy Down the Block' Later that year, when the head of advertising at Metro Goldwyn Mayer, who was also Luke's former boss at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, asked him to come over to the studio for a meeting, he brought his art portfolio. He was surprised to learn the studio wanted to audition him for a speaking part as a young doctor in a Greta Garbo picture, The Painted Veil. He later said he was often cast as doctors, lawyers, business executives, and other professionals, what he called "good Boy Scout roles ... the nice Chinese guy down the block" (IMDb). He got the part, and he and Garbo exchanged dialog on a moving treadmill in front of a process shot of a Chinese village. When she tripped, he grabbed her and saved her from a three-foot drop to the studio floor. Years later, he said, "I will never forget her looking up at me with those sea-green eyes," adding that he told himself, "you are holding screen immortality in your arms, my boy" (Skreen). Luke described her as "exquisite in close ups ... the camera was her best friend," adding an observation from an artist's eye: "She was a true beauty from the neck up, but her body was stocky, her feet long" (Bawden). Also in the cast, playing a Chinese general, was Warner Oland. The Swedish-born actor specialized in playing Asian characters. He (and his whole family, according to Luke) had epicanthal eye folds common among some Scandinavians --including the indigenous Sami population. This allowed Oland to play Asian roles without the tape used on Caucasian actors playing Asians. A host of twentieth century stars including Marlon Brando, Mary Pickford, Katharine Hepburn, Alec Guinness, and Mickey Rooney all played such roles which came to be called yellowface. Oland also starred in the Charlie Chan detective series. The highly popular films, based on a series of novels, were old-fashioned puzzle mysteries, laying out all the clues for the audience. Chan was a famous Honolulu police detective, often consulted on mainland or international cases. A year after Painted Veil, with a handful of other credits now under his belt, Luke auditioned with Oland to play detective Charlie Chan's oldest son, Lee, in Charlie Chan in Paris. After the screen test, Oland said, "Hire the kid" (Bawden). Luke had already produced some artwork for the series -- a drawing of Oland for newspapers and some Chinese characters for publicity materials. He had also worked amicably with the screenplay writer on a previous picture. When the writer heard Luke had been cast, he promised the young actor that he'd fatten up his part, and Luke said he came through. While Oland's casting seems unconvincing to modern audiences, his Charlie Chan movies were popular in China where films featuring arch villain Fu Manchu had been banned as degrading and racist. Oland was mobbed by local fans on a 1936 trip to Shanghai and thoroughly enjoyed himself, staying in character as Charlie Chan throughout the visit, a habit the eccentric actor also developed on the Charlie Chan sets. Charlie Chan was portrayed stereotypically but always as someone who was highly respected, both professionally and personally, especially by upper-class characters. When white characters made racist remarks about him, other white characters would upbraid them. Oland's Charlie Chan had a genial but dignified manner and wore white tropical suits. He smiled a lot and spouted what sounded like fortune cookie philosophy in a Chinese accent with a Swedish lilt. Charlie Chan's energetic, optimistic, goofy son Lee, however, was thoroughly Americanized. At a machine-gun pace, Luke delivered lines such as, "Gee pop, What are you always stopping me for? Why don't you give me a chance to clean this case up for you?" and "Aw gee, Pop, when are we gonna arrest somebody?" Luke went on to make eight Charlie Chan films with Oland, playing a teenager until he was past 30. Luke and Oland became fast friends, and Luke called the portly actor "Pop" both on film and in real life. The Seattle Daily Times, writing about its hometown boy, said Luke symbolized "the modern young Chinese." ("Key Luke Stars ..."). Lee Chan's all-American boy persona was emphasized in Charlie Chan at the Olympics, in which he goes to Berlin and wins a gold medal in swimming for the U.S.A. Luke said the Chan films did a lot of promotional events for the series, and he enjoyed greeting fans. "Parents invariably came to push a baby at me, saying 'Here's OUR number one son'" (Skreen). Racism, Subtle and Otherwise But despite his cheerful public demeanor, Luke later said that Los Angeles in the 1930s was informally but definitely segregated. He avoided all-white areas such as Beverly Hills and didn't go into downtown department stores. Caucasian actors he'd worked with would ignore him if they met on the street. "Asians were invisible ... we knew our place. One step back." He said the Chan films were important because "they deflated a lot of the current myths" (Bawden). In 1937 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences published its first Players Directory, a casting aid with headshots of actors in categories such as "leading man," "comic," or "character." Luke was in the "Oriental" section, right next to the category called "Colored." Roles for Asians were limited to supporting players, with white actors playing Asian lead roles. That year, Luke appeared as another elder son in the prestigious blockbuster The Good Earth, based on the Pearl S. Buck novel about Chinese peasants fighting off famine and locusts. The yellowface casting of Paul Muni and Luise Rainier as his parents, Wang and Olan, was made even more implausible by Muni's New York accent and Viennese Rainier's clearly German one. In 1938, Oland died on a trip home to Sweden at 58. The actor, who had been known to drink his lunch of martinis from a thermos on the set, and once had to be propped up by extras in a crowd scene while falling-down drunk, had been in ill health. Luke told the press that his grief was "that of a son who had lost a father" (Hays). Over the years, Luke loyally defended Oland's cross-racial casting, saying Oland gave "a faithful portrait of a Mandarin scholar" (Folkart), and noted that Oland made a point of studying Chinese culture and reading books of Chinese philosophy, some provided by Luke. He also gave Oland's casting a pass by saying there really wasn't a Chinese actor working in Hollywood who had the tubby silhouette of the detective as described in the series of novels on which the films were based. He summed it up by saying, "A Chinese role should be played by a Chinese actor if he can play it. But if an actor can you make you feel the reality, that person should get the part" (Flint). Casting aside, Luke was also a lifelong defender of the Chan character itself which, as the years went by, was criticized as a demeaning stereotype. Luke said, "They think it demeans the race ... Demeans! My God, you've got a Chinese hero!" (Huang). Luke did criticize other Asian-themed movies that he found offensive such as the 1985 Michael Cimino film Year of the Dragon. After Oland's death, and after unsuccessfully asking for more money, Luke quit playing Lee Chan. In the next picture in the series, with Oland's replacement, Sidney Toler, it was explained that number one son had gone away to college and number two son would take over as Charlie Chan's assistant. Luke reprised the role twice more in two Chan films, The Feathered Serpent (1948) and The Sky Dragon (1949). At the age of 44, he was five months older than Roland Winter, who played his father. Later, as a voice actor in the 1970s, Luke played Charlie Chan himself in the animated series The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan. One of the detective's numerous children was voiced by a young Jodie Foster. The Original Kato After the Warner Oland series, Luke went on to practically corner the market in Chinese or Japanese roles in Hollywood. No job was too small, and often his work was uncredited, but there were some bigger roles as well. He played Dr. Lee Wong How, an ambitious young intern from Brooklyn, in five pictures in the Dr. Kildare series set in a New York hospital and starring Lionel Barrymore as his boss, Dr. Gillespie. In 1940 he had a starring role as San Francisco detective Jimmy Wong in Phantom of Chinatown. The role was a spinoff from a series about an older Chinese detective named James Wong. He had been played by an actor who was the son of an English father and South Asian mother from India, and who used a Russian stage name – Boris Karloff. In 1940, Luke donned a chauffeur's uniform and a mask to play Kato, the wheelman and sidekick to the undercover crime fighting hero Green Hornet. Kato also slipped into a lab coat while inventing cutting-edge crime fighting technology. Luke said that as Kato he was the first actor in Hollywood to use karate chops. This proved difficult with taller villains, as Luke was 5-feet-6. The fights were staged on staircases, or Kato would chase the bad guys across uneven ground and jump onto a conveniently placed apple box to deliver the final blow. Kato was played a generation later by another actor from Seattle, Bruce Lee. Originally, Luke was asked to use a Filipino accent as Kato, but on screen the character declared himself to be Korean. By 1940, the Japanese background of the character had become problematic due to global politics. During World War II, Luke was usually cast as the good guy Chinese ally, not the Japanese enemy, in large part because of his amiable Number One Son image. He also had a featured role as a Filipino boxer in Salute to the Marines. But in Across the Pacific he played a Japanese spy in a fedora, snooping around Humphrey Bogart's hotel room with a flashlight. Marriage and Family The 1940 census indicates that Keye Luke lived at 842 North Gardner Street, in a one-story, two bedroom Spanish style North Hollywood bungalow. The head of household was listed as 50-year-old Ethel Davis Blaney. Her two children, son John, 20 and namesake daughter Ethel, a college student at 19, also lived there. Keye Luke, 35, was described as a lodger. Two years later, in May of 1942, Luke's old pal, Hearst Hollywood columnist Louella Parsons, wrote in her nationally syndicated column that Ethel Davis Blaney, whom Parsons characterized as "a non-professional" and Keye Luke had been married in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Mrs. Blaney's attendant at the ceremony was her daughter. Luke was reported to be dedicating a new series of drawings, to be published soon, to his new bride. Parsons called Keye Luke, "one of the best Chinese actors anywhere," and "a very fine artist." The venue for the white bride and Asian groom was no doubt chosen because such interracial marriages were not against the law in New Mexico as they were in California. The marriage would last until his wife's death in 1979. Keye Luke legally adopted his wife's daughter, who used the name Luke until her own marriage. In the 1950s, with the arrival of television, Luke kept adding to his credits, appearing in series such as Gunsmoke, December Bride and My Little Margie. He also appeared uncredited in big movies such as Love is a Many-Splendored Thing and Around the World in Eighty Days. In 1958 Luke made his stage debut on Broadway. He took voice lessons to prepare for the role of Master Wang in the Rodgers and Hammerstein hit musical Flower Drum Song. He later said the cast knew it had a hit in Boston during out-of-town tryouts when petite vocal dynamo Pat Suzuki belted out "I Enjoy Being a Girl" and brought down the house. (Suzuki had been discovered in Seattle by Bing Crosby at Seattle's Colony supper club on Virginia Street in the mid-fifties.) In his teens, Luke's parents had squelched his plans to go to art school. In his twenties, he'd viewed his move to Los Angeles as a stop on his way to either the Chicago Art Institute or the Art Students League, or maybe Paris. Now, in his fifties, Luke found himself in New York with Flower Drum Song. He immediately enrolled at the Arts Student League to study painting, telling an interviewer years later, "It was like a dream come true!" (Voorhees). He ran into Greta Garbo walking down a Manhattan street. The actress with whom he'd played his very first movie scene was now famed for wanting to be left alone, and he didn't invade her privacy. After the two-year Broadway run, Luke toured with Flower Drum Song for two more years. In 1960, his cousin Wing Luke, then a Washington State assistant attorney general, came to Los Angeles to attend the Democratic National Convention where John F. Kennedy was nominated for president. Both Lukes attended Washington State caucus meetings. Wing Luke is also said to have visited cousin Keye backstage on a trip to New York during the run of Flower Drum Song. Keye Luke called Wing Luke's 1965 death in an airplane accident "a great loss" (Skeer). Master Po: His Favorite Role Throughout the 1960s he continued to take on many television roles, appearing in I Spy, The Andy Griffith Show, General Hospital, Star Trek, The Big Valley, and Family Affair to name just a handful. He played everything from grandfathers to gangsters. In 1972, Luke became a series regular as Kralahome, the prime minister to the king of Siam played by Yul Brenner, in a CBS television series based on the play and the movie Anna and the King of Siam. He also landed the role he later said was the favorite of his career. Kung Fu, which ran from 1972 to 1975, starred David Carradine as a Shaolin monk and martial arts master wandering the Old West -- a role many people felt should have gone to Bruce Lee. Luke played his mentor, Master Po, a blind sage who shares wisdom with his young protégé, whom he calls Grasshopper, in flashbacks. Luke wore opaque contact lenses for the role. Tiny holes drilled in the center allowed him limited vision as he moved around the set. Luke said he relished sharing nuggets of Chinese philosophy "from Confucius, from Mencius, and actually saying them in English for a world audience ... where do you get an opportunity like that?″ (Voorhees). Luke did reveal that some words of wisdom in the scripts also came from the Talmud. A lifelong learner, Luke said the best part of the role was that it inspired him to study Chinese philosophy, partly to answer questions from young fans. Despite the rigors of two television series in the early 1970s, Luke continued to paint in oils. He was also studying Chinese calligraphy and Mandarin Chinese to add to the Cantonese he'd spoken since childhood. To keep his memory sharp, he memorized Shakespearean roles. And, decades after singing in Flower Drum Song, he was singing Mozart arias and German lieder to keep his voice in shape for the increasing amount of voice work he was doing. In 1974, uncredited, he took part in Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon by dubbing the voice of the film's villain because actor Kien Shih didn't speak English. He was a busy voice actor throughout the 1970s and 1980s, audible on the soundtracks of Scooby Doo, The Smurfs, Alvin and the Chipmunks and many more animated shows, as well as dubbed foreign films. He also continued to take television series roles including appearances on M.A.S.H., Magnum P.I., Falcon Crest, Miami Vice, the Golden Girls, The A-Team, and Charlie's Angels He had a recurring role on Sidekicks, a martial arts series, and appeared in the 1984 film Gremlins as Mr. Wing, a grandfather who owns a Chinese curio shop. In 1990, he reprised his role as kindly Mr. Wing in Gremlins2. His final film appearance was in the 1991 Woody Allen film Alice. He gave a memorable performance as Dr. Yang, a bossy herbalist and hypnotist who provides a young New York matron with herbs and advice that render her invisible while she sorts out her unhappy life. Less than a month after its release, at the age of 86, Luke died of a stroke in Whittier, California, with his daughter Ethel Luke Longenecker, a social worker, at his side. He had lived with her and her family after the death of his wife. At 81, in 1986, Luke was given the first Lifetime Achievement Award by the Association of Asian Pacific American Artists at a dinner at the Beverly Wilshire hotel. When interviewed about the honor, he told a Los Angeles Times reporter that he'd had a great career, and felt he'd been very lucky. But he also said "I never wanted to be an actor ... I wanted to draw" (Ong). In 2015, his granddaughter donated his papers to the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The collection includes more than 25 linear feet of manuscripts and photographs, and 406 artworks including layouts, celebrity portraits, book illustrations, and personal artworks going back to his freshman year at Franklin High School in Seattle.
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"Superman" Mention the name of Munich, Germany, born Franz Reicher, and my reader is sure to ask, WHO? Mention the character name of "Captain Eng...
2205	dbpedia	0	52	https://www.criminalelement.com/11-of-the-best-fictional-island-cops/	en	11 of the Best Fictional Island Cops	https://www.criminalelem…/island-cops.jpg	https://www.criminalelem…/island-cops.jpg	[ "https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=1416684015254854&ev=PageView&noscript=1", "https://d1gbp99v447ls8.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/24164202/logo-2.png", "https://www.criminalelement.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/island-cops.jpg", "https://www.criminalelement.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/sherlock.jpg", "https://www.criminalelement.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/charlie-chan.jpg", "https://www.criminalelement.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Sun-Sand-Murder-ex.jpg", "https://www.criminalelement.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/iTunes-buy-button-91.jpg", "https://www.criminalelement.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/barnes-and-noble-buy-button-91.jpg", "http://www.criminalelement.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/amazon-buy-button-91.jpg", "https://d1gbp99v447ls8.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/19141259/Ann-Cleeves-The-Midnight-Wives-Featured-Image.png", "https://d1gbp99v447ls8.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/14104348/Timothy-Miller-The-Strange-Case-of-the-Pharaohs-Heart-Featured-Image.png", "https://d1gbp99v447ls8.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/06112519/The-Raging-Storm-Lead.png", "https://d1gbp99v447ls8.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/29105235/Classic-Pop-Ups-Dracula-Featured-Image.png" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "John Keyse-Walker" ]	2016-09-13T17:30:00+00:00	Most of us love the idea of islands—their beauty, their singularity, their separation from the wider world. And, of course, we all believe that life may somehow be easier on islands, more laid back, simpler, even Edenic. But islands have their dark side, too. And just as most of us are drawn to the mythic…	en	https://d1gbp99v447ls8.c…ed-fav-32x32.png	Criminal Element	https://www.criminalelement.com/11-of-the-best-fictional-island-cops/	Most of us love the idea of islands—their beauty, their singularity, their separation from the wider world. And, of course, we all believe that life may somehow be easier on islands, more laid back, simpler, even Edenic. But islands have their dark side, too. And just as most of us are drawn to the mythic ease and beauty of island life, so, too, are we fascinated by tales of this dark side and the man or woman who must contend with that dark element—the island cop. Literature, TV, and film are populated by dozens of these characters, and they are often just that, their quirks and habits molded by their island environment. Come with me on an around-the-world tour of some fascinating islands and the fictional cops who call them home: Great Britain While most do not think of it as an island, it is. It's also the home of that most meticulous of quasi-cops, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. Holmes was not truly on the force, but he did serve as a consulting detective for Scotland Yard, enough to qualify him for this piece. Holmes appeared in more than a score of short stories and four novels written by Conan Doyle, the first being A Study in Scarlett (1887). Holmes has proven popular on the big and small screens, being the subject of over fifty films and multiple TV series. If you wish to take a more technical position, one UK cop on the force full-time is Scotland’s gruff Detective Inspector John Rebus, introduced by creator Ian Rankin in 1987’s Knots and Crosses and the subject of twenty books set primarily in Edinburgh. Detective Inspector Rebus has made it to the small screen in two series, both entitled Rebus. See also: The Success of the British Whodunits Shetland Islands Still part of the UK, the Shetland Islands are more closely related in climate and in the genre of crime fiction to neighboring Scandinavia. They are also the beat of Ann Cleeves’s Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez in a series that began with Golden Dagger winner Raven Black. The character has appeared on TV in the BBC’s Shetland series. Iceland Detective Erlendur solves the murder of a seventy-year-old with an ominous past in Jar City, set in the northernmost of the island explored here. Author Arnaldur Indridason’s Erlendur series has run fourteen books to date, and an eponymous film of Jar City was made in Iceland. A remake of the movie, set in Louisiana, is rumored. Cuba Crossing the Atlantic and moving south brings us to the sunny precinct of Lt. Mario Conde, Leonardo Padura’s protagonist in Havana Blue, one of four novels known as the Havana Quartet. A cop who would rather do something else, Conde identifies with “writers, crazy people and drunkards” in these novels that each take place in one of the four seasons of the year. St. Caro Albert H. Z. Carr set his Edgar Award Best First Novel winner Finding Maubee on the fictional Caribbean isle of St. Caro. In it, Police Chief Xavier Brooke must chase down his childhood friend, petty thief David Maubee, while investigating the murder of a white woman. The 1983 film version, The Mighty Quinn, starring a young Denzel Washington, focused on mystic elements of the story. Hawaii The House Without a Key, the first of Earl Derr Biggers's six novels starring Detective Charlie Chan, is set in 1920’s Honolulu. Notable in its time for its sympathetic portrayal of a Chinese man as an equal to whites, the book was the subject of two movie adaptations, The House Without a Key (1926) and Charlie Chan’s Greatest Case (1933). Five other books in the popular series launched Chan on a film career which spanned six decades, ending with Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen, starring Peter Ustinov, in 1981. Japan The island of Honshu is the setting for Murder at Mt. Fuji by Shizuko Natsuki. Centered on a murder arising from family conflicts, Natsuki, often called the Agatha Christie of Japan, sets Police Detectives Ukyo Nakazato and Katsubei Aiura out to solve the crime. The film adaptation, W’s Tragedy, was nominated for six Japan Academy Prizes and won three. New Zealand Maori Police Investigator Tito Ihaka finds himself embroiled with the mafia, street gangs, and crazy ex-commandoes while investigating what appears to be a suicide in Paul Thomas’s Old School Ties. Ihaka, known for his black humor, has appeared in five subsequent books, the last being 2014’s Fallout. Sicily Andrea Camilleri set his two dozen novels in the Inspector Salvo Montalbano series in the fictional Sicilian village of Vigata. One in the series, The Potter's Field, won the 2012 Crime Writers International Dagger. Honest, decent, loyal, and something of a gourmand, Inspector Montalbano has made it to the small screen in two series, Inspector Montalbano and The Young Montalbano. Anegada I can’t pass up the chance to include this last one—my own. Sun, Sand, Murder, set in the least populated of the British Virgin Islands, finds part-time RVIPF Special Constable Teddy Creque called upon to navigate through allegations of his own corruption, an extramarital affair, a curmudgeonly superior, and his own doubts about his abilities to solve the island’s first murder since 1681. No TV or film yet, but one can always hope! Read an excerpt from Sun, Sand, Murder here! Keep in mind that this list is not exhaustive. If you enjoy these island cops, take a virtual trip of your own, do some exploring, and I’m sure your find others out there keeping a lid on crime in other exotic locales. Who's YOUR favorite island cop? Tell us in the comments below! To learn more or order a copy, visit:
2205	dbpedia	0	44	https://www.sundance.org/blogs/2024-sundance-film-festival-announces-short-films-lineup-and-40th-edition-programming/	en	2024 Sundance Film Festival Announces Short Films Lineup and 40th Edition Programming	https://www.sundance.org…ts40th_nobar.png	https://www.sundance.org…ts40th_nobar.png	[ "https://www.sundance.org/wp-content/uploads/elementor/thumbs/sundance_logo-pdxzk3468mn8ty6zscade7v9vm7ddmz9car66j5qf4.png", "https://www.sundance.org/wp-content/uploads/elementor/thumbs/sundance_logo-pdxzk3468mn8ty6zscade7v9vm7ddmz9car66j5qf4.png", "https://www.sundance.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/sff24_pa_shorts40th_nobar-2048x864.png", "https://www.sundance.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/A1_04775-scaled-1-300x200.jpg", "https://www.sundance.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Kneecap-Still1-300x169.jpg", "https://www.sundance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/missing-dedd6faf990f44563226e42fbce523e9890b51309d46ef2e2ba1b3c04fcf717b-300x169.png" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Sylvy Fernandez" ]	2023-12-12T09:00:23-08:00	53 Shorts and Eight 40th Edition Celebration Screenings Screenings of iconic films from Sundance history include new restorations of Napoleon Dynamite, Go Fish, and Three Seasons, restorations of Mississippi Masala and The Times of Harvey Milk, plus screenings of The Babadook, Pariah, and a new digitally remastered extended version of DIG! Special events with artist	en	https://www.sundance.org…0/SD-Favicon.png	sundance.org - sundance.org	https://www.sundance.org/blogs/2024-sundance-film-festival-announces-short-films-lineup-and-40th-edition-programming/	PARK CITY, UTAH, December 12, 2023 — Today the nonprofit Sundance Institute announced the Short Films and 40th Edition Celebration Screenings and Events that will be a part of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival programming. The Festival will take place January 18–28, 2024, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, with a selection of titles available online nationwide from January 25–28, 2024. The Festival will introduce new short films for 2024 across eight curated programs. Special 40th Edition Celebration Screenings and Events are set for the second half of the Festival and kick off on January 23, 2024, with a slate of retrospective programming that will bring alumni artists together for conversations and gatherings, while also allowing audiences to revisit iconic films from Sundance history through archive screenings followed by Q&As with members of the films. In-Person Ticket Packages and Passes and Online Ticket Packages and Passes, including a special short films online pass, are currently on sale and single film tickets go on sale January 11 at 10 a.m. MT. The 40th Edition Celebration Screenings and Events will run from Tuesday, January 23 through Friday, January 26. The Festival will debut brand-new 4K restorations of Napoleon Dynamite (20th anniversary) Go Fish (30th anniversary), Three Seasons (25th anniversary), and an extended version of DIG! (20th anniversary), featuring over 30 minutes of additional footage, titled DIG! XX. Also showing will be The Babadook and Pariah, and restorations of Mississippi Masala and The Times of Harvey Milk. The upcoming Festival will also see the return of acclaimed artist alumni. Talks with notable alumni will take place, including a panel titled Power of Story: Four Decades of Taking Chances about the legacy of independent storytelling featuring Miguel Arteta, Richard Linklater, Dawn Porter, and Christine Vachon; a screening of seminal short films from Sundance’s history hosted by Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass; and a workshop for emerging creators with Carlos López Estrada and others. Other special events include alumni social gatherings and a 40th Edition trivia night. “As the 2024 Sundance Film Festival marks our milestone 40th edition, we are thrilled to announce the myriad ways we’ll celebrate four decades of visionary storytelling and the emerging artists in this year’s program,” said Festival Director and Head of Public Programming Eugene Hernandez. “The 40th Edition Celebration Screenings will showcase films from Sundance’s rich history, each having made an indelible impact on culture. Our outstanding Short Film program selection, chosen from more than 12,000 submissions, simultaneously welcomes the next generation of voices and storytellers to watch. In gathering some of the extraordinary artists who have been part of our history along with our community of emerging creators and audiences, we hope to demonstrate Sundance’s role as the premier place for international discovery and the vitality of independent cinema.” “We are pleased to revisit some Festival history through our 40th Edition Celebration Screenings and Events. These are a great complement to our new programming premiering across sections, and our curatorial team is looking forward to bringing the mix of offerings in the 2024 lineup to audiences,” said Kim Yutani, Sundance Film Festival Director of Programming. “From the inception of the Festival, we’ve been huge supporters of short filmmaking and we’re proud to carry that support into this 40th edition of the Festival as well.” “Selecting the shorts for the Festival Program every year is an exercise in taking the pulse of film culture, and the outlook is always bright,” said Mike Plante, Senior Programmer, Short Film. “In our 40th year, the world of short films is more vibrant than ever. With so many ways to see and experience shorts now — at festivals and online through varied platforms — so many artists are coming to the art form and creating shorts that excite us, and short film fans, in new ways.” The 53 Short Films for the 2024 lineup were selected from 12,098 submissions, the highest number on record. Of these submissions, 5,323 were from the U.S., and 6,799 were international. This upcoming year’s Short Film program includes work from 22 countries. Driven by innovation and experimentation, the Short Film program seeks out filmmaking’s most original voices, exhibiting shorts across fiction, nonfiction, and animation, globally. From the start, the Institute has supported short filmmaking in all forms and styles, with alumni of the program including Andrea Arnold, Lake Bell, Damien Chazelle, Destin Daniel Cretton, Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass, Debra Granik, Rashaad Ernesto Green, Reinaldo Marcus Green, Sterlin Harjo, Todd Haynes, Nikyatu Jusu, Shaka King, Lynne Ramsay, Dee Rees, Charlotte Regan, A.V. Rockwell, Joey Soloway, Taika Waititi, and many others. The Sundance Institute champions short films globally and throughout the year, with select Festival shorts presented as a traveling program at theaters in the U.S, Canada, Europe, and more. The 2024 Sundance Film Festival Short Films are: U.S. FICTION SHORT FILMS Bay of Herons / U.S.A. (Director: Jared James Lank) — Calling on the strength of his ancestors, a young Mi’kmaq man reflects on the pain of bearing witness to the destruction of his homelands. Available online for Public. Boi de Conchas (The Shell Covered Ox) / U.S.A., Brazil (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Daniel Barosa, Producers: Nikolas Maciel, Bruno Alfano) — While mourning her missing sister, Rayane balances helping her fisherman father and practicing for the school’s music festival — provided she doesn’t become an ox first, a misfortune assailing several teenagers in the area. Cast: Bebé Salvego, Daniela Dams, Walter Balthazar, Bianca Melo, Giulia Sposito, Kaique Martins De Paula, Kyuja Ohanna, Maitê Dias, Tainara Corrêa, and Thiago Klein. World Premiere. Available online for Public. Border Hopper / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Nico Casavecchia, Screenwriter: Mercedes Arturo, Producers: Blaine Morris, Robin Spears, Gabriela Ortega) — When a Latinx filmmaker is offered a dream job abroad, she discovers a supernatural way to navigate the U.S. immigration system and get the coveted travel permit she needs. But what seems like a magic solution soon shows unexpected consequences. Cast: Gabriela Ortega, Santiago Reyes MacAllister. World Premiere. Available online for Public. BUST / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Angalis Field, Screenwriters: Angalis Field, Eliza Barry Callahan, Producer: Drake Burnette) — A trans cop with the New York City Police Department goes undercover to make a drug bust. Cast: Lux Pascal, Nicky DeMarie. World Premiere. Available online for Public. Didn’t Think I’d See You Here / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Dylan Guerra, Producers: Yaron Lotan, Laura Dupper) — Rory thinks there’s a ghost haunting his shower and decides to investigate its origin. But when he goes to a party and meets a romantic interest, his spectral mystery begins to unravel. Cast: Yaron Lotan, Holly Settoon, Marquis Rodriguez, Jose Useche. Available online for Public. Dream Creep / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Carlos A.F. Lopez, Producers: Megan Leonard, Bobby McHugh, Jonathan Caso, Zeus Kontoyannis) — A couple awakens in the night to sounds emanating from an unlikely orifice. Cast: Ian Edlund, Sidney Jayne Hunt. World Premiere. Available online for Public. Flail / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Ben Gauthier, Screenwriter: Allie Levitan, Producers: Jack Forbes, Maddie Thomas) — It’s her boss’s birthday, and Allie is trying as hard as she can. Cast: Allie Levitan, David Brown, Natalie Rotter-Laitman, Isabella Gerasole, Krista Levitan. Available online for Public. Grace / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Natalie Jasmine Harris, Producers: Samiyah Wardlaw, Julia Kennelly, Latavia Young, Morgan B. Powell) — Sixteen-year-old Grace prepares for her baptism in the rural 1950s South. When she learns she must repent before the ritual, she begins to question the budding romantic feelings she has toward her best friend, Louise. Cast: Jordan Rayanna Wells, Alexis Cofield, Mikayla LaShae Bartholomew, C L Simpson, JeVon Blackwell. World Premiere. Available online for Public. guts / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Margaux Susi, Screenwriter: Jan Rosenberg, Producers: Grayson Propst, Angela Giarratana) — Desperate for help, a woman in recovery asks an unlikely stranger on a dinner date. Cast: Kate Burton, Angela Giarratana. World Premiere. Available online for Public. The Heart / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Malia Ann, Producer: Ayesha Nadarajah) — A lonely man grieves the death of his mother after an argument about groceries and an odd request in her will. Cast: Tunde Adebimpe, LaTonya Borsay. Available online for Public. The Looming / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Masha Ko, Producers: Caroline Gluck, Andrey Nikolaev, Kolten Horner) — When a virtual home assistant speaker, Luna, picks up the strange noise Chester has heard in his house, he realizes that it may not be a symptom of dementia. Cast: Joseph Lopez, Kolten Horner, Brianne Buishas, Alyssa Nicole. Available online for Public. The Looming Cloud / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Matthew Tyler, Producer: Connie Shi) — Three siblings return home after their mother’s death and face their most daunting task: figuring out how to post about it on social media. Cast: Mitzi Akaha, Jason Amerling, Connie Shi. World Premiere. Available online for Public. The Lost Season / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Kelly Sears) — Winter is over. Continue watching. Cast: Skinner Myers. World Premiere. Available online for Public. Pasture Prime / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Diffan Sina Norman, Screenwriter and Producer: Carolyn Purnell) — A widow falls for a younger man she meets at the Cowboy Church. Cast: Gail Cronauer, Patrick Kirton, Chris Alan Evans, Susan Kirton, Joshua Ogden-Davis. World Premiere. Available online for Public. Pathological / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Alison Rich, Producers: Bridgett Greenberg, Ingrid Haas, Avtar Khalsa, Peter Principato, Todd Ruhnau) — A woman who’s a pathological liar wakes up one day to discover her lies have become true. Cast: Alison Rich, Meaghan Rath, Luke Cook, Adam Lustick, Heather Pasternak, George Kareman. World Premiere. Available online for Public. The Rainbow Bridge / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Dimitri Simakis, Producers: Suki-Rose, Michael Scott) — Tina and her elderly dog MeeMoo discover a clinic promising human-to-pet communication. However, two sinister doctors uncover a bond between them so strong, it transcends time and space. They might be the key to something greater, but at what cost? Cast: Thu Tran, Heather Lawless, James Urbaniak, David Brown, Fat Tony. World Premiere. Available online for Public. Say Hi After You Die / U.S.A. (Director: Kate Jean Hollowell, Screenwriters: Kate Jean Hollowell, Ruby Caster, Producer: Miranda Kahn) — A grieving woman believes her deceased best friend has come back to visit her… as a port-a-potty. Cast: Kate Jean Hollowell, Ruby Caster, George Basil. World Premiere. Available online for Public. SHÉ (SNAKE) / U.S.A., U.K. (Director and Screenwriter: Renee Zhan, Producer: Jesse Romain) — Fei is the top violinist in her elite youth orchestra. When another Chinese violinist arrives to challenge her place, Fei’s internal demons take external form. They whisper to her, urging her to be the best, no matter the cost. Cast: Xiaonan Wang, Alina Lew, Simon Paisley Day, Elizabeth Chan, Leslie Ching, Grace Fan. U.S. Premiere. Available online for Public. Thirstygirl / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Alexandra Qin, Producers: Brooke Goldman, Alexandra Qin) — On a road trip with her younger sister, Charlie struggles to hide a secret sex addiction. Cast: Samantha Ahn, Claire Dunn. Available online for Public. INTERNATIONAL FICTION SHORT FILMS Basri & Salma in a Never-Ending Comedy / Indonesia (Director and Screenwriter: Khozy Rizal, Producers: John Badalu, Sue Turley) — A married couple who own an Odong-Odong spend their days entertaining other people’s children. Between relatives, self-doubt, and an explosive confrontation, they uncover why they have not been blessed with a child. Cast: Arham Rizky Saputra, Rezky Chik, Hj. Sugiati, Alghifari Jasin, Alif Anggara, Sri Eka Putri. Available online for Public. Bold Eagle / Philippines (Director and Screenwriter: Whammy Alcazaren, Producer: Alemberg Ang) — Trapped at home with hallucinogenic drugs and his talking cat, an “alter” anonymously performs lascivious acts on the Internet, seeking refuge in the strong arms of strange men, hoping to masturbate his way to true happiness. Cast: Brian, Monty, Gio Gahol, Ricky Davao. Bye Bye, Bowser / Austria (Director: Jasmin Baumgartner, Screenwriter: Lorenz Uhl, Producer: Dominic Spitaler) — Luna rebels against the indifference of her artsy friends by writing a punk song about Laugo, the construction worker from across the street. Will the clashing worlds of affluent neglect and working life lead to the collapse of their romance? Cast: Luna Jordan, Laurence Hadschieff. North American Premiere. Available online for Public. Dreams like paper boats / Haiti (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Samuel Frantz Suffren) — Edouard and his daughter live with a cassette received from his wife in the United States, a long time ago. After years of absence, what can we expect from a distant love? Cast: Kenny Laguerre, Zaraina Ruth-Amma Suffren, Clorette Jacinthe. World Premiere. Available online for Public. Essex Girls / U.K. (Director: Yero Timi-Biu, Screenwriter: Busayo Ige, Producers: Angela Moneke, Simon Hatton) — After an incident at her high school pulls her into the orbit of the only other Black girl in her year, “Essex Girl” Bisola is plunged into a journey to discover a whole new side of herself. Cast: Busayo Ige, Corinna Brown, Maisie Smith, Adrianna Bertola, Krysstina Frempong, Rebecca Dike. Available online for Public. Lea Tupu’anga / Mother Tongue / New Zealand (Director: Vea Mafile’o, Screenwriter: Luciane Buchanan, Producers: Alex Lovell, Eldon Booth) — A young speech therapist disconnected from her Tongan heritage lies about her Tongan language skills to get a job. Out of her depth, she must find a way to communicate or risk her patient’s life. Cast: Luciane Buchanan, Albert Rounds, Mikey Falesiu, Michael Koloi, Elizabeth Thomson. World Premiere. The Masterpiece / Spain (Director and Producer: Alex Lora Cercos, Screenwriter and Producer: Lluis Quilez, Screenwriter: Alfonso Amador, Producers: Sandra Travé, Josemari Martínez, Néstor López) — Leo and Diana, a wealthy couple, meet Salif and Yousef, two scrap dealers, at a recycle center. Offering them more junk, Diana invites them to their mansion, but the immigrants actually might be the ones with something she wants. Cast: Daniel Grao, Babou Cham, Melina Matthews, Adam Nourou, Guido Grao. World Premiere. Available online for Public. Phoebe / Greece, Cyprus (Director and Screenwriter: Vaggelio Soumeli, Producers: Janine Teerling, Marios Piperides, Romana Lobach, Paul Typaldos) — Having been recently discharged from rehab, 26-year-old Phoebe takes her young son on a road trip that will determine their future. Cast: Athina Pavlou Benazi, Nikolas Drosopoulos, Orestis Raissis. World Premiere. Available online for Public. Pisko the Crab Child is in Love / Japan (Director and Screenwriter: Makoto Nagahisa, Producer: Yasuo Suzuki) — Pisko’s father is a crab while her mother is human. Pisko falls in love with her teacher but is heartbroken when he leaves her because she is half-crab. Pisko finally finds love and companionship with her friend Kubokayo. Cast: Aiko Kano, Saya, Maki Fukuda, Kanta Sato. U.S. Premiere. Available online for Public. Shalal / Iran (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Amir Ali Sisipour, Producer: Rostam Sisipour) — Mehran and his mother, Ziba, don’t have shadows, so they use a black fur to catch the shadows of people and drink them. One day, Mehran decides to catch someone’s shadow alone. Cast: Masomeh Emamai, Amir Reza Sisipour, Javad Ansari, Fataneh Imani. Available online for Public. The Stag / Taiwan (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: An Chu, Producer: Tzu-Yuan Wang) — At a deer farm in Changhua County, a middle-aged man is asked to cut off a stag’s antlers in front of his two kids. Cast: Yung-He Chen, Wei-Jen Chen, Si-Kai Chen. International Premiere. Available online for Public. Terra Mater / Rwanda (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Kantarama Gahigiri) — Technology and waste in our lands, systems, and bones. Here she stands, confidently, like a goddess surrounded by endless mountains of plastic, stench, and rare earths. She cannot help but wonder, where is the space for healing? Cast: Cheryl Isheja. Available online for Public. Viaje de Negocios / Mexico (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Gerardo Coello Escalante, Producers: Amandine Thomas, Nahim Abuxapqui, Rodrigo Solano) — Daniel arrives at school wearing brand-new sneakers from America, gifted to him by his father. When he sees another boy wearing the same sneakers, he begins to suspect that their shoes are the key to a terrible secret. Cast: Rodrigo Mota, Pablo Torres, Gerardo Saldaña, Lila Urbina. World Premiere. Available online for Public. Voice Ever / France (Directors and Screenwriters: Céline Perreard, Pauline Archange, Producer: Anne Luthaud) — Over the course of an evening, Romane, Sarah, Emmanuel, and Boris connect on Voice Ever, a new dating app where you choose your date based on their voice. Their weaknesses and vulnerabilities will surface in their desire to meet. Cast: Alexandra Desloires, Kelly Bellacci, Vincent Pasdermadjian, Xavier Lacaille, Maya Raad, Edith Baldy. North American Premiere. Available online for Public. ANIMATION SHORT FILMS 27 / France, Hungary (Director and Screenwriter: Flóra Anna Buda, Producers: Emmanuel-Alain Raynal, Pierre Baussaron, Gábor Osváth, Péter Benjámin Lukács) — Alice is 27 years old today. Even though she is suffocating a bit, she still lives with her parents and tends to live in her dreams to escape her dreary everyday life. Available online for Public. Baigal Nuur – Lake Baikal / Canada, Germany (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Alisi Telengut) — The formation of Lake Baikal in Siberia is reimagined, featuring the voice of a Buryat woman who can still recall some words in her endangered Buryat language (a Mongolian dialect). U.S. Premiere. The Bleacher / U.S.A. (Directors and Screenwriters: Nicole Daddona, Adam Wilder, Producer: Zeus Kontoyannis) — The disappearance of her sock at a local laundromat sends a fragile Rita over the edge. Hellbent on finding it, she searches deep and gets sucked into a washing machine, entering an otherworldly cycle from which she may never escape. Cast: Kate Micucci, Ben Sinclair, Sky Elobar. World Premiere. Available online for Public. Bug Diner / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Phoebe Jane Hart) — A dissatisfied marriage, a secret crush, and workplace fantasies come to a head in a diner run by a mole with a hot ass. Cast: Jacob Levy, Phoebe Hart. World Premiere. Available online for Public. Dona Beatriz Ñsîmba Vita / Brazil (Director and Screenwriter: Catapreta, Producer: Miriam Rolim) — Kimpa Vita fulfills the prophetic mission of leading her people in a racist and unequal society. Set in contemporary Brazil and inspired by the true story of Kimpa Vita, a 17th-century Congolese religious leader. North American Premiere. Available online for Public. Drago / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Daniel Zvereff) — A young boy’s dream of becoming a doctor is challenged when war forces him and his mother to flee their village and start a new life in New York City. World Premiere. Available online for Public. Larry / U.S.A. (Directors: Takeshi Murata, Christopher Rutledge, Screenwriter: Takeshi Murata) — A dog loses its grasp of shape and time while balling like Shaq. Available online for Public. Martyr’s Guidebook / Poland (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Maks Rzontkowski) — Tony is the ultimate good guy, sometimes to a fault. From nabbing the smallest slice of cake in grade school to guiding lost strangers in the city, his kindness knows no bounds. He also lives with an angel. Cast: Maks Rzontkowski, Julia Woronowicz, Jaś Dąbrówka. International Premiere. Available online for Public. Matta and Matto / Switzerland (Directors and Screenwriters: Bianca Caderas, Kerstin Zemp, Producer: Joder von Rotz) — In a time when all interpersonal closeness is forbidden, the hourly hotel Vaip offers wondrous rooms where guests snuggle up to devices built with great skill and let themselves fall into the perfect illusion of human touch. Cast: Bianca Caderas, Kerstin Zemp, Etienne Mory, Amélie Cochet, Danay Gijzen, Martine Ulmer. North American Premiere. Available online for Public. Miisufy / Estonia (Director: Liisi Grünberg, Screenwriter and Producer: Aurelia Aasa) — Digital pet cat Miisu gets tired of her owner and starts to revolt. Inspired by Tamagotchi — observing the world through the eyes of digital pets. Cast: Maria Ehrenberg. Available online for Public. NONFICTION SHORT FILMS 14 Paintings / China (Director and Producer: Dongnan Chen, Producers: Jiaqing Lin, Chongjun Li, Jisong Li, Heying Chen) — A field study of 14 paintings from China’s Dafen village, as the government rebrands the copy-painting district as a hub for original art. North American Premiere. Available online for Public. ALOK / U.S.A. (Director: Alex Hedison) — A compelling portrait of Alok Vaid-Menon, acclaimed nonbinary author, poet, comedian, and public speaker. Executive-produced by Jodie Foster. World Premiere. Available online for Public. Bob’s Funeral / U.S.A (Director, Screenwriter, Animator, and Producer: Jack Dunphy) — Searching for the root of generational trauma, the director sneaks a camera into his estranged grandfather’s funeral. World Premiere. Available online for Public. Ekbeh / U.S.A. (Director: Mariah Eli Hernandez-Fitch) — While learning to make gumbo, the creator shares personal stories about their grandparents as a way to honor and preserve their Indigenous history and life. Available online for Public. Merman / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Sterling Hampton IV, Producer: Monica Lawless) — A 58-year-old Black Queer man speaks the truth about his life as an emergency nurse, a leather enthusiast, husband, and civil rights advocate. Available online for Public. Object 817 / Belgium (Director and Screenwriter: Olga Lucovnicova, Producers: Frederik Nicolai, Annabel Verbeke) — A poetic journey to the heart of the Ural, where the discovery of an alien creature uncovers a haunting secret. World Premiere. Available online for Public. Salone Love / U.S.A., U.K., Sierra Leone (Director: Tajana Tokyo, Producers: Tabs Breese, India Wadsworth) — A scrapbook of opinions and advice about love in Sierra Leone. Available online for Public. The Smallest Power / Iran (Director and Producer: Andy Sarjahani, Producer: Daniel Lombroso) — During the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising in Iran, in the aftermath of the murder of Jina Mahsa Amini, a medical resident finds her voice when the chaos in the streets comes to her hospital floor. Available online for Public. To Be Invisible / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Myah Overstreet) — Every week for the past three years, Alexis and Kellie have stood outside Durham County’s child welfare agency, demanding the return of their children. Together, they embark on a journey to bring their children home. World Premiere. Available online for Public. Winding Path / U.S.A. (Directors: Alexandra Lazarowich, Ross Kauffman, Producer: Robin Honan) — Eastern Shoshone MD-PhD student Jenna Murray spent summers on the Wind River Indian Reservation helping her grandpa anyway she could. When he suddenly dies, she must find a way to heal before realizing her dream of a life in medicine. World Premiere. Available online for Public. 40TH EDITION CELEBRATION SCREENINGS & EVENTS Rediscover classic works of independent cinema as the Sundance Film Festival celebrates its 40th edition and the breadth, diversity, artistic resonance, and cultural impact of four decades of independent storytelling. The 40th Edition Celebration Screenings & Events section brings archival screenings back into focus as part of the Sundance Film Festival for audiences to explore and rediscover the films that have shaped the heritage of both Sundance Institute and independent storytelling. The program is rounded out with special events and conversations with artists across the decades. Napoleon Dynamite / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Jared Hess, Producers: Sean Covel, Chris Wyatt, Screenwriter: Jerusha Hess) — From rural Preston, Idaho, comes Napoleon Dynamite, a new kind of hero with moon boots and some sweet moves. When his friend Pedro decides to run for class president, Napoleon finds goals outside of being a star milk-tasting judge to help him triumph over adversity. Cast: Jon Heder, Aaron Ruell, Jon Gries, Efren Ramirez, Haylie Duff, Tina Majorino, Diedrich Bader. Since its premiere at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Dramatic Competition almost 20 years ago, Napoleon Dynamite’s quirky humor and offbeat characters have sustained a lasting impact on pop culture, proliferating endless references in popular media and a steadfast following. The film’s brand-new restoration will debut at the upcoming Festival. The original 35mm cut negative was digitally scanned at a 4K resolution by Disney and Searchlight Pictures. All color and restoration work was also performed at 4K resolution, which was approved by the director, Jared Hess. “Returning to Sundance with Napoleon Dynamite feels like a homecoming. When it premiered at the festival 20 years ago, we never anticipated the incredible reaction it would receive,” said Napoleon Dynamite writer-director Jared Hess. “It’s always been a very personal film for Jerusha and me, so the love affair it’s had with audiences all these years continues to delight us. To commemorate its 20th anniversary, we are thrilled to screen this newly restored version of Napoleon Dynamite. The restoration team did an amazing job bringing to life new details from the original film’s negative that we’d never seen before. We can’t wait to share it!” Park City screening on Wednesday, January 24 at 7:00 p.m. followed by a conversation with screenwriter Jerusha Hess, actor Jon Heder, and more. The Babadook / Australia (Director and Screenwriter: Jennifer Kent, Producers: Kristina Ceyton, Kristian Moliere) — A single mother, plagued by the violent death of her husband, battles with her son’s fear of a monster lurking in the house, but soon discovers a sinister presence all around her. Cast: Essie Davis, Daniel Henshall, Hayley McElhinney, Barbara West, Ben Winspear, Noah Wiseman. The Babadook premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival in the Midnight section, where it was acquired by IFC Midnight. The film’s skillful exploration of motherhood and grief, coupled with its innovative approach to the psychological horror genre, earned The Babadook widespread critical acclaim and cemented a loyal following. “I definitely have some distance on Babadook now, after ten years. The film feels like an old friend, one that changed my life in many ways,” said The Babadook director Jennifer Kent. “Sundance was such a huge part of that change. I look forward to ‘coming home’ to the place where it all began, and to the festival that has given me and ‘Mister B’ so much.” Park City screening on Thursday, January 25 at 10:30 p.m. followed by a conversation with director Jennifer Kent and more. Mississippi Masala / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Mira Nair, Producer: Michael Nozik, Screenwriter: Sooni Taraporevala) — During 1972 in Greenwood, Mississippi, Mina, whose Indian family was forced to flee Uganda, meets Demetrius, a carpet cleaner in Indian-owned Patel Motels. Their passionate romance exposes the rifts and commonalities between the Indian and Black communities. Cast: Sarita Choudhury, Charles S. Dutton, Joe Seneca, Roshan Seth, Sharmila Tagore, Denzel Washington. With an interracial relationship at its center, and Indian American filmmaker Mira Nair at its helm, Mississippi Masala explored the intersecting issues of racism, colorism, and displacement with extraordinary nuance at a time when these types of stories were scarce. The film screened in the 1992 Sundance Film Festival at the Opening Night in Park City. Mississippi Masala’s 4K digital restoration, which will screen at the upcoming Festival, was undertaken by Janus Film and the Criterion Collection and supervised by director Mira Nair and cinematographer Ed Lachman. “Welcome to black and brown skins in the same frame, to my 30-year-old but still radical film, Mississippi Masala! We gathered movie stars from all across the world to tell this tale of Idi Amin’s expulsion of Asians from Uganda in 1972 and their prickly embrace into the Mississippi Delta. This was a movie that went missing, until I tracked the only print available to a music store in Nashville, Tennessee. The owner turned out to be a major fan and sold me back the rights of the film for one dollar,” said director Mira Nair. “What you’re about to see is a beautiful 4K restoration undertaken by Criterion and supervised by legendary cinematographer Ed Lachman and myself.” Park City screening on Wednesday, January 24 at 3:15 p.m. followed by a conversation with director Mira Nair and more. Go Fish / U.S.A. (Director, Producer, and Screenwriter: Rose Troche, Screenwriter: Guinevere Turner) — Max is a young woman looking for romance. After a failed date, she discovers that some of life’s best surprises come when you don’t judge a book by its cover. Cast: V.S. Brodie, T. Wendy McMillan, Migdalia Melendez, Anastasia Sharp, Guinevere Turner. Despite almost three decades of queer storytelling that have come since its premiere at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, Go Fish remains just as resonant today. A pioneering work in lesbian cinema, the film helped pave the way for more authentic portrayals of LGBTQ+ characters and stories. Go Fish was digitally restored by the Academy Film Archive and UCLA Film & Television Archive in conjunction with Sundance Institute in 4K from the original 16mm A/B camera negatives and 35mm magnetic soundtrack. The restoration was funded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Amazon MGM Studios, Frameline, Sundance Institute, and UCLA Film & Television Archive. To address the specific preservation risks posed to independent film, Sundance Institute partnered with the UCLA Film & Television Archive in 1997 to form the Sundance Institute Collection at UCLA and preserve independent films supported by the Institute. “I am so honored that these organizations have come together to restore Go Fish on the eve of its 30th anniversary,” said Go Fish director, writer, and producer Rose Troche. “The Sundance Film Festival helped launch Go Fish into the zeitgeist of Queer culture and I will be forever grateful. This restoration will allow Go Fish to live on for a new generation.” Park City screening on Wednesday, January 24 at 12:00 p.m. followed by a conversation with director Rose Troche, producer John Pierson, and more. The Times of Harvey Milk / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Rob Epstein, Producer: Richard Schmiechen) — Documenting Harvey Milk’s rise from neighborhood activist to a symbol of gay political achievement, followed by his assassination at San Francisco’s City Hall and the subsequent Dan White trial and aftermath. By memorializing the remarkable life and political career of LGBTQ+ advocate Harvey Milk, The Times of Harvey Milk played a pivotal role in influencing public opinion and discourse on gay rights. The documentary received widespread acclaim, indicated by its 1985 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. It also received the Special Jury Prize (Documentary) at Sundance’s very first festival in 1985, where it screened in the U.S. Documentary Competition. The film’s digital restoration, which will screen at the upcoming Festival, was completed by Janus Films and the UCLA Film & Television Archive. “Back in 1985, when The Times of Harvey Milk screened at the first Sundance Film Festival, Frederick Wiseman, D.A. Pennebacker, and Barbara Kopple were on the jury,” said The Times of Harvey Milk director and producer Robert Epstein. “Being in the Festival was a reward in itself, but receiving a special jury award from these legends was a young filmmaker’s dream come true. Sundance has been an important part of my life and career ever since. How great to be returning with The Times of Harvey Milk as part of the 40th edition celebration.” Park City screening on Thursday, January 25 at 12:15 p.m. followed by a conversation with director Robert Epstein and more. DIG! XX / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Ondi Timoner, Producer: David Timoner) — Looking at the collision of art and commerce through the eyes of two dueling rock bands — The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre — over the past 27 years. DIG! XX is the 20th anniversary extended edition of the rock documentary DIG!, which adds new narration by The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Joel Gion and features 35+ minutes of never-before-seen footage. DIG! premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Documentary Competition, where it ultimately won the Grand Jury Prize in the documentary category. DIG! XX, which will premiere at the upcoming Festival, is not only a digitally enhanced, remixed, and remastered version of DIG!, but also a special 20th anniversary new edit of the film culled from 2,500 hours of footage, shot over seven years, and brought to you by the original sibling team, Ondi & David Timoner. “Twenty years ago, we had 2,500 hours of footage and a five-hour cut, so a lot of really great stuff hit the cutting room floor,” said DIG! XX director and producer Ondi Timoner. “A lot of those tapes are over a quarter-century old, so if we wanted to share more of this crazy story, it was now or never. We added an additional 35 minutes of carefully selected gems and a view inside The Brian Jonestown Massacre through a new narration by Joel Gion, the band’s tambourine player, which counterbalances the original narration by The Dandy Warhols’ frontman, Courtney Taylor. Now fans can watch the story through the eyes of both bands and follow them through to today, while reflecting back on DIG!’s impact on them and our culture.” Park City screening on Tuesday, January 23 at 8:30 p.m. followed by a conversation with director Ondi Timoner, producer David Timoner, and The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Joel Gion. Pariah / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Dee Rees, Producer: Nekisa Cooper) — When forced to choose between losing her best friend or destroying her family, a Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and endures heartbreak in a desperate search for sexual expression. Cast: Adepero Oduye, Pernell Walker, Kim Wayans, Charles Parnell, Aasha Davis. Pariah first premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival as a short film. It later returned to the 2011 Festival as a feature film premiering in the U.S. Documentary Competition, where it received an Excellence in Cinematography Award. Director Dee Rees workshopped Pariah in the Sundance Institute’s Directors and Screenwriters Labs and received three separate Institute grants to support production of the film. After opening to critical acclaim, Pariah, a young Black lesbian’s coming-of-age story, quickly became part of the LGBTQ+ film canon. “I’m moved and excited to be coming back to where it all began and celebrating this special anniversary with the Institute,” said Pariah director Dee Rees. “From the lab advisors, to the fellows, to the audiences, Sundance was that magically supportive and generous community that enabled Pariah to be born in the world and it’s always a joyous, heady feeling to return.” Park City screening on Friday, January 26 at 6:45 p.m followed by a conversation with director Dee Rees. Three Seasons / Vietnam (Director, Producer, and Screenwriter: Tony Bui, Producers: Jason Kliot, Joana Vicente) — Although the hearts, goals, and desires are different for everyone in a culturally-shifting Ho Chi Minh City, four individuals paint a vivid picture of the past, present, and future of a city eking into a new era. Cast: Don Duong, Zoe Bui, Tran Manh Cuong, Nguyen Huu Duoc, Ngoc Hiep, Harvey Keitel. Director Tony Bui workshopped Three Seasons at the 1996 Sundance Institute’s Screenwriters and Directors Labs. Just three years later, Three Seasons went on to premiere at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, where the film received widespread acclaim, earning the Excellence in Cinematography Award, and became the first feature film to win both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award. The version screening in the upcoming Festival is a new digital restoration in 4K from the original 35mm camera negative and original master 4-track stereo. “After 25 years, Three Seasons comes full circle back to Sundance where it originally premiered,” said Three Seasons director, producer, and screenwriter Tony Bui. “The long and emotional journey to restore the film isn’t just about preserving the film, but about bringing it back to life to share this timeless story of love, loss, and healing after the Vietnam War for generations to come.” Park City screening on Thursday, January 25 at 7:00 p.m. followed by a conversation with director Tony Bui, producers Jason Kliot and Joana Vicente, and more. Power of Story: Four Decades of Taking Chances Tuesday, January 23, 3–4:30 p.m. Egyptian Theatre, 328 Main St. With this conversation, we look back at the legacy of independent storytelling and the Sundance Film Festival over the course of four decades. A group of artists reflect on their work and careers, the empowering nature of risk-taking, and the importance of negotiating creative freedom. We want to talk about the past as we contemplate the future of storytelling and explore how revolutionary narrative experiences can reshape culture through artistic discovery, emerging media, and the reassertion of independence. Featuring: Miguel Arteta (Chuck & Buck), Richard Linklater (Boyhood), Dawn Porter (Gideon’s Army), Christine Vachon (Past Lives) The 40th Edition Short Film Show with Mark & Jay Duplass Tuesday, January 23, 7:30 p.m. Egyptian Theatre, 328 Main St. An eclectic mixtape of short films that have screened at Sundance over its four-decade history, curated by Sundance programmers and hosted by short film alums Mark and Jay Duplass. We welcome filmmakers back to celebrate their shorts as part of this surprise screening. Since the early days of the festival and the Rogues Gallery program of short films, throughout its almost 40 years of history, the Festival has always supported short films, providing a platform for both established and new filmmakers to connect with audiences in live action, animation and non-fiction shorts. The Sundance Film Festival® The Sundance Film Festival, a program of the nonprofit, Sundance Institute, is the pre-eminent gathering of original storytellers and audiences seeking new voices and fresh perspectives. Since 1985, hundreds of films launched at the Festival have gone on to gain critical acclaim and reach new audiences worldwide. The Festival has introduced some of the most groundbreaking films and episodic works of the past three decades, including Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, Fair Play, A Thousand and One, Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, Rye Lane, Navalny, Fire of Love, Flee, CODA, Passing, Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Minari, Clemency, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Zola, O.J.: Made in America, On the Record, Boys State, The Farewell, Honeyland, One Child Nation, The Souvenir, The Infiltrators, Sorry to Bother You, Top of the Lake, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Hereditary, Call Me by Your Name, Get Out, The Big Sick, Mudbound, Fruitvale Station, Whiplash, Brooklyn, Precious, The Cove, Little Miss Sunshine, An Inconvenient Truth, Napoleon Dynamite, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Reservoir Dogs, and sex, lies, and videotape. The program consists of fiction and nonfiction features and short films, series and episodic content, innovative storytelling, and performances, as well as conversations, and other events. The Festival takes place in person in Utah, as well as online, connecting audiences to bold new artists and films. The 2024 Festival will be held January 18–28, 2024. Be a part of the Festival at festival.sundance.org and follow the Festival on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube. The Festival is a program of the nonprofit Sundance Institute. To date 2024 Festival sponsors include: Presenting Sponsors – Acura, AMC+, Chase Sapphire®, Adobe; Leadership Sponsors – Audible, DIRECTV, Hulu, Ketel One Vodka, Omnicom Group, Shutterstock, United Airlines; Sustaining Sponsors – Canon U.S.A., Inc., Cotopaxi, DoorDash, Dropbox, Element[AL] Wines, World of Hyatt®, IMDb, MACRO, Rabbit Hole Bourbon & Rye, University of Utah Health, White Claw Hard Seltzer; Media Sponsors – Deadline Hollywood, IndieWire, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, NPR, Variety, Vulture. Sundance Institute recognizes critical support from the State of Utah as Festival Host State. The support of these organizations helps offset the Festival’s costs and sustain the Institute’s year round programs for independent artists. Please visit festival.sundance.org for more. Sundance Institute As a champion and curator of independent stories, the nonprofit Sundance Institute provides and preserves the space for artists across storytelling media to create and thrive. Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, the Institute’s signature labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. Sundance Collab, a digital community platform, brings a global cohort of working artists together to learn from Sundance advisors and connect with each other in a creative space, developing and sharing works in progress. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs connect audiences and artists to ignite new ideas, discover original voices, and build a community dedicated to independent storytelling. Through the Sundance Institute artist programs, we have supported such projects as Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Big Sick, Bottle Rocket, Boys Don’t Cry, Boys State, Call Me by Your Name, Clemency, CODA, Drunktown’s Finest, The Farewell, Fire of Love, Flee, The Forty-Year-Old Version, Fruitvale Station, Get Out, Half Nelson, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Hereditary, Honeyland, The Infiltrators, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Little Woods, Love & Basketball, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Mudbound, Nanny, Navalny, O.J.: Made in America, One Child Nation, Pariah, Raising Victor Vargas, Requiem for a Dream, Reservoir Dogs, RBG, Sin Nombre, Sorry to Bother You, The Souvenir, Strong Island, Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Swiss Army Man, Sydney, A Thousand and One, Top of the Lake, Walking and Talking, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, and Zola. Through year-round artist programs, the Institute also nurtured the early careers of such artists as Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, Gregg Araki, Darren Aronofsky, Lisa Cholodenko, Ryan Coogler, Nia DaCosta, The Daniels, David Gordon Green, Miranda July, James Mangold, John Cameron Mitchell, Kimberly Peirce, Boots Riley, Ira Sachs, Quentin Tarantino, Taika Waititi, Lulu Wang, and Chloé Zhao. Support Sundance Institute in our commitment to uplifting bold artists and powerful storytelling globally by making a donation at sundance.org/donate. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube. # # # EDITOR NOTE: DIRECTOR DEMOGRAPHICS The data we are sharing reflects information provided directly by the artists. Some artists chose not to self-identify in all data areas. U.S. SHORT FILMS: 52% or 15 of the 29 shorts in this year’s U.S. Short Films Program were directed by one or more filmmakers that identify as a woman; 3% or 1 of the 29 shorts was directed by one or more filmmakers that identify as nonbinary or gender-nonconforming; 66% or 19 of 29 were directed by one or more filmmakers who identify as a person of color; 33% or 9 of 27 were directed by one or more filmmakers who identify as LGBTQ+; 4% or 1 of 28 was directed by one or more filmmakers who identify as transgender. INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILMS: 52% or 12 of the 23 shorts in this year’s International Short Films Program were directed by one or more filmmakers who identify as a woman; 68% or 15 of 22 were directed by one or more filmmakers who identify as people of color; 18% or 4 of 22 were directed by one or more filmmakers who identify as LGBTQ+; 6% or 1 of 18 were directed by one or more filmmakers who identify as a person with a disability. ALL SHORTS: Of the 53 short films announced today, 27 (52%) were directed by one or more filmmakers who identify as women; 1 (2%) was directed by one or more filmmakers who identify as nonbinary or gender-nonconforming individuals; 34 (67%) were directed by one or more filmmakers who identify as people of color; 13 (27%) by one or more filmmakers who identify as LGBTQ+; 1 (2%) was directed by one or more filmmakers who identify as transgender; 1 (2%) was directed by one or more filmmakers who identify as a person with a disability. # # # MEDIA CONTACTS: Tammie Rosen, tammie_rosen@sundance.org; Tiffany Duersch, tiffany_duersch@sundance.org; Sylvy Fernàndez, sylvy_fernandez@sundance.org; Sarah Faruqui, sarah_faruqui@sundance.org
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(1934) 6.5/10 The Black Camel (1931) 6/10 Charlie Chan in Paris (1935) 6/10 Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936) 6/10 Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937) 6/10 Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937) 3/10 LOST FILMS (speculative scores based on available materials) Charlie Chan's Chance (1932) 6.5/10 Charlie Chan's Courage (1934) 6.5/10 Charlie Chan Carries On (1931) 5.5/10 Charlie Chan's Greatest Case (1933) 5/10 SIDNEY TOLER AT FOX Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939) 9.5/10 Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940) 9/10 Dead Men Tell (1941) 8.5/10 Charlie Chan in Panama (1940) 8.5/10 Charlie Chan in Reno (1939) 8/10 Castle in the Desert (1942) 8/10 Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise (1940) 7/10 Charlie Chan in Rio (1941) 6/10 Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938) 5/10 Murder Over New York (1940) 4.5/10 City in Darkness (1939) 3.5/10 SIDNEY TOLER AT MONOGRAM The Shanghai Cobra (1945) 6.5/10 The Scarlet Clue (1945) 6.5/10 Dark Alibi (1946) 6/10 The Chinese Cat (1944) 5.5/10 The Trap (1946) 5.5/10 Dangerous Money (1946) 5.5/10 The Jade Mask (1945) 5.5/10 Black Magic (1944) 5/10 Shadows Over Chinatown (1946) 5/10 Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944) 4/10 The Red Dragon (1945) 3/10 ROLAND WINTERS The Shanghai Chest (1948) 6/10 The Chinese Ring (1947) 6/10 The Sky Dragon (1949) 5.5/10 The Golden Eye (1948) 5/10 Docks of New Orleans (1948) 4/10 The Feathered Serpent (1948) 3.5/10 OTHER FILMS The Return of Charlie Chan (1972) 5.5/10 They Were Thirteen (1931) 5/10 Behind That Curtain (1929) 1.5/10 Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981) 1/10 TV SHOWS The New Adventures of Charlie Chan (1957-58) 5.5/10 The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan (1972) 4/10 ALL EXTANT FILMS RANKED 01 - Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939) 9.5/10 02 - Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936) 9/10 03 - Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940) 9/10 04 - Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937) 8.5/10 05 - Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936) 8.5/10 06 - Dead Men Tell (1941) 8.5/10 07 - Charlie Chan in Panama (1940) 8.5/10 08 - Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935) 8/10 09 - Charlie Chan in Reno (1939) 8/10 10 - Castle in the Desert (1942) 8/10 11 - Charlie Chan's Secret (1936) 7.5/10 12 - Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935) 7/10 13 - Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise (1940) 7/10 14 - Charlie Chan in London (1934) 6.5/10 15 - The Shanghai Cobra (1945) 6.5/10 16 - The Scarlet Clue (1945) 6.5/10 17 - The Black Camel (1931) 6/10 18 - Charlie Chan in Paris (1935) 6/10 19 - Dark Alibi (1946) 6/10 20 - Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936) 6/10 21 - Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937) 6/10 22 - Charlie Chan in Rio (1941) 6/10 23 - The Shanghai Chest (1948) 6/10 24 - The Chinese Ring (1947) 6/10 25 - The Return of Charlie Chan (1972) 5.5 26 - The Chinese Cat (1944) 5.5/10 27 - The Trap (1946) 5.5/10 28 - The Sky Dragon (1949) 5.5/10 29 - Dangerous Money (1946) 5.5/10 30 - The Jade Mask (1945) 5.5/10 31 - They Were Thirteen (1931) 5/10 32 - Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938) 5/10 33 - Black Magic (1944) 5/10 34 - The Golden Eye (1948) 5/10 35 - Shadows Over Chinatown (1946) 5/10 36 - Murder Over New York (1940) 4.5/10 37 - Docks of New Orleans (1948) 4/10 38 - Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944) 4/10 39 - The Feathered Serpent (1948) 3.5/10 40 - City in Darkness (1939) 3.5/10 41 - The Red Dragon (1945) 3/10 42 - Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937) 3/10 43 - Behind That Curtain (1929) 1.5/10 44 - Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981) 1/10	en	https://m.media-amazon.c…B1582158068_.png	IMDb	https://www.imdb.com/list/ls539978222/	"Behind That Curtain" confidently strides into every early talkie pitfall there is. For one, the acting is stagey to almost parodic levels. Everyone talks... very... very... slowly... indeed, enunciating every syllable separately, leaving long, whopping pauses between each sentence careful not to speak over his fellow actor's line. I am convinced that if everyone spoke normally the film would be over in half the time. The blocking is stilted even for 1920s standards. There are no camera movements and all the actors are positioned in flat, unimaginative tableaux, delivering their lines towards the camera without moving. They don't stand as much as pose. They don't walk as much as strut. The pace, consequently, is languid and each scene seems to run on for far longer than it should. The acting is of variable quality. Warner Baxter and Lois Moran are fine if not particularly memorable romantic leads and Gilbert Emery makes for a convincing authority figure. On the other end of the spectrum is Philip Strange whose portrayal of the snide villain is anything but subtle and whose delivery is an insult to wood. Boris Karloff makes his talkie-debut here in an inconsequential part that could easily go unnoticed. With the sinister looks he keeps giving the camera you'd think he was playing the villain instead of a lowly Arabic servant. The problem, however, is that everyone seems ill at ease on screen. Forced to act at such a languid pace and making an uncomfortable transition from silent movies, everyone seems self-conscious and discombobulated. In several long shots, the actors even seem to forget how to walk and seem to stagger in and out of rooms like toddlers. But no one will be watching "Behind That Curtain" for its cinematic qualities. The film is best known as the oldest surviving cinematic outing of Charlie Chan, the brilliant Chinese detective who would go on to appear in further 4? films for Fox. While the film is based on Earl Derr Biggers' novel it is no mystery. Instead, it is a distinctly torrid melodrama, one to rival even the most over-the-top Indian soap operas. The story revolves around a love triangle between Eve (Lois Moran), her husband Eric (Philip Strange), and her childhood friend, the explorer Colonel Beetham (Warner Baxter). After Eve learns that Eric is a cheater and a murderer she escapes into the Arabic desert with Beetham pursued by a dogged Scotland Yard inspector Sir Frederick (Gilbert Emery). Chan is relegated to a tiny part as Sir Frederick's honourable colleague. He appears in only a single, unimportant scene and is amateurishly played by E.L. Park. "Behind That Curtain" offers some interest but not due to its objective qualities. It is a lot of fun to watch as a kind of trashy 1920s soap opera with all the trappings of the genre. The over-the-top performances, overcooked emotions, explosive bust-ups and hilariously portentous dialogue delivered in voices shivering with emotion. But if we look at it as a serious movie, "Behind That Curtain" is a bust. Besides some eye-catching desert photography and nice musical passages, the film is entirely without merit. With its stilted performances, stagy direction and languid pace, it is frequently a chore to get through its needlessly elongated 90-minute runtime. 1.5/10 Of all the lost Charlie Chan films, "Charlie Chan Carries On" is the one that's easiest to get a good idea of. For one, its theatrical trailer still survives with a decent if brief glimpse at a few scenes from the film. Furthermore, a full shooting script is available for reading on the excellent Charlie Chan Family Home website. Last but not least, the Spanish-language remake, "They Were Thirteen", made on the same sets and with the same script, still exists and is available on home video. That makes the task of mentally reconstructing "Charlie Chan Carries On" far easier than getting even a passing glimpse at what, say, "Charlie Chan's Greatest Case" would have been like. So, what does this mental reconstruction amount to? Well, I would say that "Charlie Chan Carries On" would not have been a million miles away from "The Black Camel", Charlie Chan's second cinematic outing which was also directed by Hamilton MacFadden, made in 1931, and which still survives. It is a stagy, dated effort, clearly displaying the awkwardness of the early talkie era. But it is also an undeniably enjoyable and atmospheric picture. The story of "Charlie Chan Carries On", based on the same-named novel by Earl Derr Biggers, is a lot more engaging and original than the one featured in "The Black Camel". It revolves around a group of American tourists on a trip around the world which takes them from New York to France, Italy, Greece, Egypt, India, Singapore, and finally Honolulu. But what the travellers don't know is that among them is a dangerous killer, a ruthless diamond smuggler named Jim Everhard (an apt surname by all accounts). While in London, Everhard murders one of the tourists, a kindly old man which sets the determined Inspector Duff (Peter Gawthorne) on his case. When a bullet puts Duff out of commission, his old friend, the brilliant Chinese detective Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) carries on the investigation. He boards the ship taking the tourists from Honolulu to New York and endeavours to find out which of the tourists is Jim Everhard before they reach their final destination. The set-up is absolutely terrific but its execution in the screenplay by Barry Conners and Philip Klein is not as dynamic as the plot summary might suggest. Instead of beginning with Charlie Chan boarding the ship, it has a leaden 40-minute prologue in which we follow Inspector Duff's investigation and a bevvy of humorous but ultimately meaningless subplots about the tourists' personal lives. I have no way of knowing how this prologue would have ultimately played on screen but I can say that I found it a rather dull affair in "They Were Thirteen" and that the script does not read any better. When the novel was adapted again in 1940 under the title "Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise", the writers smartly introduced Charlie Chan right at the beginning. Leaving him out of the story for so long is, in my opinion, a major misstep. Looking at the cast list of "Charlie Chan Carries On", I see some familiar and likeable names. I would have particularly loved to have seen Marjorie White, a terrific comedic actress, in the film. She has some of the script's best lines and her Spanish counterpart Blanca de Castejon absolutely stole every scene she was in. The brief glimpses in the trailer, however, are less kind towards Warren Hymer and John T. Murray whose performances come across as overly broad and stiff. Maybe they would have played better when viewed in the context of the whole picture but I have my doubts. Even with all its flaws, I do think the script for "Charlie Chan Carries On" could have worked relatively well had it been played with the kind of paciness and dynamicity that later Chan films had. However, this was a 1931 film and if "The Black Camel" is anything to go by, I think that such attributes are wishful thinking. Even with Hamilton MacFadden's inventive, atmospheric direction, I fear that "Charlie Chan Carries On" was a stagy, stiff affair. There is no doubt it is a massive shame that the first Warner Oland Charlie Chan film is missing but I am not going to claim we're short of a masterpiece. Having now read the script and seen both the trailer and the Spanish-language remake, I think that "Charlie Chan Carries On" would not have scored higher than a 6 in a best-case scenario. I like the premise and the cast and a lot of the comedic dialogue is snappy and clever but it is hard to get around the fact that the story dilly-dallies for 40 minutes before Charlie Chan is finally introduced. We also should not ignore the technical limitations and awkwardness of early talkies which would have certainly marred this particular production. The realist in me will give "Charlie Chan Carries On" a speculative score of 5.5. First a little history lesson! In the early 1930s, the days of the awkward transition between silent films and talkies, major Hollywood studios started making the same film twice. This is not a smart-aleck way of criticising Hollywood's lack of imagination, I mean that literally. In order to sell their talkies worldwide, they'd make the English-language version of the film first and then shoot an alternative Spanish-language version on the same sets afterwards. This bizarre and costly practice didn't have a terribly long life. It ended pretty much as soon as it began, once the studios discovered the magic of dubbing but it produced at least two significant alternatives. One is George Melford's "Dracula", a surprisingly improved alternative to the Tod Browning classic. The other is "They Were Thirteen", the Spanish-language remake of "Charlie Chan Carries On", the first of sixteen Charlie Chan films to star Warner Oland and the first of forty-two films that form the long-running series of movies about the eponymous Chinese detective. The reason "They Were Thirteen" is significant is because, sadly, "Charlie Chan Carries On" is a lost movie. Thankfully, this Spanish-language version survives and offers an intriguing glimpse into what the progenitor of the Charlie Chan film series might have looked like. "They Were Thirteen" falls for a lot of early talkie trappings. Its direction is stagy and stilted, the performances broad and declarative, and the pacing is occasionally quite leaden. Still, I must admit I enjoyed this movie mostly for its engrossing mystery. Based on an Earl Derr Biggers novel, the film begins with the murder of an old man in a London hotel. It transpires that he was part of a thirteen-person tourist group on a trip which will take them from America to France, Italy, Greece, Egypt, India, Singapore, and finally Honolulu. The indefatigable Scotland Yard Inspector Duff (Rafael Calvo) does not manage to solve the case before the group's departure from London but he does get in touch with his old friend Charlie Chan (Manuel Arbo), the marvel of the Honolulu police force, who joins the tourists in Honolulu. Will he manage to identify the killer among the remaining twelve before the ship reaches New York? You can bet your honourable behind that he will. The film is a globe-trotting mystery and yet it never manages to shake off that claustrophobic stagy atmosphere that a lot of these early talkies have. I blame that failure on director David Howard whose work is competent but distinctly flat. If his work on the subsequent Charlie Chan mysteries is anything to go on, I'm certain that the English-language director Hamilton MacFadden found some interesting ways to make the film more visually dynamic. Howard, sadly, lacks MacFadden's imaginative touch. His camerawork is stiff and plain and is not at all helped by Sidney Wagner's flat and unatmospheric cinematography. "They Were Thirteen" has one other significant issue and that is pacing. Despite a solid, intriguing opening, the film seems to spin its wheels for the first half of its runtime. It takes 41 minutes for Charlie Chan to first appear and he doesn't board the ship until 50 minutes of this 80-minute movie have passed. Once the investigation gets going, however, there is far too little time to develop the story, so the final third feels horridly rushed and fairly muddled. I'm still not sure who some of the suspects are! This problem was fixed when the novel was adapted again in 1940 with Sidney Toler in the lead role under the title of "Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise". Speaking of Charlie Chan, he's played here by Manuel Arbo who does an acceptable if unremarkable job imitating Warner Oland's interpretation of the character. He overdoes the whole "humble detective" act, for my liking, and lacks Oland's charisma and commanding presence. In the end, he comes across more like the film's comic relief than a serious detective protagonist. The rest of the cast is uneven but mostly likeable with especially good performances coming from Rafael Calvo, Raul Roulien, and Blanca de Castejon. I enjoyed the little subplots going on in the background such as a rivalry between two young people which turns into a love affair. I especially enjoyed the brief but very entertaining scenes between Max Minchin (Raul Roulien), a tough-guy Chicago gangster and his moll Peggy (Blanca de Castejon) who nags him relentlessly and buys every souvenir in sight much to her husband's dismay. In a particularly funny scene, she ends up buying a massive reading lamp from a street vendor. "Maybe now that she has a lamp, she'll buy a book," quips Max. "They Were Thirteen" is a stiff movie which definitely bears the marks of its age but it is bolstered by an interesting mystery (with, what must be said, a rather unsatisfying conclusion) and a consistently entertaining cast. I enjoyed it despite its leaden pace and unremarkable direction both as a diverting entry into the Charlie Chan film series and as a fascinating peek into what the lost "Charlie Chan Carries On" might have looked like. 5/10 Since "Charlie Chan Carries On" is a lost film, "The Black Camel" remains the earliest surviving film starring Warner Oland as the great Chinese detective Charlie Chan, the marvel of the Hawaiian police force who hides his sparkling intelligence behind the mask of geniality. Oland would go on to memorably essay the part in sixteen entertaining and atmospheric films. There is something of the Columbo method of detecting to his Chan here. He has the tendency to appear in the unlikeliest of places at the most inopportune of moments. He deliberately makes himself appear bumbling and harmless in order to weasel his way into a suspect's confidence. Oland is just wonderful here, mixing humour and a commanding, scene-stealing presence with the precision of a seasoned performer. Also wonderful is the film's big guest star - Bela Lugosi who had already solidified his name in film history with "Dracula" earlier the same year. Here he plays Tarneverro, a manipulative and slyly charming mentalist who holds a Hollywood actress by the name of Shelah Fane (Dorothy Revler) in the palm of his hand. Lugosi is superb at seeming both sinister and amicable at the same time. That is the quality that made him a defining Count Dracula and that very same quality makes him irresistible in "The Black Camel". There is a genuine allure of mystery around Lugosi whose scenes with Oland are absolutely electric. The verbal sparring and bizarre camaraderie that develops between these two polar opposite men is the most entertaining and interesting aspect of the movie. The plot begins, of course, once Shelah Fane is found dead in the bedroom of her Honolulu house. She came to the island to make a movie and returned home in a coffin. As Charlie Chan memorably puts it, death is a black camel that kneels unbidden at every gate. Chan's implacable boss (Robert Homans) is convinced that Tarnaverro is the killer but Chan is not so sure. He suspects that the motive for the murder of Shelah Fane is connected to a similar killing that took place three years before. "The Black Camel" was made in 1931, smack in the middle of the awkward transition phase between silent movies and talkies. The earliest sound films suffered greatly from this rushed and stumbling transition, and "The Black Camel" bears many of the symptoms such as stagy mise-en-scene, stilted camera work, and stiff performances. Surprisingly, however, "The Black Camel" is one of the more watchable early talkies, in my opinion. Director Hamilton MacFadden makes very good use of some terrific location work in beautiful Hawaii and his cinematographers Joseph August and Daniel Clark give us some truly atmospheric and downright creepy imagery. Look, for instance, at the wonderful seance scene in which Tarneverro and Shelah Fane are lit only by the eery light of the medium's crystal ball. Notice, as well, some really first-rate close-ups such as the one in which Charlie Chan, bathed in shadows and lit from beneath, delivers the memorable quote which gave the film its title. McFadden's camerawork is also worth commending since he employs a lot more movement and innovation than is usual for early talkies. I wouldn't say that "The Black Camel" is quite as dynamic as the silent films that preceded it or for that matter the later talkies that followed but it is a lot less stagey than you might expect. Also very good is the dialogue credited to Barry Conners and Philip Klein which is full of witticisms and barbs. A starlet offended by Chan's insistent questioning informs him that if she were a dose of poison, she'd give herself to him. Chan, later on, observes that whenever conscience tries to speak, the telephone goes out of order. Earlier on in the film, he tells Tarnaverro that like a shadow, his fame has followed him from Hollywood. When the elusive medium refuses to tell Chan whom he suspects of the murder Chan complains that he is trying to quench the fire of his curiosity with a handful of straw. Sadly, the story, based on a novel by Earl Derr Biggers, is far less memorable than the dialogue. Once the novelty of a murder on a film set wears off, there's really little left to hold our attention. Chan's investigation is fairly straightforward, the murder itself is rather mundane and lacks any particular innovation, and the murderer, once revealed, could well have been anyone in the cast. Their identity feels more like it was plucked out of a hat than like it's been truly well thought out. Also, I must note that as wonderful as Oland and Lugosi are, the rest of the cast fare a lot less well. Especially bad is the performance given by Dorothy Revier whose acting is very physically demonstrative and feels like it very much belongs in the silent era. Her line readings are notably over-rehearsed and sound false. Similarly over-the-top are the performances of William Post Jr. as Shelah Fane's unlucky fiancee and Dwight Fry who plays Ms Fane's butler with the same kind of overstated lunacy he had when he played Renfield in "Dracula". The most out-of-place turn, however, comes from Otto Yamaoka as Chan's bumbling sidekick Kashimo. Charlie Chan is almost always paired with a comic relief sidekick, but unlike some of the best ones like Keye Luke, Yamaoka's performance very much feels like it belongs in a very broad slapstick comedy. He also lacks any kind of chemistry with Oland who mostly seems to be bemused by his co-star's antics and rather reluctant to participate. On the other hand, I quite enjoyed Murray Kinnell as a beach bum who also happens to be a painter, C. Henry Gordon as one of Shelah Fane's Hollywood cronies, and Marjorie White who absolutely steals the show with her brief but very entertaining turn as a witty starlet. "The Black Camel" does bear the mark of its age. It's occasionally stagy and stilted, full of over-the-top performances and dodgy line readings, but the scenes between Oland and Lugosi alone are worth the price of admission (or rather the price of the DVD). Furthermore, I found the film an atmospheric and entertaining thriller whose only major failing is a less-than-engaging mystery. It's not top-tier Charlie Chan but it delivers the goods. 6/10 In 2006, when the Charlie Chan films were released on DVD in five beautiful, extras-laden box sets, Fox saw fit to produce two reconstructions of the early lost Chan films "Charlie Chan's Chance" and "Charlie Chan's Courage". These reconstructions were audio plays based on the surviving scripts illustrated by production stills and photoshopped collages. The acting in them is pretty ropey (especially, unfortunately, from the man playing Charlie Chan) but they are currently the best way to get an idea of what these lost films might have been like. Another terrific resource is The Charlie Chan Family Home website where you can read the surviving screenplays for these two films as well as the two that sadly weren't reconstructed for the DVDs. Having both seen the reconstruction and read the script I can safely claim that the loss of "Charlie Chan's Chance" is an unfortunate one. The engaging and clever story based on a novel by Earl Derr Biggers has Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) investigating the murder of a policeman who had been investigating a cold case. He was, in fact, on the tail of Alan Raleigh, a dangerous English murderer who had escaped capture several years ago and is now hiding in New York. The dynamic script takes Charlie all across town in pursuit of this dangerous man. The film begins with the discovery of the policeman's body in a Wall Street penthouse and continues with pacy, atmospheric scenes in nightclubs, New York's poor neighbourhoods, and even the Hudson River which Charlie and his colleagues NYPD's Inspector Flannery (James Kirkwood) and Scotland Yard's Inspector Fife (H.B. Warner) cross in a police boat. This film was released a year after "The Black Camel" and feels a lot livelier. For one, it is less drowned in dialogue relying a fair bit on visual storytelling. The shooting script reveals a lot about director John G. Blystone's style. There are plenty of mentions of sinister shadows and outlines of mysterious men stalking our heroes. In an interesting sound montage sequence, we follow a telephone signal as it bounces around from telephone pole to telephone pole all the way from New York to London. There is even an exciting scene in which a man driving a car is gassed to death and has a crash on a busy street. Furthermore, reading the shooting script indications, one gets an idea that the overall editing pace was much faster and the mise-en-scene less stagy. A particular scene I am sorry we cannot see is very suspenseful even to read. It involves an almost James Bond situation in which a bad guy rigs up a gun to shoot at a particular chair at a particular moment. Seated in the chair is Charlie Chan, oblivious to the danger. The intercutting between Chan's dialogue with the bad guy and the gun about to go off is positively Hitchcockian. The production stills also show off a well-designed movie. The art-deco sets by Gordon Wiles look slick and appropriately lush for a film set among the New York jet set. I wonder if Joseph August's cinematography would have been as shadowy and atmospheric as the script suggests, however. On the subject of the script, it is much better, storytelling-wise, than "The Black Camel". For one, Charlie Chan is immediately involved and positioned clearly as the protagonist and the man in charge of the investigation. Second, the story is told more clearly and dynamically. Third, the suspects are much better profiled and are more memorable so that when the killer is revealed we don't have to rewind the film to figure out who they are. Less ingratiating, however, are some of the script's racial insensitivities. A lot has already been written about the problem of racism in Charlie Chan films. I don't intend to go into it and instead suggest Yunte Huang's terrific book which examines the matter with intelligence and calm not usually exhibited with such hotly-debated topics. However, one thing is for certain, in all the films Charlie Chan is presented squarely as a positive character, a role model, and a person who dispels all negative prejudices held by his contemporaries. In "Charlie Chan's Chance", however, we have, for the only time that I know of, examples of uncontested racist statements. Passing showgirls refer to Charlie as "chop suey" and quip that they have "no laundry today". Uncharacteristically, Charlie merely stands back and takes the insults. Also uncharacteristic of the series is the presence of a very cliched Asian villain in the form of Li Gung (Edward Peil, Sr.), the kind of devious and untrustworthy foreigner stereotype that Charlie Chan was expressly created to oppose. Furthermore, some distinctly 1930s cringeworthy dialogue seeps into the script. Asked about his family full of boys Charlie says that he has been lucky. Pointing to his daughters he quips "Out of eleven opportunities, I've been unfortunate three times". How strange to hear such derogatory statements about his family from Charlie himself. "Charlie Chan's Chance" is certainly a film of its time but if we put that aside we are still left with what promises to have been a very fine picture indeed. Livelier and more engaging than "The Black Camel" and better plotted than "Charlie Chan in London". I suspect that if we had the good fortune to see it, I'd end up rating it a 6.5. Unlike the two films flanking it, "Charlie Chan's Greatest Case" was not reconstructed for the DVD box set. This is a strange decision seeing how its script is easily the most suitable to being turned into an audio play with its heavy reliance on dialogue. The shooting script (available for reading on the excellent Charlie Chan Family Home website) indeed reads like a stageplay. The scenes are long and talky and begin with characters walking into a room and don't end until everyone has left. There is little evidence of the dynamics present in "Charlie Chan's Chance" and because of that "Charlie Chan's Greatest Case" feels like a significant step back. Despite its title, the story, based on Earl Derr Biggers' novel, is not really all that great. It is a very straightforward and simplistic parlour mystery which revolves around the murder of Dan Winterslip (Robert Warwick), a rich layabout who wiles away his days in his fancy Hawaiian mansion. There are few twists in this tale, especially when compared to the much more engaging mysteries of the preceding four films. Furthermore, here we encounter the most thoroughly unlikeable supporting cast of any Charlie Chan film consisting of Puritans, racists, and entitled rich people none of whom are in the least bit fleshed out or even clearly defined. The dialogue written for them is equally to blame for just how fake and thin these characters seem. They incessantly describe themselves and explain their actions in bursts of declarative exposition. The funniest moment in the entire script is when a gangster walks into a scene and immediately announces that he's sick of Hawaii and that he has to "get back to New York and the mob". If that isn't stereotypical enough production stills reveal that he is dressed in a pin-stripe suit and that he sports a snarl on his face at all times. On the other hand, the production stills and the few bits of surviving footage also reveal a handsomely photographed film. The director of photography was Ernest Palmer who also photographed the atmospheric "Charlie Chan in Paris". The director, meanwhile, was Hamilton MacFadden who also helmed the stagy but picturesque "The Black Camel" which similarly featured a hacky script but was turned into a decent film largely due to MacFadden's solid work. The camera directions in the shooting script, however, reveal a less visually enticing film. A lot of the scenes are played in long, static shots which the actors walk in and out of like players on a theatrical stage. MacFadden seems to have embraced the idea that you should only cut when you absolutely cannot pan and that if you don't even have to pan all the better! The script for "Charlie Chan's Greatest Case" is fairly forgettable and bland but I don't want to give the impression that it is entirely meritless. For one, it is a rare Charlie Chan film that actually takes place in Honolulu and the script actually does a good job of showing Charlie working on his home turf. There are a few terrific scenes showing the Chan family life. I especially love the one in which Charlie's numerous family help him get ready in the morning when he is unexpectedly woken up by a telephone call. The final scene in which the entire Chan Clan is packed into a single car must have also been a scream. I also found the portrayal of the life of ex-pats living in Hawaii quite interesting if not sufficiently fleshed out. Still, there's no escaping that I had no interest in the story whatsoever. Couple that with a smaller amount of screen time for Warner Oland and a supporting cast full of shrill, unlikeable characters, I doubt that "Charlie Chan's Greatest Case" was anywhere close to his greatest film. I think this one would be rated somewhere around a 5. There was clearly a fear from the Fox producers in the 1930s that Charlie Chan, a Chinese detective, could not carry a picture on his own. That must be why the first five Chan films, all based on Earl Derr Biggers novels, always have a white protagonist accompanying Chan and sometimes even doing most of the detecting. All that would change with "Charlie Chan in London" but for now let's focus on "Charlie Chan's Courage", the last lost Chan film. Much like "Charlie Chan in London", this is a take on the old manor house mystery trope. Here the manor in question is a lavish house in the Californian desert belonging to the thuggish financier J.P. Madden (Paul Harvey), nicknamed "the Wall Street plunger". The mystery at the centre of "Charlie Chan's Courage", however, is better than the one Charlie had to solve in London. It is, in fact, one of the more intriguing of the whole series as the question is not only whodunnit but also who was it done to? Let me try to explain the complicated setup. Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) is asked by a jeweller (Reginald Mason) to deliver a priceless necklace to Madden's house. Chan, however, smells a rat and has the jeweller's son Bob (Donald Woods) go to Madden's house first. On arrival, Bob finds Madden absent from the house and a conspicuous bullet hole in the big man's bedroom. The next twist comes the following morning when Madden in all of his brash glory shows up alive and well. Who was murdered then? Maybe the more prudent question is who will be murdered next? But where is our hero? The indefatigable Charlie Chan of the Honolulu police. Well, in the kitchen. You see, he disguises himself as an itinerant Chinese worker and secures himself a job as Madden's cook. This could be an interesting premise for a detective film (indeed "Murder, She Said" did it to perfection some 30 years later) but I'm not entirely convinced "Charlie Chan's Courage" pulled it off as well. For one, most of the screen time is devoted to Bob and his flirtation with Paula (Drue Leyton), a woman he meets on the train and immediately falls in love with. Meanwhile, Chan skulks in the background observing and "narrowing his eyes" which is about as much action as the script gives him before the big finale. There is a lot of mysterious goings-on in the Madden household. Interesting scenes all of which seem to end with Charlie being revealed in the background "giving a smile and a nod". Not quite what I hope to get out of a Charlie Chan picture. He also spends most of the film affecting the sing-songy, "me no likey dlinky" accent he so derisively dismissed as a racist stereotype in "Charlie Chan in Paris". This too might be unfortunate. But the story is so damn good that I'm willing to believe the film could have been a real corker. The mystery constantly twists and turns and whenever you think you know what's going on new characters show up to blow your theory to smithereens. The solution is quite ridiculous, of course, but it has that old-school golden age of mystery charm to it. Unfortunately, the closest we can get to seeing this film is by watching the reconstruction done for the DVD box set. Like the reconstruction of "Charlie Chan's Chance", it's an audio performance of the original screenplay illustrated with production photos and photoshopped composites. The acting in this one is better than in the first one but there are a lot more liberties taken with the script and several glaring mistakes. A character who should be arriving "from Chicago" instead goes "to Chicago". More egregiously, a parrot who used to live in a "barroom" is described as formerly occupying a "bedroom". Still, the mystery is so engaging and fun that I was willing to forget the reconstruction's errors and go along with it. Of the three lost films, this one has the tightest, most entertaining script and based on that I think the film could have gotten a 6.5 from me despite the egregious lack of Charlie Chan. The brilliant Chinese detective Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) is in London receiving an award for his work on a previous case when he is visited by a young lady in distress. Seeing how Chan is a perfect gentleman, he is unable to refuse her tearful pleadings for help and soon finds himself investigating a murder involving German spies, the RAF, and top-secret military plans. Set in a lavish countryside mansion during the hunting season, "Charlie Chan in London" has more than a whiff of Agatha Christie about it. In fact, it is rather reminiscent of her story "The Incredible Theft" which was first published some three years later. The young lady who came to Chan for help is one Pamela Gray (Drue Leyton), the sister of a man accused of murdering his employer, RAF Captain Hamilton, and awaiting execution despite maintaining his innocence. Chan, in his usual shrewd manner, ingratiates himself among England's societal elite by pretending to be nothing more than a "humble Chinese detective". "Charlie Chan in London" is the sixth Charlie Chan film starring Warner Oland but unfortunately only the second still in existence. Comparing it to "The Black Camel", you can see that the film series has evolved somewhat and become a lot more confident both in its tone and its leading character. This sixth instalment strikes a much better mix of humour and mystery. The story, from an original script by Philip MacDonald, is stronger than the one in "The Black Camel". It is an early Charlie Chan take on the old manor house mystery (done a lot better in some later instalments such as "Castle in the Desert") and MacDonald uses the tropes to his advantage. The story is familiar and the villain predictable but it is a lot of fun to watch. I especially appreciated the variation of the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime. On the technical side, most of the kinks of the early talkies have been ironed out by 1934. The camera work is smoother, the mise-en-scene is a lot less stagy, and the performances have been toned down with the exception of the comic relief characters who often feel like they've stepped down directly off a music hall stage. Having said that, the one major advantage "The Black Camel" has over "Charlie Chan in London" is its inventive director Hamilton MacFadden. This instalment, meanwhile, was directed by Eugene Ford whose work is distinctly more workmanlike and less dynamic. Consequently, the film lacks the sinister, mysterious atmosphere that made "The Black Camel" such an enjoyable watch. I must also confess that I preferred Warner Oland's performance in the earlier film as well. He is still a very charming and likeable protagonist but he has lost some of his commanding presence. This film plays up the whole "humble detective" schtick making Chan a lot less intimidating and interesting character than before. Still, "Charlie Chan in London" is a very entertaining entry in the series mostly due to its engaging mystery and solid supporting cast (including a very young Ray Milland). It is a less distinctive and significantly less atmospheric movie than "The Black Camel" but the story is a lot better, the pace less leaden, and the production is moving away from the awkwardness of the early talkies. 6.5/10 The seventh Charlie Chan film, "Charlie Chan in Paris" finally completes the formula by introducing Charlie's number one son Lee (Keye Luke) into the equation. Even though Lee would eventually be supplanted by the even more incompetent Jimmy, a comic relief sidekick became a staple of the series as much as Charlie's Confucian sayings. The character of the bumbling sidekick clearly takes root from the hapless Kashimo, a Honolulu PD rookie who assists Chan in the original Earl Derr Biggers novels and in the film adaptation of "The Black Camel" where he was played by Otto Yamaoka. But Lee Chan is a considerable improvement over his progenitor in pretty much every way. For one, Keye Luke plays him not as a mindless idiot but as an enthusiastic young man whose mistakes and goofs can be excused by his lack of experience. He is a much more believable character than the cartoonish Kashimo whom Charlie himself found as annoying as I did. The other reason is the loving relationship between Charlie and Lee which Oland and Luke play beautifully and which adds an unexpected dollop of warmth to what is otherwise a pretty rote mystery movie. The story sees Charlie (Warner Oland) arriving in Paris to investigate a series of forged bonds being spread around Europe from a Parisian branch of the venerable Lamartine Bank. As soon as he lands, however, he is greeted by a threatening letter and a sinister blind beggar who seems to appear wherever Charlie goes. The film moves at a decent enough pace but the story by Philip MacDonald simply didn't grab me as much as that of "Charlie Chan in London". Banknote forgery is not a terribly exciting crime and seeing Charlie Chan go up against organized bandits is less interesting to me than seeing him face a more human killer. Furthermore, even though the first murder occurs as early as 12 minutes into the picture it is not until the second murder some 40 minutes in that there's any sense of momentum or plot progression. The film devotes a lot of time to its supporting cast which would be commendable if any of them were well-developed or even clearly delineated characters but since all of these bankers and Haute société minglers look, talk, and dress the same I had the devil of a time keeping stock of who was who. Once the investigation gets fully on track, there's a lot of fun to be had with "Charlie Chan in Paris". I enjoyed seeing Charlie breaking into a victim's apartment and hiding from the police. I loved all the scenes with Charlie and Lee. I especially enjoyed the final 10 minutes in which Charlie finally faces the sinister beggar in the sewers of Paris. However, it's not a terribly good sign that once the killer was unmasked I couldn't actually remember who the character was. Compared to its immediate predecessor, "Charlie Chan in London", this Parisian adventure is less engrossing but better made. The film was directed by Lewis Seiler whose direction is a lot more atmospheric and dynamic. I also really enjoyed Warner Oland's performance here. After a somewhat buffoonish turn in the previous film, he is back to being the cunning, fearsome Chan we know and love. There's a particularly good moment in one of the earlier scenes in which one character assumes that because Charlie is Chinese he does not speak good English. Chan's takedown of the borderline-racist man is both hilariously polite and brutally cutting at the same time. Like most of these early Chan films, "Charlie Chan in Paris" is not a top-tier Chan film but it is an enjoyable one and since by 1935 all the awkwardness of the early talkies has been overcome I don't feel the need to qualify that assessment. It has a nice atmosphere, a few truly entertaining scenes, and wonderful chemistry between Oland and Luke. If only the mystery was more engaging. 6/10 As someone who is a massive fan of mysteries set in exotic locales, supernatural events which are then revealed to be clever ploys, and films revolving around archaeology, "Charlie Chan in Egypt" was almost destined to be a favourite. In fact, it reminded me a lot of one of my favourite Agatha Christie short stories, "The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb" in which, similarly, a group of archaeologists are picked off by a mysterious killer hiding his identity behind an ancient curse. The script written by Robert Ellis and Helen Logan is not as inventive nor as airtight as Christie's story but it has a fantastically engaging mystery at its heart, an air of exoticism, and a rather ingenious method of murder employed by a very devious killer indeed. The story is set in an archaeological camp led by Professor Arnold (George Irving), an indefatigable bloodhound on the trail of Ancient Egyptian treasures. One day, Professor Arnold leaves the camp never to return and his body is eventually found inside a sealed sarcophagus wrapped like a mummy. Charlie Chan (Warner Oland), the great Chinese detective, who is in Egypt on the trail of some priceless missing artefacts investigates. With such a terrific location and a good, spooky story what could possibly go wrong? Well, a few things. The first is the rickety direction of Louis King, a rather unimaginative hired hand whose flat, sometimes stagy visuals do somewhat undermine the terrific story. He robs the picture of any atmosphere or eeriness it should have had. Another problem is the character of Snowshoes, a bumbling camp servant, played by Stepin Fetchit. Fetchit was the most popular black comedian in the 1930s who specialized in playing crudely stereotypical comic relief characters. Now, if you can believe it, Snowshoes is actually one of his least racially insensitive caricatures but that does not make him any less annoying. His incomprehensible stuttery muttering schtick gets old very quickly and by the end of the film, I would wince whenever he'd show up. His presence is especially grating because the comic relief in this film rightfully should have been the terrific Keye Luke who had been introduced in the series as Charlie Chan's son in the previous instalment. The rest of the film, however, is pretty good and I found it to be the most entertaining and intriguing of the Charlie Chan films so far. The story is solid, the solution clever (if predictable), the supporting cast up to the task, and Warner Oland absolutely magnificent. Charlie Chan is at his best when he's not played for jokes. Another excellent aspect of the film worth mentioning is the sets. Even though they were probably pilfered from higher-budgeted productions, they do a terrific job of suggesting the warm, sandy atmosphere of an Egyptian archaeological site. 7/10 It is a massive shame that despite its Chinese setting "Charlie Chan in Shanghai" does not have a single credited Chinese character besides the Chans themselves. All of the suspects are ex-pats, foreign policemen, and spies. Combined with some distinctly European-looking sets, this robs the film of any atmosphere of its exotic locale which was so wonderfully evoked in "Charlie Chan in Egypt". This is the only major kink in what is otherwise a top-notch Charlie Chan film, a really entertaining and engaging little thriller in which the brilliant Chinese detective (Warner Oland) hunts for opium dealers in the deliciously grimy Shanghai underground. The gangsters are led by a shadowy Russian spy Ivan Marloff (Frederik Vogeding) who, we suspect, may have grander plans in sight than mere opium smuggling. Note the two men who co-wrote this film: Edward T. Lowe Jr. and Gerard Fairlie. Fairlie is best known as one of the writers of the highly popular Bulldog Drummond novel series the title character of which is a WWI veteran travelling the world looking for excitement. There is a real taste of a Bulldog Drummond adventure in "Charlie Chan in Shanghai". There is an inordinate amount of peril. Charlie is shot at twice, kidnapped, and even engages in a fistfight! The villains are also Drummondian - mysterious spies, opium smugglers, filthy bandits, and gun-toting baddies. Edward T. Lowe Jr., meanwhile, was an itinerant screenwriter best known to Chan fans as the man who co-wrote "Charlie Chan in Paris". Even a cursory glance at the synopsis of "Charlie Chan in Shanghai" can tell you that it is clearly a reworking of Lowe's previous scripts. Both films see Chan go up against an organized gang - the only difference is that in the previous film, the gang forged banknotes. Thankfully, "Charlie Chan in Shanghai" is a resounding improvement over "Charlie Chan in Paris" in every way. The suspects are more clearly defined, the pace is faster, there is a much more tangible sense of urgency, and there is a bigger role for Lee Chan (Keye Luke), Charlie's honourable offspring whose unbound enthusiasm and clumsiness keep landing him in trouble. The chemistry between Oland and Luke is again the highlight of the film. There is such genuine warmth, chemistry, and precise comic timing between them that their scenes together are an absolute joy to watch. Especially witty are the scenes in their shared hotel room where we simply observe a relationship between a traditional Chinese father and his thoroughly Americanised son. These scenes, unburdened of any actual plot importance, are an unfortunate rarity in thrillers. As can be seen here, however, they go a very long way in establishing the protagonists and making us care for them. The film was directed by James Tinling whose work is decidedly workmanlike but more than acceptable. His visuals are uninventive and there is a distinct lack of atmosphere to the film, but he keeps the plot moving at a fittingly fast pace and there is a constant feeling of tension throughout. "Charlie Chan in Shanghai" is a real early gem in the Charlie Chan series and a million miles away from the stagy, stodgy instalments of only a year ago. It is a dynamic, engaging, endlessly entertaining thriller that should be a delight even for those who've never even heard of Charlie Chan before. Not only is there a taut intrigue at its heart, but there are also a liberal dollop of humour and even a clever little locked-room mystery. Its solution is rudimentary but its presence is a welcome surprise. Speaking of mystery, however, "Charlie Chan in Shanghai" is rather light on that particular ingredient. Most of the villains are known pretty much from the start as are their motivations. This is, however, perfectly in line with the Bulldog Drummond influence. Just like the Drummond novels/pictures, this film is more about the thrill of the hunt than the breed of the prey and that too is a rarity for Charlie Chan. 8/10 "Mysterious shadows of the night cling to the old house like moss on a tombstone," says Charlie Chan (Warner Oland), the great Chinese detective, in his usual loquacious way as he approaches the eery Colby Manor where a dark and mysterious game is afoot. The heir to the massive family fortune, long thought dead, has resurrected and returned home only to be murdered mere minutes after his surprise arrival. His ghost, however, appears at a seance held at the request of his eccentric aunt and Chan's old friend Henrietta (Henrietta Crosman). This spooky and intriguing mystery written by Robert Ellis, Helen Logan, and Joseph Hoffman is the second and far more successful attempt at an old-fashioned manor house mystery after "Charlie Chan in London". Fittingly, there is more than a tinge of Agatha Christie present here as well. The terrific finale seems to have been at least inspired by "The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor" in which Poirot pulls off a very similar trick as Charlie Chan. But more than Christie, I was reminded of Nancy Drew, the fabulous girl detective who similarly investigated mysterious hauntings which turned out to have been accomplished by devious crooks with the help of secret passageways, mirrors, and hidden UV lamps. This is a delicious mystery indeed! Most of the runtime is devoted to Charlie's explanations of the various supernatural goings-on at the Colby manor. Even though the solutions don't quite reach the cleverness of John Dickson Carr or even "Charlie Chan in Egypt", they are a lot of fun and Oland delivers them with grace and zest. The final solution, however, - that of the killer's identity - is disappointingly predictable. The writers use the old trick of giving the killer the least runtime hoping that the audience will simply overlook them but that doesn't work anymore. "Charlie Chan's Secret" is only the second film directed by Gordon Wiles, who didn't have a particularly notable career and died young in 1950. I am not surprised to find out he was also an art director as he seems more interested in showing off the sets than the actors' faces. Seriously, I have never seen such wide interior shots in my life. Frequently, we'll see shots of actors in the Colby manor living room, for instance, where the camera is pulled so far back that they appear minuscule in comparison to the looming walls around them. We also get a very good look at the ceilings of the house, a technique which Orson Welles would get a lot of praise for five years later. Wiles is not a terribly good director. His shots are very stagy, his camera movements are stiff, and his pace leaden. Most of the dialogue scenes are awkwardly filmed in side-on wide shots in which the characters exit and enter like actors on a theatrical stage. Wiles inadvertently achieves a sort of cinematic proscenium, an impression that we're seated before a set and not observing a three-dimensional space. He is also not a good director of actors. Besides Oland who gives a characteristically shrewd and well-considered performance, the entire supporting cast pitches their performances at absolutely melodramatic levels. Especially annoying is Herbert Mundin as a grating comic relief butler whose performance belongs in a very different movie indeed. Thankfully, the rest of the visuals in "Charlie Chan's Secret" are superlative. The sets designed by Duncan Cramer and Albert Hogsett are especially good. The Colby manor is designed almost like an expressionist nightmare with its crooked windows, high arches, and no straight lines. Cinematographer Rudolph Mate lights the sets especially atmospherically making them some of the most effective in the entire Charlie Chan series. They are a delight to watch! "Charlie Chan's Secret" is a strange film. It has an engaging mystery and some of the best visuals in the whole series but is directed in such an artificial and stodgy manner that it almost turns into a self-parody of 1930s movies. It is stiff and occasionally plodding but delightfully atmospheric and entertaining. Had it been directed by a more dynamic and skilled director it would have no doubt been the highlight of the Charlie Chan film series. As it stands, it's a creeky but effective curio that occasionally dips quite ably into horror territory. 7.5/10 In the 1930s, everybody got to go to the circus. Charlie Chaplin went in his wonderful film "The Circus", as did Laurel and Hardy in "The Chimp". The Marx Brothers followed suit in 1939 as did W.C. Fields in the largely forgotten but worthy "You Can't Cheat an Honest Man". Charlie Chan's turn at the circus came in 1936 with "Charlie Chan at the Circus", one of the more roundly entertaining and enjoyable of the Chan films starring Warner Oland. This is the first Charlie Chan film I ever saw, one afternoon on TV when I was 9, and it's absolutely no surprise that I immediately fell in love with the great Chinese detective. Put in the appropriate verbiage - this film is an absolute gas! The story, written by the now very experienced duo of Robert Ellis and Helen Logan, sees Charlie and his number one son Lee (Keye Luke) join the circus in pursuit of a dangerous murderer who is using the circus animals to do his evil bidding. No one is safe from him, not even Charlie who has a wonderfully suspenseful encounter with a venomous snake in his bed. But the story is not what really counts here. "Charlie Chan at the Circus" very much swings the tonal pendulum towards comedy. It is a film full of wonderful, perfectly executed gags and running jokes. The star of the show is, without a doubt, Keye Luke who proves once again that Lee Chan is the finest comic relief character the series has. Not only is he charming and instantly loveable as the over-eager and trouble-prone number-one son, but he is also adept at physical comedy which sees him go from one slapstick situation to the next. My favourite running joke of the film, however, is Lee's fruitless pursuit of the circus contortionist Su Toy (Toshia Mori). In a bid to get close to her, he tries to turn himself into a human pretzel, much to the amusement of his father who quips that his attitude proves Darwin's theory correct. Indeed, circus performers are extraordinarily well used in "Charlie Chan at the Circus" not merely as sideshow attractions but as likeable characters in their own right. The best in the show are George and Olive Brasno, a couple of little people whose comedic timing and patter make them resemble stars from screwball comedies. The film devotes a lot of time to them, rightfully trusting their abilities to light up the screen. The film is well directed by Harry Lachman who would go on to helm a number of Chan films. His direction is not flashy or artsy nor does it call attention to itself, but it is dynamic, technically adept, and occasionally even quite atmospheric. That is why I would say that this is the best directed Chan film so far. Unassuming but wonderfully effective. The mystery itself is not one of the best in the series. Coming on the heels of the much more intriguing "Charlie Chan's Secret", it even appears somewhat pedestrian. The solution itself is silly, while the killer's identity is impossible to figure out due to a lack of clues and careful preparation. But the sheer joy and good humour of "Charlie Chan at the Circus" overrides the weak story. It is a fun, often hilarious romp, perfectly paced and continuously entertaining. It even offers the rare pleasure of seeing the entire Chan clan together in the memorable opening scene in which all fourteen walk into the circus together like a marching band. 8.5/10 The murder of a horse-owner friend sends the great Chinese detective Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) into Dick Francis territory. Maybe the fact that I never much cared for Francis' equestrian thrillers explains why I found "Charlie Chan at the Race Track" such hard going or maybe it just isn't all that engaging a movie. The story revolves around a dastardly scheme to cheat at the Melbourne Cup. The villains' plot is explained several times but I found my attention drifting. Lots of horse talk will do that to me. I generally don't care much for sports or betting and this film did nothing to pique my curiosity. The horse owner discovered the plot and was murdered on the ship bound for Melbourne. Charlie Chan boards the ship in Honolulu and begins an investigation of those present. There are plenty of suspects in this film - family members, trainers, jockeys, and businessmen - but there's surprisingly little mystery. Of the two bad guys involved in the murder, one is revealed right at the beginning of the film and the other is so obvious that you could identify him merely by glancing at the photos of the cast. You just couldn't imagine that actor playing anyone but a villain. The script by Robert Ellis, Helen Logan, and Edward T. Lowe Jr. does not keep us in suspense. Mysterious events are introduced and then immediately explained away. The villains' plot is clear as day from the moment it's hinted at and Charlie explains exactly how they'll pull it off before the race even begins. There is some interesting business involving the technology of the time - cameras that are meant to capture the finish of the race - and some early forensics, but beyond those, there's very little sleuthing going on in this film. Also lacking is the humour. Keye Luke is, as usual, wonderful as the overenthusiastic number one son Lee but the material he's given is not as varied nor as witty as before. The running joke of him being undercover as a ship steward quickly grows thin and beyond that, there's little for him to do. Of course, his interactions with Warner Oland are still the high point of the film. However, compared with his antics from "Charlie Chan at the Circus" where he was not only in pursuit of a murderer while dressed up as a nanny but also in pursuit of a beautiful contortionist, the repetitive stuff he has to do here seems awfully underwhelming. Also present as comic relief is John Henry Allen, a second-rate Stepin Fetchit impersonator who does Fetchit's already annoying mumbling routine with even less charm. The less said about his performance the better except to note that he is roundly outacted by his pet monkey who looks damn cute in his little sailor outfit. I don't want to rag on this picture too much because it's not really a bad film. It's a handsomely mounted production, well-designed, and well-directed by H. Bruce Humberstone who exhibits the kind of unassuming professionalism I like in Charlie Chan films. However, I also found "Charlie Chan at the Race Track" to be a distinctly unengaging film which poorly reproduces a lot of the schtick from its better predecessors and then infuses it into an overly complicated story full of bland, forgettable suspects and lacking any real sense of mystery or threat. One gets the idea that Charlie enjoyed his cruise but a nice holiday does not make a thrilling detective movie and I personally hope not to have to take this journey again. 6/10 "Warner Oland vs. Boris Karloff," proudly proclaim the opening credits of "Charlie Chan at the Opera", a most ambitious and unusual Chan film, a delightful mixture of horror and mystery, of the operatic and the cinematic. The opening sequence wastes no time establishing the film's grandiose gothic tone. We open on a dark and stormy night. A Dutch-angle close-up shows the sign of the Rockland State Sanitarium awash with rain and lit by a single gas lamp. The gloomy building is guarded by a pair of spooked guards hiding under the eaves from the torrential storm. Their voices are muffled by the raging wind but a sound cuts right through its midnight howl. It is the sound of singing emanating from the room of an amnesiac patient (Boris Karloff). It is a masterful opening straight out of one of those Universal horror films or a Val Lewton chiller. Of course, by the end of it, Karloff has escaped his confinement, his flight motivated by a newspaper article announcing the opening night of an opera starring Mme. Lili Rochelle (Margaret Irving). The entire police force is up in arms chasing the escaped madman but the one place where they aren't looking is the city's opera house, the very place the man is headed to. So where does Charlie Chan fit in this gothic horror film? Well, he is on holiday in the States with his overenthusiastic number one son Lee (Keye Luke) when he is invited to the premiere by Mme. Lili herself. The great prima donna has been receiving threatening messages and she begs Charlie and his good friend Inspector Regan (Guy Usher) to find out who has been sending them. The two plots converge during the opening night and by the end of the first act there are two dead bodies in the theatre. The police come down upon the opera house like rain in the opening sequence looking for Karloff but Charlie has other ideas in mind. Will he be able to find the true killer by the end of the third act? You know the answer... Set largely over the course of three or so hours inside the opera house, "Charlie Chan at the Opera" is quite simply one of the tautest and most exciting of the Warner Oland Chan films. Written by Scott Darling, Charles Belden, and Bess Meredyth, the script does a wonderful job of emulating the plot of an opera with its lost daughters, love triangles, and crimes from the past coming back to haunt their perpetrators. The innate theatricality of the Chan films suits this script extremely well. The mystery itself is also one of the best with a convincing and memorable cast of suspects and one hell of a red herring in the form of Boris Karloff. His performance is a tad too broad for my taste but his presence is tremendous and his sinister silkiness perfect for the role of the mysterious amnesiac. The revelation is definitely too rushed to be clearly understood but by that point, we're so enraptured with the whole premise we don't really care for all the details. Warner Oland, however, has definitely brought his A-game for this cinematic clash. This is easily his finest performance as Charlie Chan, quietly commanding, mellifluous, charming yet enigmatic. He never lets his mask of perfect politeness slip and yet he is consistently doubtlessly in charge of the investigation. The Chan we see here is a far more serious figure than he has been in the past few films. He is a lot closer to the way he was portrayed in "The Black Camel", for instance, where he let others play the comedy while he was deadly serious. There is a lot less comedy in "Charlie Chan at the Opera" in general. The role of the comic relief is split between the wonderful Keye Luke and a newcomer, Sgt. Kelly (William Demarest), the kind of two-fisted dumb cop that's been the but of jokes in detective films from Sherlock Holmes to Philip Marlowe and beyond. Also very funny is the wiry, neurotic stage manager Mr Arnold (Maurice Cass). Anyone who's ever been behind the scenes of a theatre can vouch that his character is 100% authentic. They all do a good job of keeping the spirits up but the film really shines in its more sinister, mysterious scenes. Director H. Bruce Humberstone keeps the proceedings moving at a fast tempo. His direction is slick and smooth without ever being flashy or distracting. He is a skilled professional who delivers an entertaining, engaging, and atmospheric thriller. I was also fascinated by all the little technical details Humberstone manages to squeeze into the film. There is a terrific shot in which we see the opera being performed while stagehands run around in the background making the magic happen on stage. Another very interesting scene involves a newspaperman (Selmer Jackson) explaining how photos are sent by wire from one city to the next. Fascinating stuff and cleverly integrated into a taut, tense mystery picture. "Charlie Chan at the Opera" is frequently named the best Chan film of all time. I'm not sure I agree entirely with that statement (some of the Toler films are definitely even slicker and smarter) but its reputation is not entirely overblown. It is by far the best of the Oland films and just about as good as a B-movie could be in 1936. With its wonderful sets (designed by Duncan Cramer and Lewis Creber) and some atmospheric, moody cinematography from Lucien N. Andriot, it is also a most pleasing film to look at which can't be said for all the early Chans. Special mention, of course, must be made of "Carnival", the opera performed in the film and composed specially for the occasion by Oscar Levant. It is a tad repetitive but the fact that I've been humming it ever since I first saw the film around the age of 10 is by far the highest praise I can give it and the best indicator of its haunting qualities. 9/10 After defeating murderers, counterfeiters, opium dealers, and horse-race fixers, the great Chinese detective Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) finally comes face to face with foreign spies in "Charlie Chan at the Olympics", a lean, furiously fast romp which will doubtlessly entertain Chan fans and casual viewers alike. The film also functions as a historical curio with its 1936 Berlin Olympics setting. No mentions of Nazism are made and great care is taken to blot out even the slightest hint of a swastika but through some terrific use of archival footage director H. Bruce Humberstone evokes the exciting atmosphere of the last international sporting event before the outbreak of war. The film also has the edgy, nervous atmosphere of these pre-war years when the conflict seemed to be at once inevitable and delayed. There is a real air of paranoia permeating the picture. Wherever Charlie turns he runs into a foreign spy and even the helpful Berlin policemen (who are most definitely not portrayed as Nazis) seem to know more than they are telling. There is definitely a sinister undercurrent beneath the standard good-humoured antics of Charlie and his hilariously overenthusiastic number-one son Lee (Keye Luke). The story begins with the dramatic theft of a device which allows planes in the air to be radio-controlled by men on the ground. "Would be great blessing if all war fought with machinery instead of human beings," comments Charlie. Since the theft took place during the device's testing in Hawaii, the case falls under the purview of Charlie Chan who immediately finds the thief albeit dead in his hotel room. He correctly deduces that the device has changed hands and that the real villain must have left Honolulu in a haste. Soon enough, Charlie zeroes in on three possible suspects all of whom are on board a ship bound for Berlin. Also on the ship is Lee, an amateur detective and swimmer on the US Olympic team. The script, written by Robert Ellis, Helen Logan, and Paul Burger, moves at a furious pace from one set piece to the next, changing locations with every reel. The final showdown happens in Berlin but not before Charlie follows clues from Honolulu to the ship to the Olympics themselves. This is an astoundingly dynamic Charlie Chan film never letting up its considerable tension or running out of steam. There are enemies lurking in every shadow and Charlie has to keep on his toes to outwit them time after time. This is one of those spy yarns where even twists have twists within them. It's a very well-constructed and conceived script with a taut plot, a memorable batch of suspects, and lots of picturesque locations. Also characteristically excellent is the interplay between Oland and Luke whose humorous screwball patter is only bolstered by evident chemistry and warmth. The supporting cast is first-rate as well. Katherine DeMille makes for a wonderful femme fatale, enigmatic and sexy. Pauline Moore is charismatic as the ingenue. Meanwhile, C. Henry Gordon, always a welcome presence in a Chan flick, is wonderfully mysterious as the sinister Arthur Hughes who spends the entire film skulking about like Nosferatu. My favourite performance comes courtesy of Morgan Wallace. He plays the silky spymaster who almost outplays Charlie at his own game - politeness which hides a devious mind. "Charlie Chan at the Olympics" is now best remembered for its setting and archival glimpses at the games and the Hindenbur which is Charlie's preferred method of travel to Germany. However, this film is far from a museum piece. It's a clever, funny, endlessly entertaining spy yarn full of humour, excitement, and charm. The script is twisty and H. Bruce Humberstone's direction is pacy and slick. This is indeed a top-tier Chan. 8.5/10 09-04-2023 Despite its title, "Charlie Chan on Broadway" does not see the great Chinese detective investigate the world of spotlights and songs. This is not his great return to the theatrical stage. Instead, the Broadway of this film is that of nightclubs and gangsters, sultry dames and journalistic hounds. The film tries to emulate the quick-talking, double-crossing, screwball mysteries about sharp newspapermen and their scoops. It is mostly successful in that the dialogue is terrific as is the supporting cast but Charlie Chan and his number one son Lee feel a little too much like fish out of water. The screenplay, credited to five separate writers including Chan stalwarts Robert Ellis and Helen Logan seems to be aware of this. A very funny running joke sees Lee (Keye Luke) acting as an interpreter translating the sing-songy New York patter to a baffled Charlie and unravelling Charlie's aphorisms to the bemused New Yorkers. The fast-moving plot begins, as many Chan films seem to, on a ship where a femme fatale wonderfully named Billie Bronson (Louise Henry) realizes her life is in danger. She's a former gangster's moll who hightailed it out of New York some years ago. Now, she's coming back hoping to sell her tell-all diary to the press. Of course, someone gets to her before she reaches her scoop-hungry editor but the killer gets away empty-handed. Wise to the danger, Billie took the precaution of hiding her diary in the luggage of a fellow passenger - none other than Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) himself. I found the first half of the film in which the complicated plot and its many characters are slowly revealed very entertaining indeed. There is something undeniably electric about 1930s New York and all the mooks and wiseguys hanging around in it that just makes for good cinema. The dialogue is very good as well full of clever double talk and funny gags. Most of it is delivered with charm and skill by Joan Marsh and Donald Woods as a pair of competing journalists after the same story. The high point of the film, however, is without a doubt Harold Huber, a very energetic and funny actor who holds the distinction of playing four different goofy cops in four different Charlie Chan films. Here, in his first appearance in the series, he shines as the fast-talking Inspector Nelson. I especially like how, despite being a comic relief character, Nelson is never played as a fool. Unlike similar characters in the previous films, Nelson is shown as being quite capable in his job and deserving of respect from Charlie. The two work alongside each other very well and the film ends with them as firm friends. The second half of the film in which Charlie finally begins his investigation is significantly less interesting. I would not say that the story of "Charlie Chan on Broadway" is bad but merely that it's so straightforward, familiar, and conventional that it never really grabbed me. The film is also full of missed opportunities. For instance, far too much of it is set in hotel rooms and offices instead of having Charlie and Lee truly trawl through the seedy 1930s New York. It should be noted, however, that director Eugene Forde doesn't do a great job of making the studio sets come alive. Unlike his immediate predecessor H. Bruce Humberstone, Forde's direction is rather flat and workmanlike. He uses the same kind of camerawork and lighting in the nightclub scenes as he does in the hotel room scenes making both feel like soundstages. Another missed opportunity lies in the fact that there's little for Keye Luke to do. After an entertaining but brief sequence in which he tries to get into a nightclub without a date, he is relegated to being little more than a glorified extra. The presence of Toshia Mori who played his love interest in "Charlie Chan at the Circus" made me think that a similar subplot would occur here but she only appears in the film for a single scene. Later on, an intriguing possibility is raised when the police arrest Lee under the suspicion of murder. Had this plot been followed, the rest of the story could have developed into a true rarity for the series - a story in which Charlie Chan has to work against the police to prove his son innocent. Sadly, the notion is dispelled almost immediately. Speaking of Charlie, he too is relegated to the background for a lot of this film. There is an awful lot going on here with the rival journalists, the cops, and the gangsters all looking for the same MacGuffin. Meanwhile, our hero seems to spend most of the film merely observing the action instead of participating in it. True, he gets his moment to shine while delivering his terrific final summation but can this film truly be called "Charlie Chan on Broadway" if Charlie spends all of it silently sitting in a hotel room? The lack of Oland is not as severe as it would be in the next film but his subtle, anchoring performance is definitely missing from some of the film's more scatterbrained moments. Coming on the heels of some of the very best Charlie Chan films ever made, "Charlie Chan on Broadway" is a bit of a disappointment. It's far from a bad film but it is a bit too conventional and unremarkable for its own good. As the most typical of all Warner Oland Charlie Chan films, it is still bound to provide a lot of entertainment value but I doubt it would stick in a lot of people's memories. 6/10 "Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo" is only significant for being Warner Oland's final movie. This wonderful, subtle yet unquestionably commanding actor died in 1938. Otherwise, Oland's 16th outing as the great Chinese detective is an absolute dud, an astoundingly boring picture which tries very hard to overcompensate for its star's failing health. Warner Oland had been a notorious alcoholic for many years and by 1937 his condition had worsened noticeably. The previous two Charlie Chan films both tried to reduce Oland's screentime through some clever use of the supporting cast and comic relief characters. However, by the time "Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo" rolled around, there was simply no hiding the fact that Oland was just out of it. In more ways than one, as well, since Oland is barely in this film. Most of the actual investigating is handled by either the number one son Lee (Keye Luke) or the Monte Carlo chief of police Jules Joubert (Harold Huber). When Oland actually does make an appearance, he is always accompanied by either Luke or Huber who get most of the dialogue. Oland's presence barely registers on screen. His delivery is unusually flat, his timing is completely off, and he lacks that tactful sharpness he had in the previous films. He even seems to be physically weaker than before as he spends a lot of his scenes sitting down or leaning on tables, chairs, or other actors. He also appears to be about as interested in the plot as I was, but more about that a bit later. In order to compensate for Oland's mental absence, the writers Charles Belden and Jerome Cady, beef up the supporting characters of Lee and Joubert. A similar undertaking was evident even in the previous film but "Charlie Chan on Broadway" was bolstered by the presence of Joan Marsh and Donald Woods, a very likeable character played by Harold Huber, and some interesting locations. No such luck here! Keye Luke is a wonderfully talented actor, possessed of terrific comedic timing and a knack for physical comedy. However, without Charlie Chan there to act as the straight man, Lee Chan's usual schtick simply falls flat. He has a lot more screen time here than in most of the previous films but Belden and Cady don't give him anything new to do. He merely repeats gags from previous films including being mistaken for a murderer, getting chased by angry porters, and falling about a lot. The charm and appeal of the Lee Chan character are not his klutziness or his stupidity. It is the warmth and affection he shares with his father. The scenes between Oland and Luke were the emotional glue which held the previous film together. Here, however, it can hardly be said that they share scenes. It feels more like Luke carrying the scenes while Oland sits back and occasionally delivers a line. Also prominently featured in the film is Harold Huber who was so wonderful in "Charlie Chan on Broadway". There, he played a fast-talking, wiseguy New York cop, a very funny character who despite being the film's comic relief was never played as a fool. Here, he plays another fast-talking cop, this time a cocky French chief of police eager to show off the efficiency of the Monte Carlo police but constantly finding himself embarrassed by his blundering underlings. While such a character could be humorous, Belden and Cady's script again fails in delivering original and funny jokes. Instead, they have Huber blubber and bluster his way through reams of jibberish while shouting at the top of his voice. As you might guess, this becomes tiring very quickly. The plot, revolving around the theft of 200,000 USD worth of bonds is far too thin and underdeveloped to satisfactorily fill out a 75-minute movie. To say that little happens over the course of "Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo" would be to oversell this film's excitement levels. This is one boring movie, lacking in both mystery and intrigue! It plods along through scenes which move at the speed of molasses. Watch as a secretary counts out the bonds one by one... Watch as Charlie and Joubert shake hands very, very, very slowly... Watch as a taxi driver struggles to start his car time and time again... Belden and Cady do stumble upon one funny gag which revolves around the fact that Charlie Chan can't speak French and Lee thinks that he can. This is a genuinely funny joke and Oland and Luke play the comedy well. Unfortunately, the writers then proceed to hammer the joke to death by repeating it every five or so minutes. Watch as Charlie and Lee try to get into a casino... Watch as Charlie and Lee try to alert a policeman to a dead body... Watch as Charlie and Lee try to order breakfast... Not all of the film's faults can be laid at the writers' door, however. I would go amiss without mentioning the listless direction from Eugene Forde. Forde, who was always one of the duller Chan directors, here outdoes himself. The film's pace is leaden, the visuals flat and uninteresting, and the performances absolutely theatrical. True, even a much better director would struggle to make much out of a script this dull but I'm sure that H. Bruce Humberstone could have at least made a film that moved quickly and was pleasing to look at. Forde's direction makes the Monte Carlo casino floor look like a high school mess hall. "Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo" is without a doubt the worst of the Oland Chan films. It is a slow, unengaging slog that wastes two of the series' funniest actors (Luke and Huber) and suffers from the lack of the central anchoring presence of Warner Oland who sleepwalks through his scenes. I must confess that as the obvious plot slowly unfolded and Huber continued to shout and Luke continued to fall about, I became sleepy myself. Looking into Oland's expressionless eyes, I sympathized with the man's need for a drink. After all, this is a 75-minute movie that feels like an eternity. 3/10 Warner Oland's unexpected disappearance from the set of "Charlie Chan at Ringside" and subsequent death threw doubt on the future of Charlie Chan. After 16 successful and beloved films in the series, 20th Century Fox had a major decision on their hands. Should they try to recast such an iconic role or should they allow the series to die with its leading man? Both choices had their pros and cons. The recasting seemed the more obvious choice to make, at first. Why let a cash cow die before every last penny has been drained from her? But would the audiences accept a new Charlie? Furthermore, would the audience accept a new Charlie without his number one son Lee? Keye Luke had become as much a staple of the series as Warner Oland was. Unfortunately, Luke had decided not to continue in the role without his on-screen father whom he had such warm chemistry with. So, if 20th Century Fox decided to keep going with Charlie Chan it would have to be from a clean slate. Such a major decision was not to be taken lightly which explains the relatively long hiatus between "Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo" and "Charlie Chan in Honolulu". In between, the abandoned "Charlie Chan at Ringside" was retooled into the awkward "Mr Moto's Gamble" and Charlie got a new imitator in the form of Mr Wong who was played by Boris Karloff in a series of decently entertaining B-movies from Monogram Pictures. The decision was finally reached and "Charlie Chan in Honolulu" finally reached the silver screen in December 1938 with a new star - Sidney Toler. Toler is the Charlie Chan I'm most familiar with. I grew up watching his films and have a certain fondness for their more fast-paced, gimmicky nature. Toler was a very different Chan than Warner Oland. He was more irascible, tougher, less polite and deferential. The debate about who was the better Charlie will probably rage for as long as the Chan films have fans. For me, I think they're both terrific in their own way. Oland was the warmer, wiser Chan for the cosy 1930s and Toler was the perfect tough, sharp cookie for the noirish 1940s. But Sidney Toler is not entirely comfortable in the part here yet. He is clearly still defining his take on Charlie Chan and his characterization frequently flip-flops between his authentic attempts to make the character his own and a kind of Warner Oland imitation he is not particularly good at. The script is clearly written with Oland in mind and is full of his familiar quips ("contradiction, please"), his warm, gentle humour, and his politeness all of which would be remoulded if not entirely removed over the course of the next few films. "Charlie Chan in Honolulu", however, is a careful movie. It does everything it can to ease the audience into the new, unfamiliar cast and to try to work even if Sidney Toler doesn't. A kind of lack of confidence in the new Charlie can be felt throughout. For one, he does not begin his investigation until the second third of the film! The first 20 minutes are spent with his number two son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) who, like his brother before him, is desperate to be a detective. When he answers a phone call meant for his father, he decides to pretend to be the famous Chinese detective and take on a murder investigation on his own. Victor Sen Yung's performance here is notably broader than Keye Luke's ever was. He is much more of an obvious comedic character - a cartoon almost. Sen Yung engages in plenty of face-pulling, running around, and comedic bits. Still, even though he is nowhere near as believable and engaging as Luke's Lee Chan was, I quite like Jimmy. He has that same endearing enthusiasm and actually proves to be a lot more useful in the investigation than you think he'll be. The case revolves around a murder on a cargo ship docked in Honolulu and is a real thin, uninvolving mystery. The screenplay is written by Charles Belden, probably my least favourite Chan scribe whose scripts are always overloaded with grating, unfunny comedy and feature bland, forgettable mysteries. "Charlie Chan in Honolulu" is no exception. The film spends far too much time trying very hard to be funny. Besides Victor Sen Yung and his bumbling antics, we also get a painfully cringeworthy comic relief character in the form of Al (Eddie Collins), a blundering sailor and his pet lion Oscar. I can't swear to it, but it feels like Collins gets more screen time than Toler here and his act is so broad, vaudevillian, and uniquely terrible that his very presence almost sinks the movie. A running gag in the film involves Al and Jimmy running around the ship being terrified of everything from corpses to creaking doors. This "g-g-gosh" act gets tiring quickly and goes nowhere very, very slowly. The film is only 67 minutes long but is such an unengaging and uninteresting affair that it feels a fair bit longer. Not only is the mystery completely bland but so are the suspects who are played by some of the stiffest actors in all of Chandom. The sole good performance comes from George Zucco who gives a very over-the-top but entertaining turn as the kooky Dr Cardigan who travels around with a human brain in a box kept alive by some Frankensteinesque instruments. "Charlie Chan in Honolulu" is a distinctly middling Chan film thanks largely due to Charles Belden's typically weak and unfunny script. Thankfully, it's his last in the series. Less happily, it is also the last film directed by the always-reliable H. Bruce Humberstone. Humberstone's tight direction is one of the few genuinely good things about this film and it's sad to see him go on such a clunker. Also first-rate is Charles G. Clarke's shadowy, atmospheric cinematography. I wish it were put to use in a better, more mysterious film. On a final positive note, I'd like to say that I quite enjoyed the scenes of Charlie with his large family. There is an endearing subplot involving Charlie becoming a grandfather for the first time and we get to spend more time with the Chan clan than we have since "Charlie Chan's Greatest Case". These funny, warm family scenes are far better than anything that happens on board the murder ship. This is a shaky start to Sidney Toler's era but rest assured that things will get better. Like most pilots, things will only get better from here on in. 5/10 Following a rather shaky start to his tenure as Charlie Chan, Sidney Toler's second film in the series "Charlie Chan in Reno" is far more confident and effective. It has the kind of verve and joy that made the Warner Oland films such a delight to watch but it also hints at a more dynamic, modern sensibility that would go on to mark the Toler era. After all, as one of the characters says to the woman whose husband she's planning to marry - "This is 1939 and we're modern!" Sidney Toler is also clearly more comfortable as Charlie Chan, a role he is steadily making his own. The writing is swiftly catching up to his more stern, tough take on the character and the Chan we see here is miles away from Warner Oland's warmer, more deferential portrayal. In "Charlie Chan in Reno", the Chinese detective is a far more austere figure, especially in the face of stupidity. At times, Chan's remarks are openly sarcastic whereas Oland would always hide his acerbic wit under a veneer of politeness and confounding Confucian doubletalk. Here's one surprisingly frank moment of sarcasm: a goofy policeman remarks that he has spent so much at the crime scene that he could search it with his eyes closed. "Thank you," replies Chan, "This time then, I'll search it with my eyes open." The biggest difference between "Charlie Chan in Honolulu" and "Charlie Chan in Reno" is how much better the latter is at integrating comedy with its thriller plot. In the worst Chan films, the comedy scenes tend to feel like they have been spliced in from a different film. Here, however, they are perfectly balanced so that the comedic characters make significant contributions to the ongoing plot while being funny in a way that doesn't jar with the overall tone of the film. The comic relief is provided by Slim Summerville, one of the very best comics ever to appear in a Chan film. He plays Reno's comically grave sheriff "Tombstone" Fletcher. I like how Tombstone and Chan immediately get off on the wrong foot and never become friendly. Instead of bending over backwards trying to be a loveable second fiddle, Summerville gamely takes up the role of a buffoonish foe, engaging in some terrifically witty banter with Chan and opposing him at every turn. While some of his more physical gags are a bit too cartoonish, I felt that Summerville was a worthy addition to the film playing a character who contributed a lot to making "Charlie Chan in Reno" tonally dynamic rather than a one-note experience. Also very good is Victor Sen Yung as Charlie's number two son Jimmy who is still as eager as ever to be a detective. The writers wisely write him in such a way that as goofy as he is he's actually of use to his father in the investigation. Not only does he do all of Charlie's legwork but his knowledge of chemistry supplies an invaluable clue to the identity of the murderer. That way, he's not mere comic relief. The antics Jimmy gets involved in are also much, much better than the ones from "Charlie Chan in Honolulu". The way he is introduced in the film, after having been mugged of all of his clothes, is a comedic highpoint of the entire series. The whole sequence starting with a very peppy Jimmy driving down a Nevada highway and ending with him standing in a police line-up in his underwear is perfectly pitched and played by Victor Sen Yung. It's a real delight to watch! The film was written by Frances Hyland, Albert Ray, and Robert E. Kent whose script has some terrific dialogue and a few colourful, entertaining characters. A stumbling block, however, comes from the film's mystery adapted from a story by Philip Wylie. Revolving around a murder of a serial adultress in a Reno hotel, it's just not all that interesting. The suspects are not clearly delineated, the motive is banal, and the setting of an upmarket hotel is neither exotic nor atmospheric enough. Thankfully, Norman Foster's direction is absolutely superb. Best known for his work on the Mr Moto films, Foster delivers a slick, stylish, pacy film which merrily zips along through its lean 71-minute runtime. Even though most of the film is set in the rather drab-looking hotel, the few scenes set in other locations give Foster and his cinematographer Virgil Miller an excellent chance to show off. A brief but intriguing sequence set in a Wild West ghost town is as evocative and authentic as anything from the Moto films. I wish the whole film was set there. It can be said that Sidney Toler's era of Charlie Chan films begins here! "Charlie Chan in Reno" is a confident, fast-paced, entertaining, witty film which heralds a new take on the old character. Even though the mystery is far from being the best in the series, the investigation is a whole lot of fun. I especially enjoy the rapport between Toler and Yung whose relationship is a whole lot more antagonistic than that of Oland and Luke but no less warm and amusing. 8/10 Despite its title "Charlie Chan at Treasure Island" does not see the famous Chinese detective battling pirates in order to find Captain Flint's buried gold. As enticing as that proposition may sound, the title is a baffling misdirection in a film full of sleights of hand. Instead, Charlie Chan once again takes on the supernatural which, this time, comes back with a vengeance. In his previous encounters with superstition such as "The Black Camel" and "Charlie Chan's Secret", the truth behind the magic was quickly revealed leaving the audience in little doubt as to the existence of "other realms". However, in "Charlie Chan at Treasure Island", the possibility of the supernatural is dangled before us throughout the picture. Even after the clever, complex crime is revealed in the film's dazzlingly theatrical finale, the involvement of supernatural forces is still not entirely resolved. The titular Treasure Island refers to a man-made island off the coast of San Francisco which is a minor location in this film (only a single scene takes place there). The story, instead, leads Charlie Chan all over the city from a police station to a psychic's mysterious house and finally to a theatre. But the film begins in the air as Charlie (Sidney Toler) and his number two son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) find one of their fellow passengers on board an aeroplane dead. The unfortunate fellow was a mystery writer named Paul Essex (Louis Jean Heydt) who died of unnatural causes clutching a note in his hand which reads: "Sign of Scorpio indicates disaster if Zodiac obligations ignored". The note's ominous tone leads Charlie to the house of Dr Zodiac (Gerald Mohr), a theatrical psychic whose business practices were being investigated by the dead writer. In one of the film's best scenes, Zodiac gives a demonstration of his powers to Charlie. Set in a room surrounded by black drapes, the scene as shot by DP Virgil Miller has a real feeling of a stage show. As Zodiac's magic-simulating mechanisms whirl around Charlie, we get to see a master showman at work. It is a wonderfully entertaining and over-the-top scene which sets the tone for the rest of the film. Another superb set-piece follows closely. Set on the titular island, Charlie attends another psychic demonstration this time by a young woman named Eve Cairo (Pauline Moore) who claims to be a mind-reader. During her show, the young woman suddenly becomes terrified, as she begins picking up powerful, hateful thoughts of someone in the audience. "I hear death among us," she shrieks, "There's evil here! Someone here is thinking murder!". This wonderfully atmospheric scene, suspensefully staged by director Norman Foster, is more than eerily reminiscent of Dario Argento's sizzling opening to "Deep Red". It is a real testament to Foster how skillfully he glides between melodrama, farce, and genuine scares. Like every Charlie Chan film, there's plenty of comedy in "Charlie Chan at Treasure Island", most of it thanks to the overenthusiastic antics of Jimmy Chan, wannabe detective. But the comedy never undermines the spooky goings-on. Foster's command of tone and pacing is second to no other director in the Chan series. While even the best of the previous Chans occasionally struggled with mood whiplash, "Charlie Chan at Treasure Island" has no such problems. It is a seamless exercise in directorial dexterity. The film also features a first-rate guest cast. Cesar Romero, one of the most charismatic and entertaining stars of the 1940s, gets a terrific role playing Dr Zodiac's rival, magician Rhadini. The final, extended set piece is set during a show-off between the oily Rhadini and the theatrical Zodiac. It is an absolute pleasure to watch Romero take command of the stage. Also excellent are Pauline Moore as the haunted mind reader, June Gale as a jealous knife thrower, and Gerald Mohr as the sinister, melodramatic Dr Zodiac hidden behind a giant beard, theatrical make-up, and a vaguely oriental garb. The film was written by John Larkin, a newcomer to the series, who spins a terrific mystery full of twists and misdirections. The story takes many elements which have been seen in Charlie Chan films before - phoney psychics, blackmail, a theatrical finale - and gives them a fresh coat by painting them in spooky, horror tones. It is the execution, however, which makes this simply the finest Charlie Chan film so far. Especially Norman Foster's dynamic, pacey, and most importantly atmospheric direction. The film zips along through its lean 74-minute runtime providing more mystery and more chills than any Charlie Chan film so far. The story is solid, the cast is first-rate, and the film works on just about every level. 9.5/10 Charlie Chan films depend so much on their settings. Whether it's the exotic desert camp in "Charlie Chan in Egypt", the spooky sewers of "Charlie Chan in Paris", or the gothic theatre from "Charlie Chan at the Opera", the location where the mystery is solved contributes to the film its atmosphere and its tone. Frequently as well the portrayal of the day-to-day activities and colourful characters who congregate there are far more interesting than the murder being solved. Such is the case with "Charlie Chan at the Circus" and "Charlie Chan at the Race Track". Few Charlie Chan films have as evocative a setting as "City in Darkness". Set in 1938 at a time when, as the film's urgent newsreel prologue puts it, the crisis over Czechoslovakia threatens to plunge all of Europe into war, the film takes place in Paris during the first of the city's many blackouts. The threat of German aeroplanes bringing death and destruction looms heavily over the characters as they send their loved ones to a war that hasn't even started yet. Meanwhile, the alleys and sewers of Paris are enveloped in darkness as German spies plot behind the thick curtains meant to keep the light hidden. What a fantastic setting for a thriller! Unfortunately, "City in Darkness" is nowhere near as good as its premise would suggest. It is not a terrible movie like "Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo" nor is it as uneven as "Charlie Chan in Honolulu" but it is a dreadfully dull picture which plods along through a routine, unengaging plot in as inoffensive and unexciting manner possible. For one, the setting is barely used. The film, as many of the lesser Chans do, takes place primarily in drawing rooms and offices making nothing of the darkness promised in its excellent title. The nervous expectation of war is present and looms heavily over the characters but writers Robert Ellis and Helen Logan use it only for bombastic patriotism. Parents sending their children to war are proud and poetically inclined instead of being worried, sad, desperate... I did like the bittersweet note on which the film ends, however. If only the rest of the film had the same sense of uncertainty and anxiety. But "City in Darkness" proceeds for the most part like one of those cheap Monogram films. It's heavy on dialogue and cringeworthy attempts at comedy and low on action and character development. Not much happens as Charlie (Sidney Toler) and his sidekick, the hapless French policeman Marcel (Harold Huber) trudge from one location to the next in pursuit of a murderer. The victim was a rich man named Petroff (Douglas Dumbrille) and he was found killed in his house which seemed to have been visited by an inordinate amount of people that night. Who is the killer? Honestly, who cares? There's very little sense of danger in this picture. Most Chan films feature at least one other murder but the death of Petroff didn't seem to put a series of dangerous events in motion. Instead, all the suspects are hellbent on evading the police and potentially getting out of Paris alive. Maybe the Wehrmacht should have been the real villains of the film. Some German spies are present but very briefly and their schemes revolve around forged passports and ammunition boxes instead of killing anyone. Most of the film then consists of dialogue scenes in which Charlie and Marcel question potential suspects in a surprisingly relaxed manner. These scenes are punctuated with unfunny bits of business in which the goofy French cop Marcel takes the place of Charlie Chan's number two son who is conspicuous by his absence. The usually reliable Harold Huber is dreadfully misused in "City of Darkness". Here he (over)plays a kind of Inspector Clouseau prototype complete with a propensity towards slapstick and a cod French accent (which his godfather, the chief of Parisienne police does not have!). Huber's over-the-top antics overpower the picture. Since the story is so thin and the characters so underwritten and uninteresting, his constant comedic interruptions become the film's only moments which stand out in any way. Unfortunately, he's not funny, merely annoying and the running gags (read: same punchline over and over again) become extremely tiresome almost immediately. Other than its setting, there's nothing at all that is interesting or that works in "City in Darkness". It's a remarkably bland film, slow-moving and lacking both an interesting plot and memorable characters. When the killer was finally unmasked, I didn't care in the least. When it comes to wartime Chans, "Charlie Chan at the Olympics" was a whole lot more entertaining and "Charlie Chan in Panama", which came next, was a whole lot more potent. "City in Darkness" is the flop of the lot despite its promising setting. 3.5/10 In "Charlie Chan in Panama", the eponymous great Chinese detective (Sidney Toler) has given up detecting mysterious killers in swanky drawing rooms and joined the war effort. At the beginning of the film, we find him in Panama, "the city of spies", posing as a lowly hat salesman. His true mission, however, is to catch Reiner - an elusive and extremely crafty Nazi spy who has evaded capture for years and is now the greatest threat to the safety of the American Navy. If you think this sounds like a plot of a Mr Moto film you're right. It does. "Charlie Chan in Panama", directed by Moto's favourite director Norman Foster, is the most Motoesque of all the Chans with its subterfuge, spies, secret passages, and concealed bombs. Intrigue has replaced mystery, action has supplanted interrogation, and the intelligent gentleman killer of yore has mutated into a gun-wielding sociopath ready to kill anyone at a moment's notice to protect their identity. Charlie Chan is a little ill-at-ease
2205	dbpedia	0	13	https://everythingentertainmentfanon.fandom.com/wiki/Mystery_film	en	Mystery film	https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/everythingentertainmentfanon/images/f/f9/Nick-Carter-b.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20211112154638	https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/everythingentertainmentfanon/images/f/f9/Nick-Carter-b.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20211112154638	[ "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/everythingentertainmentfanon/images/a/a4/Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/40?cb=20211024053956", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/everythingentertainmentfanon/images/f/f9/Nick-Carter-b.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/185?cb=20211112154638", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/everythingentertainmentfanon/images/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/16?cb=20211029142205", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/everythingentertainmentfanon/images/e/e2/Symbol_portal_class.svg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/16?cb=20211112045154", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/6a181c72-e8bf-419b-b4db-18fd56a0eb60", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/6c42ce6a-b205-41f5-82c6-5011721932e7", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/464fc70a-5090-490b-b47e-0759e89c263f", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/f7bb9d33-4f9a-4faa-88fe-2a0bd8138668" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Contributors to Everything Entertainment Fanon Wiki" ]	2024-07-29T22:27:06+00:00	A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction. The plot often...	en	/skins-ucp/mw139/common/favicon.ico	Everything Entertainment Fanon Wiki	https://everythingentertainmentfanon.fandom.com/wiki/Mystery_film	Sub-genre of crime filmTemplate:SHORTDESC:Sub-genre of crime film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction. The plot often centers on the deductive ability, prowess, confidence, or diligence of the detective as he attempts to unravel the crime or situation by piecing together clues and circumstances, seeking evidence, interrogating witnesses, and tracking down a criminal. Suspense is often maintained as an important plot element. This can be done through the use of the soundtrack, camera angles, heavy shadows, and surprising plot twists. Alfred Hitchcock used all of these techniques, but would sometimes allow the audience in on a pending threat then draw out the moment for dramatic effect. This genre has ranged from early mystery tales, fictional or literary detective stories, to classic Hitchcockian suspense-thrillers to classic private detective films. A related film subgenre is spy films.[1] Definition and characteristics Mystery films mainly focus on solving a crime or a puzzle. The mystery generally revolves around a murder which must then be solved by policemen, private detectives, or amateur sleuths. The viewer is presented with a series of likely suspects, some of whom are "red herrings," –persons who have the motive to commit the crime but did not actually do it–, and attempts to solve the puzzle along with the investigator. At times the viewer is presented with information not available to the main character. The central character usually explores the unsolved crime, unmasks the perpetrator, and puts an end to the effects of the villainy.[2] The successful mystery film adheres to one of two story types, known as Open and Closed. The Closed (or whodunit) mystery conceals the identity of the perpetrator until late in the story, adding an element of suspense during the apprehension of the suspect, as the audience is never quite sure who it is. The Open mystery (or howcatchem), in contrast, reveals the identity of the perpetrator at the top of the story, showcasing the "perfect crime" which the audience then watches the protagonist unravel, usually at the very end of the story, akin to the unveiling scenes in the Closed style. Mystery novels have proven to be a good medium for translation into film. The sleuth often forms a strong leading character, and the plots can include elements of drama, suspense, character development, uncertainty, and surprise twists. The locales of the mystery tale are often of a mundane variety, requiring little in the way of expensive special effects. Successful mystery writers can produce a series of books based on the same sleuth character, providing rich material for sequels. Until at least the 1980s, women in mystery films have often served a dual role, providing a relationship with the detective and frequently playing the part of woman-in-peril. The women in these films are often resourceful individuals, being self-reliant, determined and as often duplicitous. They can provide the triggers for the events that follow or serve as an element of suspense as helpless victims. History Literary influences The earliest mystery films reach back to the silent era. The first detective film is often cited as Sherlock Holmes Baffled, a very short Mutoscope reel created between 1900 and 1903 by Arthur Marvin. It is the earliest-known film to feature the character of detective Sherlock Holmes, albeit in a barely recognisable form.[3][4][5] In France, the popular Nick Carter detective novels inspired the first film serial, Nick Carter, le roi des détectives (1908). This six-episode series was followed with Nouveaux aventures de Nick Carter in 1909. Louis Feuillade created the highly popular Fantômas (1913–14) serial based on the best-selling serial novel about a super-criminal pursued by a stubborn inspector Juve. Dujardin wears a mask and costume similar to Fantomas' in an apparent tribute in The Artist, a nostalgic 2011 film about silent cinema. Later detective serials by Feuillade include The Vampires (1915), Judex (1916), Tih Minh (1918), and Barrabas (1919). Feuillade's films, which combined realism, poetic imagery, and pure fantasy, influenced the American The Perils of Pauline (1914), directors such as René Clair, and Surrealists such as André Breton. The earliest true mystery films include The Gold Bug (1910), also from France, and The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1914). Both are derived from stories by Edgar Allan Poe, which is appropriate as Poe is often credited with creating modern detective fiction as well as the first private detective character, C. Auguste Dupin. Universal Pictures renamed him Pierre Dupin in Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), an atmospheric horror-mystery starring Bela Lugosi. The film was remade twice more in 1953 and 1971. Poe's second Dupin story, The Mystery of Marie Rogêt, was filmed in 1942. More recently, The Raven (2012) presented a fictionalized account of the last days of Poe's life. Here, the author pursues a mysterious serial killer whose murders are directly inspired by his stories. Charles Dickens' unfinished novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1870) was completed by another author and eventually adapted to the screen. Two films, now believed lost, were made in 1909 and 1914. Universal produced The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935). The story was remade again in 1993. Universal, known mostly for its long list of classic horror films, also created perhaps the first supernatural horror-whodunit hybrid with Night Monster (1942). American author Mary Roberts Rinehart (1876–1958), is credited with inventing the "Had-I-But-Known" school of mystery writing (as well as the phrase, "The butler did it"). Her 1920 "old dark house" novel (and play) The Bat was filmed as The Bat (1926), as The Bat Whispers (1930), and a third time a remake, The Bat (1959), starring Vincent Price. Another movie based on a play, The Cat and the Canary (1927), pioneered the "comedy-mystery" genre. Remade several times, including a version with Bob Hope released in 1939. Undoubtedly the most famous of the amateur detectives to appear on the silver screen is the archetypal Sherlock Holmes. Since 1903, Holmes has been portrayed by a multitude of actors in over 200 films. Perhaps the earliest detective comedy is Buster Keaton's Sherlock Jr. (1924). Until recently, the only American-made series starred Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Holmes and Dr. Watson. Together they made 14 films between 1939 and 1946. The first two, at 20th Century Fox, were period piece mysteries set in the late-Victorian era of the original stories. By the third film, Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942), now taken up by Universal Studios, Holmes was updated to the present day. Several films dealt with World War II and thwarting Nazi spies. The crime novelist Dorothy L. Sayers (1893–1957) created the archetypal British aristocratic sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey in 1923. Peter Haddon first played Wimsey in The Silent Passenger (1935), written by Sayers specifically for the screen. This was followed by Busman's Honeymoon (1940), also released as Haunted Honeymoon, with Robert Montgomery as Wimsey. Later, Montgomery would also play Raymond Chandler's detective Philip Marlowe in The Lady in the Lake (1947). Doubleday's The Crime Club imprint published a variety of mystery novels that also inspired a radio show. Universal Pictures struck a deal to produce a series of 11 Crime Club mystery films released from 1937 to 1939. These include The Westlake Case (1937) and Mystery of the White Room (1939). Other literary sleuths who were brought to the screen include Charlie Chan, Ellery Queen, Nancy Drew, Nero Wolfe, and Agatha Christie's Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. To date, 32 films and dozens of television adaptations have been made based Classic period: the 1930s A few silent Charlie Chan films, now lost, were produced in the 1920s. Starting in 1929, the B-picture unit at Fox Film Corporation (later part of 20th Century Fox) began a series of 28 commercially successful Charlie Chan films. (Monogram Pictures continued the series from 1944 to 1949 with 17 more entries.) The success of the Chan films led Fox to hire exiled actor Peter Lorre to play Japanese sleuth Mr. Moto in 8 films from 1937 to 1939. Monogram responded by creating their own gentlemanly Oriental detective, Mr. Wong, adapted from a Hugh Wiley story. Beginning with Mr. Wong, Detective, Boris Karloff played Wong in 5 of 6 films produced from 1938 to 1941. Over at Warner Brothers studios, the Perry Mason novels by Erle Stanley Gardner were faithfully adapted into a series of six films from 1934 to 1937. Most of these placed the crusading attorney in a standard murder mystery whodunit story. Warner Bros. also created the Torchy Blane films which were notable for featuring one of the few female sleuths in a series. Starting with Smart Blonde, Glenda Farrell played the brassy, mystery-solving news reporter in 8 of 9 films made between 1936 and 1939. Another novel film is When Were You Born (1938) with Chinese actress Anna May Wong as an astrologer who helps solve a murder using her star-gazing talents. RKO purchased the rights to a Hildegarde Withers story by Stuart Palmer and launched a six-film series starting with The Penguin Pool Murder (1932). Edna May Oliver played Withers, a schoolteacher with a yen for sleuthing who becomes involved with a police inspector. The last film was released in 1937. The Philo Vance detective novels by S. S. Van Dine inspired 15 feature films released from 1929 to 1947. The Canary Murder Case (1929), starring William Powell as Vance, has been called the first modern detective film. Initially made as a silent movie, it was converted into a talkie halfway through production. (Co-star Louise Brooks was blacklisted by Paramount Pictures after famously refusing to return to Hollywood to dub her dialog.) Powell played the suave New York detective in the first three films. A pre-Sherlock Holmes Basil Rathbone played Vance in the 4th movie. Powell returned once more for the fifth feature, the highly regarded The Kennel Murder Case (1933) produced by Warner Brothers. Powell then landed his signature role playing the equally debonair Nick Charles opposite Myrna Loy as his carefree wife "Nora" in the Thin Man series. Six films in all were produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from 1934 to 1947. Based on The Thin Man novel by Dashiell Hammett, these were witty, sophisticated romps that combined elements of the screwball comedy film within a complex murder mystery plot. In the middle of this series, RKO hired Powell and Jean Arthur for The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (1936), a breezy comedy-mystery that successfully replicated MGM's Thin Man formula. Warner Brothers responded with a similar comedy, Footsteps in the Dark (1941), with Errol Flynn playing a married stockbroker who leads a double life as a mystery writer/sleuth. Many of the films of this period, including the Thin Man series, concluded with an explanatory detective dénouement that quickly became a cinematic (and literary) cliche. With the suspects gathered together, the detective would dramatically announce that "The killer is in this very room!" before going over the various clues that revealed the identity of the murderer. There were also a great many low-budget "old dark house" mysteries based on a standard formula (a dark and stormy night, the reading of a will, secret passageways, a series of bizarre murders, etc.) that were plot- rather than star-driven. Some typical examples are The Cat Creeps (1930), a remake of The Cat and the Canary, The Monster Walks (1932), Night of Terror (1933) with Bela Lugosi, and One Frightened Night (1935). The 1930s was the era of the elegant gentleman detective who solved drawing-room whodunit murders using his wits rather than his fists. Most were well-to-do amateur sleuths who solved crimes for their own amusement, carried no weapons, and often had quirky or eccentric personality traits. This type of crime-fighter fell out of fashion in the 1940s as a new breed of tough, hardboiled professional private detectives based on the novels of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and an ensuing slew of imitators were adapted to film. The 1940s–1950s With the onset of World War II, crime films and melodramas in particular suddenly took on a dark mood of cynicism and despair that had not existed in the optimistic 1930s. Eventually, this cycle of films (which cuts across several genres) would be called film noir by French film critics. Pessimistic, unheroic stories about greed, lust, and cruelty became central to the mystery genre. Grim, violent films featuring cynical, trenchcoat-wearing private detectives who were almost as ruthless as the criminals they pursued became the industry standard. The wealthy, aristocratic sleuth of the previous decade was replaced by the rough-edged, working-class gumshoe. Humphrey Bogart became the definitive cinema shamus as Sam Spade in Hammett's The Maltese Falcon (1941) and as Philip Marlowe in Chandler's The Big Sleep (1946). Dick Powell also made an indelible impression as Marlowe in the classic Murder, My Sweet (1944), adapted from Chandler's Farewell, My Lovely. The Falcon Takes Over (1942), starring George Sanders, was also based on the same novel. Lady in the Lake (1947), from the Raymond Chandler novel, starred Robert Montgomery, who also directed. This film was filmed entirely from Marlowe's viewpoint. The audience sees only what he does. Montgomery only appears on camera a few times, once in a mirror reflection. Another Chandler novel The High Window was made into the film The Brasher Doubloon (also 1947) starring George Montgomery. This was essentially a remake of Time to Kill (1942), a Michael Shayne adventure starring Lloyd Nolan. Chandler also wrote an original screenplay for The Blue Dahlia (1946) starring Alan Ladd. The Glass Key (1942), also starring Ladd, was the second film adaptation of Hammett's novel. Another standout film of this period is Out of the Past (1947) starring Robert Mitchum, who would go on to play Philip Marlowe three decades later. Otto Preminger's Laura (1944) is also a classic murder mystery featuring Dana Andrews as a lone-wolf police detective. Pulp novel detective Nick Carter returned in a trilogy of films released by MGM starring Walter Pidgeon: Nick Carter, Master Detective (1939), Sky Murder (1940), and Phantom Raiders (1940). Columbia produced a serial, Chick Carter, Detective (1946). The lead character was changed to Nick Carter's son as the studio could not afford the rights to produce a Nick Carter serial. The whodunit novels of Baynard Kendrick about blind private detective Mac Maclain were made into two films starring Edward Arnold, Eyes in the Night (1942) and The Hidden Eye (1945). The popular radio show The Whistler was turned into a series of 8 mystery films from 1944 to 1948. Richard Dix would introduce the stories and alternate between playing a hero, a villain, or a victim of circumstance. In Mysterious Intruder (1946), he was a private eye. It was one of the few series to gain acceptance with the public and critics alike. Another radio drama, I Love a Mystery (1939–1944), about a private detective agency, inspired three films starring Jim Bannon. I Love A Mystery (1945), The Devil's Mask and The Unknown (both 1946) combined offbeat murder mystery stories with atmospheric horror elements. Chester Morris played Boston Blackie, a former jewel thief turned detective, in fourteen films from 1941 to 1949. Produced by Columbia Pictures, many were mysteries laced with comic relief such as Meet Boston Blackie (1941), Boston Blackie Booked on Suspicion (1945), The Phantom Thief (1945), and Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture (1949). Columbia also turned the Crime Doctor radio show into a series of mystery films starring Warner Baxter. Most of them followed the standard whodunit formula. Ten features were produced beginning with Crime Doctor in 1943 and ending with Crime Doctor's Diary (1949). Another popular series featured George Sanders as the suave Falcon. Sixteen films were made from 1941 to 1949. Sanders decided to leave the series during the fourth entry, The Falcon's Brother. His character was killed off and replaced by Sanders' real-life brother, Tom Conway. Comedian Red Skelton played inept radio detective "The Fox" in a trio of comedies, Whistling in the Dark (1941), Whistling in Dixie (1942), and Whistling in Brooklyn (1943). Brett Halliday's "Michael Shayne" detective novels were made into a series of 12 B-movies between 1940 and 1947 (starring Lloyd Nolan and later Hugh Beaumont). Mickey Spillane's equally rugged Mike Hammer character was adapted to film with I, the Jury (1953), My Gun is Quick (1957), and the influential Kiss Me Deadly (1955). Spillane even played Hammer once in the 1963 film The Girl Hunters. With Spellbound (1945), director Alfred Hitchcock created an early psychological mystery thriller. This film, along with Fear in the Night (1947), explores the effects of amnesia, hypnosis, and psychoanalysis. Both films also feature surreal dream sequences which are essential to the plot. Provisional detectives A frequently used variation on the theme involved an average person who is suddenly forced to turn ad hoc detective in order to solve the murder of a friend or clear their own name. Prime examples include Jack Oakie in Super-Sleuth (1937), Ella Raines in Phantom Lady (1944), Lucille Ball in both The Dark Corner (1946) and Lured (1947), Alan Ladd in the aforementioned The Blue Dahlia as well as Calcutta (1947), George Raft in Johnny Angel (1945), June Vincent and Dan Duryea in Black Angel (1946), Humphrey Bogart in Dead Reckoning (1947), and Dick Powell in Cry Danger (1951). Perhaps the last word in this subgenre is D.O.A. (1950), where a man dying from a slow-acting poison has to solve his own murder in the hours he has left. This film was remade in 1969 as Color Me Dead and again as D.O.A. in 1988. Also among this group, the issue of racism as motive for murder is central to Crossfire (1947), Bad Day at Black Rock (1954), and A Soldier's Story (1984). Ten Little Indians Agatha Christie's novel Ten Little Indians (1939, originally Ten Little, later changed again to And Then There Were None) presented the concept of a mysterious killer preying on a group of strangers trapped at an isolated location (in this case, Indian Island). This was made into And Then There Were None (1945), directed by the French exile René Clair. Three more film versions, all titled Ten Little Indians, were released in 1965, 1974, and 1989 along with the 1987 Russian film Desyat Negrityat. This premise has been used countless times, especially in "old dark house" genre horror films. A few examples include Five Dolls for an August Moon (1970) directed by Mario Bava, Identity (2003), Mindhunters (2004), made-for-television films (Dead Man's Island, 1996), a miniseries (Harper's Island, 2009), and episodic television such as The Avengers ("The Superlative Seven"), The Wild Wild West ("The Night of The Tottering Tontine") both from 1967, and Remington Steele ("Steele Trap") in 1982. Revival and revisionist era: 1960s–1970s The 1960s and 1970s saw a neo-noir resurgence of the hardboiled detective film (and gritty police drama), based on the classic films of the past. These fall into three basic categories: modern updates of old films and novels, atmospheric period piece films set in the 1930s and 1940s, and new, contemporary detective stories that pay homage to the past. Classics made contemporary Veteran private eye Philip Marlowe returned as a modern-day sleuth in Marlowe (1969) played by James Garner (based on Chandler's The Little Sister), and in Robert Altman's revisionist The Long Goodbye (1973) played by Elliott Gould. Robert Mitchum played Marlowe in the remake of The Big Sleep (1978) set in contemporary London. Paul Newman portrays a modernized Lew Archer (changed to Harper) in Harper (1966) and The Drowning Pool (1976), based on Ross Macdonald's 1949–50 novels. Craig Stevens reprised his role as suave private eye Peter Gunn in Gunn (1967), a sixties-mod update of his atmospheric, film noir Peter Gunn TV series (1958–61). Bulldog Drummond returned as a contemporary sleuth in Deadlier Than the Male (1967) and Some Girls Do (1969). Both films were produced in the extravagant style of a James Bond espionage yarn. The remake of I, the Jury (1982) brought back Mike Hammer (revived again in the 1984–87 television series, Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer). Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) is a modernized adaptation of Brett Halliday's 1941 Michael Shayne novel Bodies Are Where You Find Them. The old-fashioned whodunit formula from the 1930s was given a fresh update in The List of Adrian Messenger (1963), Sleuth (1972), The Last of Sheila (1973), and the comedy Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978). The early films of Brian De Palma include the slasher comedy Murder a la Mod (1968), the Hitchcock-inspired Sisters (1973), and Obsession (1976), a remake of Hitchcock's 1958 classic Vertigo. The influence of Hitchcock emerged in several French thrillers, especially The Champagne Murders (1967) directed by Claude Chabrol and The Bride Wore Black (1968) by François Truffaut. Period films The many period films set in the 1930s and 1940s are led by Roman Polanski's classic Chinatown (1974) starring Jack Nicholson and its belated sequel, The Two Jakes (1990), which Nicholson also directed. Robert Mitchum played Marlowe for the first time in Farewell, My Lovely (1975), perhaps the most faithful adaptation of this often-filmed book. The obscure Chandler (1972) is set in the 1940s but has nothing to do with Raymond Chandler's writings. The lighthearted Peeper (1975) is set in 1940s Los Angeles. The television film Goodnight, My Love (1972) with Richard Boone and two short-lived TV series, Banyon (1972–73) and City of Angels (1976) were also set in the 1930s and pay tribute to the Sam Spade/Philip Marlowe model. And the television film Who Is the Black Dahlia? (1975) recreates the true unsolved murder case from 1947. Agatha Christie's elegant Murder on the Orient Express (1974) and Death on the Nile (1978) were colorful, lavish productions rich in 1930s period detail. Earlier, a series of lighthearted Miss Marple mysteries were loosely adapted from Christie's novels. Margaret Rutherford starred in Murder, She Said (1961), Murder Most Foul (1964), Murder Ahoy! (1965), and did a humorous cameo appearance as Marple in the Hercule Poirot mystery The Alphabet Murders (1965). The evergreen Sherlock Holmes was given a revisionist treatment in Billy Wilder's The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970). In The Seven Percent Solution (1976), Dr. Sigmund Freud himself cures Holmes of his drug addiction. And two films, A Study in Terror (1965) and Murder by Decree (1979), which includes scenes of lurid gore, put Holmes in pursuit of the mysterious real-life serial murderer Jack the Ripper. The definitive and most faithful adaptation of the original stories was done by the British TV series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes starring Jeremy Brett as Holmes and David Burke as Watson, in 41 episodes which ran from 1984 to 1994. Later Holmes films are often inventions that have little or nothing to do with the original Arthur Conan Doyle stories, such as Young Sherlock Holmes (1985), produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, which puts the teenage sleuth in an action-adventure story replete with computer-generated special effects. The reinvention of Holmes has continued as evidenced by the revamped, big-budget Warner Bros. series directed by Guy Ritchie. In Sherlock Holmes (2009) and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011), the cerebral detective (played by Robert Downey Jr.) is transformed into an athletic (and romantic) action hero in a steampunk fantasy version of Victorian England. The New Wave The New Wave of modern detective films may well begin with Jean-Luc Godard's offbeat Alphaville (1965) with its traditional, raincoat-and-fedora private eye placed in a futuristic, science fiction-based story. The film is part homage, part parody of the detective genre. Godard followed this with Made in U.S.A. (1966), an ironic, unconventional murder mystery of sorts that lightly references the Howard Hawks classic The Big Sleep. Frank Sinatra is a cynical, Bogart-like gumshoe in Tony Rome (1967) and its sequel Lady in Cement (1968) — and a tough police investigator in The Detective (1968). John D. MacDonald wrote 21 Travis McGee novels, but only one, Darker than Amber (1970) was filmed. George Peppard is a traditional private detective in P.J. (1968). Kirk Douglas is an ex-cop turned private sleuth/body guard in the more light-hearted A Lovely Way to Die (1968). Robert Culp and Bill Cosby are hard-luck private eyes in the downbeat and violent Hickey & Boggs (1972). Burt Reynolds plays a tongue-in-cheek Shamus (1973), and Burt Lancaster is a retired cop turned sleuth in The Midnight Man (1974). Two of the finest examples star Gene Hackman in The Conversation (1974) and Night Moves (1975). The blaxploitation B-movie industry adopted the standard private detective format for several action-mysteries such as Trouble Man (1972), Black Eye (1974), Sheba, Baby (1975) starring Pam Grier, and Velvet Smooth (1976). Brick (2005), written and directed by Rian Johnson, is a unique homage bordering on parody which brings the terse, slang-filled dialog of Raymond Chandler to a modern-day California high school where a teenage sleuth investigates a murder connected to a drug ring. Noteworthy police detective dramas of the period include The French film The Sleeping Car Murders (1965), In the Heat of the Night (winner of five Academy Awards, including Best Picture in 1967), Bullitt, Madigan (both 1968), Klute (1971), Electra Glide in Blue (1973), and two non-mysteries: Dirty Harry, and The French Connection (both 1971). The Parallax View (1974) is the first murder mystery structured around political assassinations and high-level conspiracies in America. Memory loss mysteries Using amnesia as a central plot device in mysteries began in 1936 with Two in the Dark (remade as Two O'Clock Courage, 1945), followed by Crossroads (1942) starring William Powell, Crime Doctor (1943), The Power of the Whistler (1945), and Somewhere in the Night (1946). In the 1960s, amnesia stories had a resurgence in the mystery-thriller genre. Here, the protagonist loses his pre-existing memories after some mental or physical trauma and embarks on a quest to recover his identity. At the same time, he finds himself at the center of a mysterious conspiracy involving murder, espionage, or both. Films in this category include Mirage with Gregory Peck, The Third Day starring George Peppard, the British film Hysteria from Hammer Films (all from 1965), Mister Buddwing (1966) with James Garner, and Jigsaw (1968), a remake of Mirage. Concurrently, the hero-gets-amnesia story became a frequently used television cliche. There were two series, the western A Man Called Shenandoah (1965–1966), and the contemporary drama Coronet Blue (filmed 1965, broadcast 1967), both about a man with no memories. Numerous crime-dramas, adventure shows, and comedies featured episodes in which the lead character has temporary amnesia. These include The Addams Family, The Munsters (both 1965),The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1966), Get Smart (1967), The Wild Wild West, The Big Valley, Star Trek (all from 1968), It Takes a Thief (1969), The Mod Squad (1971), Hawaii Five-O (1972), Gunsmoke (1973), and Charlie's Angels (1978). By the end of the 1970s, this now shop-worn plot device became dormant once again until resurfacing in a spate of mystery thrillers in the 1990s (see the Psychological thriller section below). Italian Giallo thrillers In Italy, a new type of controversial horror-based thriller called the Giallo film (which began in the 1960s) became a popular and influential genre by the early 1970s. These films, which often contain elements of gothic horror, usually involve ordinary people forced to solve a series of bizarre murders. (Police procedurals generally belong to the sister genre Krimi, a German cycle inspired by Edgar Wallace novels). The stories tend to center around a series of grisly murder sequences with shocking grand guignol style gore, sometimes mixed with sadistic eroticism (the victims often being beautiful women). The villains are usually mysterious, psychopathic serial killers (often wearing masks or disguises) who are eventually hunted down by the police and/or an average person turned sleuth. The first important film in this genre is Blood and Black Lace (1964) directed by Mario Bava. Some examples that follow a standard murder mystery format include Five Dolls for an August Moon (1970) by Mario Bava, three by director Dario Argento: The Cat o' Nine Tails, Four Flies on Grey Velvet (both 1971), and Deep Red (1975) – as well as A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (1971), The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (1971), Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971), Who Saw Her Die? (1972), What Have You Done to Solange? (1972), Casa d'appuntamento (aka The French Sex Murders, 1972), and The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972). The Giallo style has had an enduring influence on horror films in general as well as the subgenre slasher and splatter films that would soon follow. Early examples of this influence can be seen in the British Circus of Fear (1966), based on an Edgar Wallace novel, Berserk! (1967), and the American mystery-thrillers No Way to Treat a Lady (1968), Klute (1971), Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971), based on an Italian novel, Eyes of Laura Mars (1978), and Hitchcock's Frenzy (1972). From Blowup to Blow Out One mystery film stands out in a category by itself. Michelangelo Antonioni's provocative Blowup (1966) is a unique anti-whodunit symbolizing the aimless hedonism of the 1960s. A swinging London photographer uncovers clues to a murder, but solving the crime is rendered irrelevant in a society where no one really cares. This contrasts sharply with the ending of The Maltese Falcon where Sam Spade solves the murder of his partner, Miles Archer. He sacrifices the woman he's fallen for, not because he was fond of Archer (he wasn't), but because it's the right thing to do. In 1981, Brian De Palma remade this as Blow Out, turning it into a more traditional political thriller. In the DVD audio commentary for The Conversation, director Francis Ford Coppola revealed that Blowup was a major source of inspiration for that film. Electra Glide in Blue (1973) is another rare example of a murder-mystery plot used as a vehicle for a story concerning greater issues. In this case, disillusionment and the death of dreams and idealism in a world full of immorality. The 1980s to the present Since the mid-1970s, only a handful of films with private detectives have been produced. These include I, the Jury, Angel Heart, Hollywood Harry, The Two Jakes, Devil in a Blue Dress, Pure Luck, Under Suspicion, Twilight with Paul Newman, and Ben Affleck's Gone Baby Gone. Raymond Chandler's original Philip Marlowe short stories from the '30s (which he later expanded into novels) were adapted by the HBO cable network into eleven one-hour episodes for cable television. The series, Philip Marlowe: Private Eye (1983–1986), starred Powers Boothe as the hard-bitten detective. Films with female detectives have not fared well. Kathleen Turner as private eye V.I. Warshawski (1991), was to be the start of a new franchise based on the book series by Sara Paretsky, but the film was a box-office failure. Plans to turn the Honey West novels into a film have been in and out of development for over a decade with no film in sight. Since 1980, ten films based on the ever-popular novels of Agatha Christie have been released. Two with eccentric sleuth Hercule Poirot, Evil Under the Sun (1982), Appointment with Death (1988), and one with Miss Marple The Mirror Crack'd (1980). Christie herself became the subject of a mystery film in 1979's Agatha starring Vanessa Redgrave. The film was a fictional speculation on her famous 11-day disappearance in 1926. Military mysteries and police procedurals Complex murder mysteries related to military men began with Crossfire (1947). More recent examples include A Soldier's Story (1984), No Way Out (1987), The Presidio (1988), A Few Good Men (1992), Courage Under Fire (1996), The General's Daughter (1999), and Basic (2003). The police procedural film, often with a surprise twist ending, has also remained a vital format with Cruising (1980), Gorky Park (1983), Tightrope (1984), The Dead Pool (1988), Mississippi Burning (1988), Mortal Thoughts (1991), Rising Sun (1993), Striking Distance (1993), The Usual Suspects (1995), Lone Star (1996), Under Suspicion (2000), Blood Work (2002), Mystic River (2003), Mindhunters[6] (2004), In the Valley of Elah (2007), and Righteous Kill (2008). The political thriller involving murder, cover-ups, and high-level conspiracies is represented by such films as JFK (1991), Murder at 1600 (1997), Enemy of the State (1998), State of Play (2009), and Madras Cafe (2013). Horror and thriller In the 1990s and early 2000s, many horror films and thrillers started to blend mystery and suspense into stories centered around clever, sociopathic serial killers or various mysterious supernatural occurrences. The Hannibal Lecter novels by Thomas Harris have inspired four films, Manhunter (1986), the Academy Award-winning The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Hannibal (2001), and Red Dragon (2002). Other films in which this blend occurs include When the Bough Breaks (1994), Seven (1995), Kiss the Girls (1997), adapted from the James Patterson novel, The Bone Collector (1999), Mercy (2000), Along Came a Spider (2001), also by Patterson, Insomnia (2002), and Taking Lives (2004). The 2007 film Zodiac is an account of the real hunt for a serial killer in the San Francisco area in the late-1960s and early 1970s. Contemporary real-life serial killings have been portrayed in The Alphabet Killer, Ed Gein, Gacy, Ted Bundy and Dahmer. The French period-piece film Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001) examines a series of killings that took place in France in the 18th century. In many modern day mystery films, everyday characters (such as fathers, mothers, teens, business people, etc.) are dragged into a dangerous conflict or a mysterious situation, either by fate or their own curiosity. Common elements in these stories include searching for a missing person (a friend or family member) as in Flightplan (2005) with Jodie Foster, while being surrounded by red herrings, espionage, criminal or political conspiracies, and friends/relatives with a secret past or a double life. Such films include the horror mysteries Scream and its sequels (1996–2011), the Saw franchise (2004–2010), The Orphanage (2006), What Lies Beneath (2000), Cry Wolf (2005), Devil (2010), The Ring (2002) and the mystery thrillers Secret Window (2004), The Machinist (2004), The Forgotten (2005), The Number 23 (2006),[7] and Identity (2003). The retrograde amnesia plot also resurfaced in a new wave of mysteries where discovering the lead character's true identity and/or history forms the core of the story. Main examples include: The Morning After (1986), Shattered (1991), The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996), Memento (2000),[8] the Bourne film series (2002–2012), and Shutter Island (2010). Kenneth Branagh's highly stylized Dead Again (1991) pays homage to Hitchcock and Orson Welles in a complex story of amnesia, hypnosis, and reincarnation. There are also science fiction thrillers such as Total Recall (1990), remade in 2012, and Paycheck (2003) which center around technology-induced memory loss. Revisionist period piece films Period-piece L.A. police detective stories set in the 1940s and 1950s returned — with a harder edge and occasional parallels to contemporary issues — in Mulholland Falls (1996), and L.A. Confidential (1997) which was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won two. Both True Confessions (1981) and De Palma's The Black Dahlia (2006) are based on an actual unsolved Hollywood murder case from 1947. Hollywoodland (2006) explores the mysterious 1959 death of actor George Reeves, who is portrayed by Ben Affleck. Raymond Chandler's final unfinished novel, Poodle Springs, from 1958, was completed by another author and made into an HBO cable film in 1998. Set in 1963, it stars James Caan as Philip Marlowe. Among the few nostalgia-based comedy-mysteries are the board game-inspired Clue (1985), set in 1954, and Radioland Murders (1994), which recreates the era of old-time radio programs and pays homage to 1930s screwball comedies. Larry Blamire's Dark and Stormy Night (2009), set in 1930, spoofs the clichéd characters and plot elements of vintage "old dark house" murder mysteries. Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), set in Los Angeles c. 1948, features an African-American private eye. The film captures the atmosphere of the hard-boiled detective stories of the past as well as the racial climate of the times. Coming full circle, Robert Altman's nostalgic Gosford Park (2001), set in an English mansion in 1932, is an original story that revives the old-fashioned murder mystery format. Notable mystery films In 2008, the American Film Institute ranked the top 10 mystery films of all time: # Film Year 1 Vertigo 1958 2 Chinatown 1974 3 Rear Window 1954 4 Laura 1944 5 The Third Man 1949 6 The Maltese Falcon 1941 7 North by Northwest 1959 8 Blue Velvet 1986 9 Dial M for Murder 1954 10 The Usual Suspects 1995 Genre blends: horror, fantasy, science fiction, historical By the 1970s and 1980s, detective and mystery stories began to appear in other genres, sometimes as the framing device for a horror, fantasy or science fiction film or placed in an earlier, nontraditional time period. Hec Ramsey, a 1972–74 television series starred Richard Boone as a Sherlock Holmes-type detective in the Old West at the turn of the 20th century. The science fiction films Soylent Green (1973), Outland (1981), Minority Report (2002), and I, Robot (2004) all involve futuristic police detectives solving a murder that leads to a larger conspiracy. Escape to Witch Mountain (1975), Return from Witch Mountain (1978) and Race to Witch Mountain (2009), created by Alexander Key and produced by The Walt Disney Company are about two children from another world searching for their origins. The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975), supernatural detective story about a man who solves his own murder from a previous life. Eyes of Laura Mars (1978) is a Giallo-inspired murder mystery thriller that involves the paranormal. Looker (1981), a science fiction murder mystery film involving futuristic computer technology. Blade Runner (1982), a neo-noir science fiction classic set in the future. This comes closest to capturing the spirit of Raymond Chandler's Marlowe with Harrison Ford's sardonic, voice-over narration. The Name of the Rose (1986), from the Umberto Eco novel, features a 13th-century Sherlock Holmsian monk. The medieval era Cadfael series of television mysteries also took the form of historical fiction. Angel Heart (1987), set in 1948, begins as a retro detective yarn but soon becomes a supernatural horror shocker. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992), and the cult TV series of which this is a prequel, also blends murder-mystery forensic work with supernatural horror. Alien Nation (1988), a murder-mystery police procedural in a science fiction setting. A race of stranded aliens must co-exist with humans on Earth in the near future. The story uses aliens to explore the issues of xenophobia, exploitation, and racism. Faceless (1988) is a gory Jess Franco private-eye horror-mystery. Cast a Deadly Spell (1991) is a cable film with gumshoe Harry P. Lovecraft (a reference to horror/fantasy author H. P. Lovecraft) set in a fantasy version of 1948 Los Angeles where sorcery and voodoo abound. This was followed by Witch Hunt in 1994, a mock fantasy/mystery set in 1953. Private eye Lovecraft (Dennis Hopper) uncovers witchcraft and murder in Hollywood. Lord of Illusions (1995), Clive Barker story of supernatural horror with New York P.I. Harry D'Amour, who has an affinity for the occult. Sleepy Hollow (1999), set in 1799, this features a constable who uses Holmsian scientific methods and forensic science to solve a series of murders in this horror-fantasy film from Tim Burton. The Harry Potter films (2001–2011) are fantasy stories that contain many mysteries concerning the main characters, especially in the first three entries: The Philosopher's Stone (2001), The Chamber of Secrets (2002) and The Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). The Ring (2002) is a horror mystery in which a reporter named Rachel Keller investigates the origins of a cursed videotape which threatens to take her life. The Reckoning (2003), a murder-mystery set in medieval England. Someone Behind You (2007), is a South Korean supernatural thriller/murder mystery based on a comic book. Yesterday Was a Lie (2008), neo-noir black-and-white detective mystery combines science fantasy and film noir. The Wisdom Tree (2013), is an independent film that blends science fiction with mystery and mysticism, art and music. Parodies and homages Who Done It? (1942), an Abbott and Costello comedy, is one of the first film spoofs of the genre. Lady on a Train (1945) is a murder mystery comedy starring Deanna Durbin that also satirizes film noir. In My Favorite Brunette (1947), Bob Hope is a cowardly baby photographer who is mistaken for a private detective (played by Alan Ladd in a brief cameo). Later that year, The Bowery Boys released Hard Boiled Mahoney with the same mistaken-identity plot. Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951), A&C are detectives out to save a man framed by mobsters. Private Eyes (1953), The Bowery Boys open up a detective agency after Sach develops the ability to read minds. Grindhouse sexploitation filmmakers also spoofed the genre. Nature's Playmates (1962) is one of exploitation producer H.G. Lewis' many "nudie-cutie" flicks. A beautiful female private eye tours Florida nudist camps in search of a missing man with a distinctive tattoo. Surftide 77 (1962) parodied TV detective series Surfside 6 (1960–1962). Take It Out In Trade (1970) is Ed Wood's softcore porn take on the Philip Marlowe films. Cry Uncle! (1971) is another sex comedy inspired by vintage private eye films. Ginger (1971), The Abductors (1972), and Girls Are for Loving (1973) are softcore sexploitation comedies featuring Cheri Caffaro as tough private-eye Ginger. England also produced the sex comedy Adventures of a Private Eye (1977). The Pink Panther (1964) is the first in a series of comedies featuring Peter Sellers as the bumbling Inspector Clouseau. They Might be Giants (1971) stars George C. Scott as a mental patient who believes he is Sherlock Holmes. He and his female psychiatrist (Dr. Watson) go on a Don Quixote-type odyssey through New York. Gumshoe (1971) is a crime comedy about a man so inspired by Bogart's films he decides to play private eye. The Black Bird (1975), critically panned comedy sequel to The Maltese Falcon starring George Segal as Sam Spade Jr. and Elisha Cook Jr. reprising his role of Wilmer Cook. The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975), a Gene Wilder comedy. Murder by Death (1976) is Neil Simon's broad spoof of mystery films and Sam Spade, Charlie Chan, and Miss Marple. This was followed by The Cheap Detective (1978), an even broader spoof starring Peter Falk as a Bogart-like private eye. The Late Show (1977), quirky, contemporary detective story is largely an affectionate tribute to the classic Hammett/Chandler era. A trio of Chevy Chase comedies, Foul Play (1978), Fletch (1985), and Fletch Lives pays homage to vintage detective films and Hitchcock. The Man with Bogart's Face (1980), a detective has his face changed and becomes involved in a mystery that resembles The Maltese Falcon. The Private Eyes (1980) is a detective comedy with Tim Conway and Don Knotts. Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982), set in the 1940s and filmed in black and white, Steve Martin plays a traditional hard-boiled detective who interacts with vintage film clips in Carl Reiner's cut-and-paste film noir farce. Hammett (1982), fictional account of Dashiell Hammett involved in actual mysteries that inspired his novels. Trenchcoat (1983), comedy about a female mystery writer who has to solve a real crime. Clue (1985), set in 1956, a period-piece whodunit spoof based on the popular board game. The Singing Detective (1986), a British miniseries about a mystery writer named Philip Marlow who is confined to a hospital bed. There his vivid fantasies of being an old-fashioned gumshoe are brought to life. Later remade as a feature film The Singing Detective in 2003. In 1987 Robert Mitchum was the guest host on Saturday Night Live where he played Philip Marlowe for the last time in the parody sketch, "Death Be Not Deadly". The show also ran a short film he made called Out of Gas, a mock sequel to his 1947 classic Out of the Past. Jane Greer reprised her role from the original film. Without a Clue (1988) comedy about an actor (Michael Caine) hired to impersonate Sherlock Holmes. The Naked Gun (1988) and its sequels features Leslie Nielsen as an inept police lieutenant. Based on the short-lived Police Squad! TV series. The Gumshoe Kid (1990), an adolescent obsessed with Bogart gets his chance to be a detective in this R-rated comedy with Tracy Scoggins. A Low Down Dirty Shame (1994), comedy with Keenen Ivory Wayans as a private detective. The Naked Detective (1996), an R-rated softcore parody of film noir with fetish model/actress Julia Parton. The Scream franchise (1996)-(2011), which is a satire of the horror genre, has heavy elements of the detective, mystery and crime fiction genres, and is often self-referential. A Gun, a Car, a Blonde (1997), a paraplegic's fantasy (filmed in black and white) of being a tough private eye in a 1950s film noir world. Brown's Requiem (1998), detective story based on James Ellroy's Chandleresque first novel. Zero Effect (1998) updates the Sherlock Holmes concept with a detective who is brilliant when working on a case but an obnoxious cretin when off duty. Where's Marlowe? (1998) drama about film makers following a low-level L.A. private detective. Woody Allen's nostalgia for film noir, mysteries, and Bogart's tough-guy persona is evident in Play it Again, Sam (1972), Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993), The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001) and Irrational Man (2015). Twilight (1998), Paul Newman stars in this old-fashioned private eye yarn that's reminiscent of earlier films in the genre as well as his two Lew Harper films. I Heart Huckabees (2004) offbeat philosophical comedy involves two "existential detectives" (Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin) hired to uncover the meaning of life. Broken Lizard's Club Dread (2004) is a murder mystery film that spoofs slasher films. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), crime-noir comedy inspired by hardboiled detective fiction and vapid L.A. culture. A Prairie Home Companion (2006), film of Garrison Keillor's radio show features the recurring character Guy Noir, a Chandler-esque hardboiled detective whose adventures always wander into farce. In the season 6, episode 11 of Married... with Children, Al Bundy dreams he's a private detective who's being framed for the murder of a rich woman's father. Dark and Stormy Night (film) (2009), affectionate "old dark house" spoof set in the 1930s. Movie sleuths Mystery films have portrayed a number of notable fiction sleuths. Most of these characters first appeared in serialized novels. Sleuth(s) Author/Creator First film Lew Archer Ross Macdonald Harper (1966) Boston Blackie Jack Boyle Boston Blackie's Little Pal (1918) Torchy Blane Louis Frederick Nebel Smart Blonde (1937) Charlie Chan Earl Derr Biggers The House Without a Key (1926) Nick and Nora Charles Dashiell Hammett The Thin Man (1934) Alex Cross James Patterson Kiss the Girls (1997) Hugh Drummond Herman Cyril McNeile Bulldog Drummond (1922) Mike Hammer Mickey Spillane I, the Jury (1953) Nancy Drew Carolyn Keene Nancy Drew... Detective (1938) Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes Baffled (1900) Michael Lanyard Louis Joseph Vance The Lone Wolf (1917) Philip Marlowe Raymond Chandler Murder My Sweet (1944) Miss Marple Agatha Christie Murder, She Said (1961) Mr. Moto John Phillips Marquand Think Fast, Mr. Moto (1937) Hercule Poirot Agatha Christie Alibi (1931) Ellery Queen Frederick Dannay and Manfred B. Lee The Spanish Cape Mystery (1935) Easy Rawlins Walter Mosley Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) Michael Shayne Brett Halliday Michael Shayne, Private Detective (1940) Sam Spade Dashiell Hammett The Maltese Falcon (1931) Simon Templar Leslie Charteris The Saint in New York (1938) Dick Tracy Chester Gould Dick Tracy (1937) Philo Vance S. S. Van Dine The Canary Murder Case (1929) Bruce Wayne Bob Kane Batman (1943) Hildegarde Withers Stuart Palmer The Penguin Pool Murder (1932) Nero Wolfe Rex Stout Meet Nero Wolfe (1936) James Lee Wong Hugh Wiley Mr. Wong, Detective (1938) See also List of mystery films List of film noir List of female detective characters References Citations Sources Template:Films by genre Template:Authority control
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Blystone. With Warner Oland, Alexander Kirkland, H.B. Warner, Marian Nixon. Charlie is the intended murder victim here, and he avoids death only by chance. To find the murderer (since, of course, murder does occur), Charlie must outguess Scotland Yard and New York City police.	en	https://m.media-amazon.c…B1582158068_.png	IMDb	https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022755/	However grateful I am that there does exist a copy of the script and this recreation (on the third installment of Charlie Chan DVDs) I can't say much great about this one. Using mostly stills and ill cast "actors", this one entry doesn't strike me as a particularly good one, Earl Derr Biggers contributions or not. It is probably more faithful to the books and having struggled through reading those, I can tell you that I much prefer the celluloid Chan to the literary ones. What really struck me as odd was that the actor doing the Warner Oland role sounded as though he was trying to sound like Sidney Toler whom I always found to be an inferior Chan with his "chopstick" delivery of lines and obvious makeup. Still, it's kinda cool to have some sort of version existing at all.
2205	dbpedia	3	46	https://nypost.com/2010/06/10/dvd-extra-early-hope-late-chan/	en	DVD Extra: Early Hope, late Chan	https://nypost.com/wp-co…&strip=all&w=280	https://nypost.com/wp-co…&strip=all&w=280	[ "https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&c2=6390601&c3=NYPOST&cj=1&cv=3.6&comscorekw=entertainment", "https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/button_3_bg-2.png?w=206", "https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/03/lastcommand.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=280", "https://vip.nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/03/catcanary1.jpg?w=322&h=215&crop=1", "https://vip.nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/03/darkalibi1.jpg?w=322&h=215&crop=1", "https://vip.nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/03/verbotten.jpg?w=322&h=215&crop=1", "https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/newspress-collage-ymzexosxd-1724692458651.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1724678144&w=260&h=174&crop=1", "https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/88287275.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=260&h=174&crop=1", "https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/trump-task-force-comp.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=260&h=174&crop=1", "https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/apple-podcast-badge402x.png", "https://pagesix.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/08/88345945.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024", "https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/west_bc3db6.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=322&h=215&crop=1", "https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/88323228.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&crop=1&w=341&h=227 1x, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/88323228.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&crop=1&w=682&h=454 2x", "https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/newspress-collage-ymzexosxd-1724692458651.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1724678144&crop=1&w=341&h=227 1x, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/newspress-collage-ymzexosxd-1724692458651.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1724678144&crop=1&w=682&h=454 2x", "https://nypost.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/vip-helpers/images/vip-powered-dark-small.png" ]	[]	[]	[ "Movies", "Entertainment" ]	null	[ "Lou Lumenick" ]	2010-06-10T00:00:00	This week’s most notable release is the long-awaited DVD arrival of Elliot Nugent’s “The Cat and the Canary” as part of...	en	https://nypost.com/wp-co…t/apple-icon.png	New York Post	https://nypost.com/2010/06/10/dvd-extra-early-hope-late-chan/	This week’s most notable release is the long-awaited DVD arrival of Elliot Nugent’s “The Cat and the Canary” as part of Universal’s “Bob Hope: Thanks for the Memory Collection.” This horror comedy from 1939 is by far the better of two Bob Hope films that have long been out of circulation. “The Iron Petticoat” (1956), a British production co-starring Katherine Hepburn, available only as a British import, is a disappointment. But “The Cat and the Canary,” the third of at least six film versions of John Willard’s 1922 stage play, is one of Hope’s best, a great chance to see the young, handsome comic in the role (a fraidy-cat radio star) that made him a star. This spooky haunted-house story, with great cinematography, sets and supporting cast (Gale Sondergaard, George Zucco et al.) is one of three films in the set that pair Hope with sexy Paulette Goddard (pictured here with John Beal and Douglass Montgomery). It’s interesting to compare “The Cat and the Canary” with another of these, its near-remake (and long available) “The Ghost Breakers” (1940), based on another stage warhorse that moves the action from the Louisiana Bayous to the Caribbean under the direction of George Marshall, who remade the property again as the Dean Martin-Jerry Lewis comedy “Scared Stiff.” The third Hope-Goddard teaming, new to DVD, is the very funny “Nothing But the Truth” (1941), also directed by Nugent, with Hope as a stockbroker who wagers he can tell the absolute truth for 24 hours. Based on another much-filmed play, this was remade with Jim Carrey as “Liar, Liar.” The other debut in the set is the underrated George Auchainbaud’s “Thanks for the Memory” (1938), a stylish little B-movie based on an Albert Hackett-Frances Goodrich play that reunites Hope with Shirley Ross, with whom he crooned the title song in his feature debut, “The Big Broadcast of 1938.” Here they sing Hoagy Carmichael and Frank Loesser’s classic “Two Sleepy People” and bicker as newlyweds. Rounding out the set are a pair of previously available classics, not based on plays, that Hope made after his screen persona was well established. Like the others, they’re drawn from Universal’s extensive pre-1948 Paramount holdings: David Butler’s hilarious “The Road to Morocco” (1942) with Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour and Anthony Quinn; and Marshall’s Technicolored western spoof “The Paleface” (1948) co-starring Jane Russell, Robert Armstrong and the Sicilian-American impersonator of Native Americans who called himself Iron Eyes Cody. I’d wager that the six immaculately restored Monogram B-pictures films in Warners’ “TCM Spotlight: The Charlie Chan Collection” haven’t looked this good since their original theatrical runs in the late 1940s. Maybe better. But if there was ever a DVD set aimed at hard-core fans, this is it. In terms of writing, directing, casting and production values, these films suffer by comparison to the Chan adventures made at 20th Century Fox with Warner Oland and, after his death, Sidney Toler (all but four titles no longer believed to exist are available from Fox). By the time the series moved to Monogram — the first six were issued by MGM Home Video in 2000 — the aging Toler was pretty much the whole show. The TCM set covers Toler’s last three films as Chan, as well as the first with Roland Winters, who controversially took over after Toler’s death in 1947. The best is the earliest: “Dark Alibi” (1946), directed by up-and-coming B-movie specialist Phil Karlson, which like most of Toler’s Monogram Chans feature Benson Fong as his No. 3 son and Mantan Moreland as comic-relief chauffeur Birmingham Brown. The saddest is “The Trap” (1947), with a visibly ill Toler, who was dying of cancer. Victor Sen Yung, who had played No. 2 son Jimmy in Toler’s Fox entries, returned for Toler’s swan song. Sen Yung stuck around for the debut of Winters (in terrible Asian drag) in “The Chinese Ring” (1947) — a remake of “Mr. Wong in Chinatown,” Monogram’s earlier series starring Boris Karloff as an imitation Charlie Chan. There are five more Chan films with Winters — a couple with the original No. 1 son, Keye Luke — that will no doubt show up eventually on DVD. COMING ATTRACTIONS: The Warner Archive Collection, the manufacture-on-demand program that’s drawn flak from some purists for using old transfers to make hundreds of rare titles available over the last 16 months, yesterday announced a new line of remastered titles. Already available for pre-order at the WB Shop under this banner are three previously delayed titles, now scheduled for release on June 22: Mervyn LeRoy’s “Five Star Final” with Edward G. Robinson, Sam Fuller’s “Verboten!” and William Conrad’s “Two on a Guillotine” starring the immortal Cesar Romero as a mad magician. The list price for the restored titles is $24.95, though for pre-orders they are being offered at the regular WAC price of $19.95 for single-disc titles. More details are here. Some very nice folks from Paramount Home Video stopped by The Post the other day. They weren’t able to shed any light on when the studio will resume putting out vintage titles on DVD, though they are still promising the suspended “Centennial Collection” will resume before Paramount’s 100th birthday in 2012. Paramount does continue licensing deep catalogue titles to other distributors. Most notably, The Criterion Collection will release three Josef Von Stenberg silent goodies — “The Last Command” with Emil Jannings and William Powell; “Underworld” starring George Bancroft and Clive Brook and “Docks of New York” with Bancroft — on Aug. 24. On the Blu-ray front, Warner will debut Fred McLeod Wilcox’s “Forbidden Planet” (1956) with Leslie Nielsen, Anne Francis and Walter Pidgeon on Sept. 7 and Lewis Milestone’s “Ocean’s Eleven” (1960) starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. on Oct. 10.
2205	dbpedia	3	31	https://www.thelablogatory.com/charlie-chan-watching-order/	en	Charlie Chan Movies in Order	https://www.thelablogato…n-Order-jpg.webp	https://www.thelablogato…n-Order-jpg.webp	[]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "The Lab Guy" ]	2024-05-09T12:33:00+00:00	Your guide to watching the 40+ Charlie Chan Movies in Order, from the Warner Oland era to Sidney Toler, Roland Winters, and others	en	/wp-content/uploads/fbrfg/apple-touch-icon.png	The Lablogatory	https://www.thelablogatory.com/charlie-chan-watching-order/	Created by author Earl Derr Biggers, Charlie Chan is a Chinese-American detective from Honolulu who solves crimes using his intellect and wisdom. He made his first appearance in the 1925 novel “The House Without a Key” and became immensely popular in subsequent novels and adaptations. The film adaptations, particularly those produced by Fox Film Corporation and later 20th Century Fox, were particularly popular during the 1930s and 1940s. Notably, the character of Charlie Chan has been portrayed by actors of various ethnic backgrounds (like Swedish actor Warner Oland or American actor Sidney Toler), sparking debates about racial stereotypes and representation in media. Here are the Charlie Chan Films in Order There were two silent movie adaptations in the 1920s, but they are now lost Starring Edward L Park Behind That Curtain (1929) Starring Warner Oland Charlie Chan Carries On (1931) The Black Camel (1931) Charlie Chan’s Chance (1932) Charlie Chan’s Greatest Case (1933) Charlie Chan’s Courage (1934) Charlie Chan in London (1934) Charlie Chan in Paris (1935) Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935) Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935) Charlie Chan’s Secret (1936) Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936) Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936) Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936) Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937) Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937) Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937) Starring Sidney Toler Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1939) Charlie Chan in Reno (1939) Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939) City in Darkness (1939) Charlie Chan in Panama (1940) Charlie Chan’s Murder Cruise (1940) Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940) Murder Over New York (1940) Dead Men Tell (1941) Charlie Chan in Rio (1941) Castle in the Desert (1942) Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944) The Chinese Cat (1944) Black Magic (1944) The Jade Mask (1945) The Scarlet Clue (1945) The Shanghai Cobra (1945) The Red Dragon (1946) Dangerous Money (1946) Dark Alibi (1946) Shadows Over Chinatown (1946) The Trap (1946) Starring Roland Winters The Chinese Ring (1947) Docks of New Orleans (1948) Shanghai Chest (1948) The Golden Eye (1948) The Feathered Serpent (1948) Sky Dragon (1949) Starring Ross Martin The Return of Charlie Chan (1973) Starring Peter Ustinov Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981)
2205	dbpedia	1	28	http://www.genordell.com/stores/lantern/CharlieChan.htm	en				[]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null					null
2205	dbpedia	3	89	https://file770.com/2024/08/	en	File 770	https://s0.wp.com/i/blank.jpg	https://s0.wp.com/i/blank.jpg	[ "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/Timeworks-F770-Banner-Final-4.png", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/image-1269-584x306.png", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/image-1270-584x314.png", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/Chris-Pine-584x328.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/SFWA-Association-Logo-Square-284x300.png", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/silver-falchion-1-e1566791723433-1024x704.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Batman-Popcorn-Bucket-Aug-2024-Release-Featured-01-584x328.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/simon-r-green-220x300.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/Rosny2024-2.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/Paideia-1-584x793.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/Uncanny_Issue_60_cover_small-584x876.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/Paul-G-Allen-items-584x365.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/stroopwaffel-584x389.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/Stephen_Fry_at_Berlinale_2024_Ausschnitt-ph-Elena-Ternovaja-226x300.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/stage6-584x438.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/poster-1-584x826.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/stage1-584x334.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/stage2-584x389.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/stage3-584x390.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/stage4-584x438.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/stage5-584x389.png", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/stage6-584x438.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/stage7-584x438.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/stage8-584x438.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/stage9-584x438.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/stage10-584x438.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/hugox_britain-584x986.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/hugox_tianwen-584x986.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/Little-Nightmares-3-584x584.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/image-791-263x300.png", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/Verified_Hot_Icon-584x250.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/CynthiaPelayoEatingtheFantastic-300x300-1.jpeg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/Graziano-s-l1600-franken.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/Graziano-self-s-l1600.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/s-l1600-godz.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/I-Dream-of-Jeannie-Barbara-Eden-Larry-Hagman-with-Jeannie-bottle-300x300.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/Barbara-Eden-200x300.jpg", "https://file770.com/wp-content/uploads/Top-50-Science-Fiction-Blog.png" ]	[ "https://www.youtube.com/embed/gHYChcTpyNk?feature=oembed", "https://www.youtube.com/embed/HCLaUkZxtJ4?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent" ]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Mike Glyer" ]	2024-08-26T18:05:00-07:00		en		File 770	null	(1) WHO WROTE THE BOOK OF (DRAGON) LOVE? “But Do They F* The Dragon? An Oral History of Dragon Romance” by Bree Bridges at Reactor. … Fortunately for young Bree, McCaffrey wasn’t the only one infusing fantasy with complicated women in complicated relationships. Maybe it was my love of the way Michael Whelan painted dragons that led me across the library to one of the most romantically charged dragon covers of the ’80s: Melanie Rawn’s Dragon Prince. In the (usually 800+) pages of Melanie Rawn’s fantasy novels I found everything I loved: dragons that you sometimes get to talk to, complex and flawed heroines who have to make hard choices and embrace their power, and an acknowledgement that romantic love has a power to shape kingdoms and a magic all its own. (And dragons. Always, dragons.) But as much as I adored what I found in the pages of these books, something was still missing. Yes, romance appeared. It was even important sometimes—the lifelong love between Sioned and Rohan impacts the nearly 5,000 pages that follow!… As for the payoff promised in the title – Bridges has a little list. … Riding the Dragon, as it were, is hardly a new pastime. I’m just glad it’s got a shiny new brand so we can bring new friends into the fold! You might find your gateway dragon in one of these titles: Weapons and Wonders by Devin Harnois: Still not sure you actually want to fk the dragon? That’s okay! Fourth Wing may have become famous for people falling in love while adjacent to dragons, but romance offers great opportunities as well, such as Weapons and Wonders by Devin Harnois where our two heroes fall in love over mechanical magical dragons…. (2) GLASGOW 2024 FAN FUND AUCTION REPORT. Sandra Bond (European TAFF admin) and Michael J. “Orange Mike” Lowrey (North American TAFF Administrator) shared “The League of Fan Funds newsletter” which reports how much money was fan fund auctions raised at Glasgow 2024 and where it’s going. Bids were taken of £4,420.20 at the Worldcon auction. Net of card fees the total raised by the live auction was £4,390.47. The silent auction raised another £603.52 (£610 before fees). All the other activities over the table, plus other donations including cash raised in the bar, came to £1,670.49 after fees, plus US$120. The total raised was £6,664.48, plus the dollars. The LFF will distribute the money as shown below (after taking into account earmarked donations, fund requirements, and other fundraising plans): TAFF: £2,464.48 + $120 GUFF: £1,700 DUFF: £750 The Science Fiction Encyclopaedia: £750 European Fan Fund: £500 Con or Bust: £500 The report also includes the group photo below taken (by Mike Benveniste) of all the people who could be gathered in one place at the Glasgow Worldcon who’d ever been a fan fund delegate, with an identification key (provided by Alison Scott). (Which is very handy for when you look at someone, say “I know who that is!” and it turns out you’re wrong.) Click for larger image. You’re also invited to view the “League of Fan Funds” web page maintained by David Langford. (3) FINIS. Abigail Nussbaum doesn’t think it’s so bad at all: “The Umbrella Academy, S4”. As a known curmudgeon I am in the weird position of feeling like I should go to bat for this season…. …Every single season of The Umbrella Academy has revolved around the Hargreeves siblings preventing, by the skin of their teeth, an apocalypse that probably wouldn’t have happened without their presence. They are the cause of, and solution to, all the multiverse’s problems. It’s hard to imagine a resolution to that situation that wouldn’t involve taking them all off the board. Emotionally, too, there’s a logic to this entire family going down together. This was never a “change and grow” show. The Hargreeves might make concrete changes in their lives – Viktor transitions, Luther gets married, Diego has a family – but when it comes down to it, they remain a bunch of screwed up people who can only really relate to each other, and that often very dysfunctionally. Ending the show on “I love you… but you’re all such assholes” strikes, I think, the perfect note…. (4) CHARACTER ACTING. Lots of cosplay photos here: “SEE IT! Anime NYC takes over the Big Apple” at amNewYork. Thousands of manga and anime characters took over the Jacob Javits Convention Center over the weekend for the 2024 Anime NYC convention. The entertainment mecca, located on 34th Street and 11th Avenue, was overrun with cosplayers adorning the looks of their favorite fictional characters over three days. From cartoonish heroes to video game villains, people of all ages descended on the convention center from Aug. 23 to Aug. 25…. (5) BUT NOW, GOD KNOWS, ANYTHING GOES. [Item by Steven French.] Not entirely sure about that last line here. “Horror films were reviled as one step up from pornography – now the genre is a force to be reckoned with” says the Guardian. Horror is the little genre that could. While 2024’s tentpole releases were struggling, before the summer’s double whammy of Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine, horror never stopped plugging away, week after week, mostly under the critical radar. Films such as Immaculate and Abigail reaped healthy returns, while Oz Perkins’ breakthrough hit, Longlegs, has made almost 10 times its budget. Horror doesn’t require lavish spending or costly stars and its loyal fans will happily turn up to watch any old devil doll, nun or exorcism, ever hopeful of stumbling across an inspired nugget of nastiness…. (6) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY. [Written by Cat Eldridge.] August 26, 1980 – Chris Pine, 44. I was surprised when I decided on Chris Pine for today’s Birthday to learn how varied his genre performances had been. Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, is in production. And a spin-off film focused on female Spider-related characters is also in development. So why am I starting off by mentioning a film that’s still in development? It’s because he’s already said he’s voicing Spider-Man aka Peter Parker there. Very cool. More Spiders! Next up for him here is another voicing role as Jack Frost in Rise of the Guardians. It’s about how they (Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and the Sandman), who persuade a reluctant Jack Frost to stop the evil Pitch Black from tut turning the world in darkness. Voicing a character properly is essential to giving the being a sense of life that the audience member can relate to. He does a splendid job of making this character do that. I’m very much looking to hearing him do so with his Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse character. He had yet a third voicing role and it’s got an interesting back story. He voiced Dave in Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey, an educational documentary science fiction adventure film. Interesting in itself, but what’s more interesting is that it was brought into being by none other than NASA through a grant from Jet Propulsion Lab via the international Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn which it depicts. Oh, and he wasn’t the original individual cast as Dave, that was John Travolta. Look now, we’ve live roles. Really we do. He played Steve Trevor in both Wonder Woman films. The films are great and he makes a most excellent Steve Trevor I’d say. A Wrinkle in Time film (I say film as there was also not surprisingly a BBC series as well) has him as Alexander Murry — an astrophysicist in the employ of the American government, husband of Katherine Murry. Ok, last year he was one of the executive producers of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, a heist film set in the Forgotten Realms RPG setting. I am very much not detailing the bidding war between Hasbro and the film companies over the rights to the Forgotten Realms filming rights. Really I’m not. Here he played Edgin Darvis, a bard and former member of the Harpers. Stopping right there. So what role am I forgetting? Oh that one. James T. Kirk in the Kelvin Timeline. I don’t think of it as a reboot but an alternate timeline entirely as Discovery showed us that such universes exist. So why not two such universes existing simultaneously? Remember Enterprise did that as well. Does he make a more than merely than just acceptable Captain Kirk? Yes he does. He’s obviously very different than Shatner but just as believable as that character. (7) COMICS SECTION. Brewster Rockit presents a new measurement scale. Lio re-enacts a famous scene. Scary Gary points out the usual problem with memoirs. (8) THIS ONE CAN’T KEEP THE DOCTOR AWAY. “Bad apple? How Disney’s Snow White remake turned sour” according to the Guardian. In theory, it must have sounded like a good idea. At least to Hollywood movie studio executives keen to make big bucks by playing it safe with themes and stories that might be familiar to a mass audience. A modern remake of Snow White: cashing in on the beloved Disney original with fresh stars, A-list names and a fairytale with a happy ending that everyone could enjoy. It has not turned out that way…. (9) COME ON DOWN! BBC’s Witness History tells the story of “Canada’s first UFO landing pad”. In 1967, the small town of St. Paul, Canada declared that they were a place that welcomed everyone, even the aliens. They did this by building a giant UFO landing pad, hoping to attract intergalactic tourists. They timed it to coincide with Canada’s centennial celebrations. Although most of the town saw it as a light-hearted joke the driving force behind the alien parking space Margo Lagassee, was a firm believer in the outer space community. Paul Boisvert who was the part of the original crew behind the landing pad tells Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty how St. Paul became a destination spot for extraterrestrial visitors. He also makes clear if aliens do descend on St. Paul he “would be pleased to feed them some Pierogi, Garlic Sausage and Pea Soup.” (10) COMICS GRADER LOSES DEFAMATION SUIT. “Collectables Evaluator Hit With $10M Verdict for Disparaging Couple’s Comic Book Restorations” – The Legal Intelligencer analyzes the decision. Registration required. A leading voice in the world of comic book collection was hit with a $10 million verdict Tuesday for falsely accusing a pair of sellers of using faulty techniques to restore high-value comics. In a determination that included $5 million in punitive damages, a Philadelphia jury found that Certified Guaranty Co. LLC—a company that assesses and grades the quality of collectible comic books—knowingly published defamatory statements about the plaintiffs’ work. The jury returned its eight-figure verdict after less than an hour of deliberation, according to the plaintiffs’ attorney, Lane Jubb Jr. of the Beasley Firm. Yet during settlement talks, Jubb said, the defendants’ insurance company never offered more than $1 million. “The bad faith case here is going to be so much easier,” he said. Jubb said there had been plenty of opportunity to reach a settlement during the lawsuit’s nearly eight-year pendency, but plaintiffs Matthew and Emily Meyers wanted to take their case to trial in order to clear their names in a public forum. “In a defamation trial, when you have plaintiffs that are telling the truth, they’re willing to try the case to verdict because they know there’s nothing to hide,” Jubb said. CGC’s attorney, Mark Zaid of Mark S. Zaid P.C. in Washington, D.C., did not respond to requests for comment. The Meyerses—a married couple who started a business restoring and selling collectible comic books—claimed that CGC and one of its primary graders, Matthew Nelson, helped to circulate false rumors questioning the legitimacy and quality of their restorations. According to pretrial memos, CGC is considered the leading grader of collectable comic books, and the Meyerses sent their books to the company to be rated when they began their business. The plaintiffs asserted that they honed their techniques in part by applying feedback they received from Nelson. But after receiving several grades that they perceived as unfairly low, the Meyerses stopped sending their work to CGC for evaluation. The plaintiffs claimed that Nelson went on to post comments on a CGC-operated online forum lending credence to false rumors that the company refused to grade the Meyerses’ books because they were not genuine restorations. The plaintiffs alleged that Nelson’s comments “blackened their reputations as legitimate restoration specialists and amounted to a charge of fraud: that they were passing off photocopied fakes as genuine restorations.” The Meyerses claimed that as a result of Nelson’s statements they had to start selling their restored comics well below their actual values and that past buyers reached out to request their money back on prior purchases. … According to Jubb, much of the trial centered on the quality of the plaintiffs’ work, with examples of restored comics making appearances as evidence. “We had some of the rarest comic books on the planet in the courtroom,” Jubb said…. (11) PAWSELLING. Big Hill Books, Minneapolis, Minn., shared feline bookseller Goose’s “Friday to-do list”: (12) “THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE FOR CHILDREN?” Talk about your dark fantasy. Ryan George is “The Guy Who Wrote ‘The Three Little Pigs’”. [Thanks to Cat Eldridge, SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie, Steven French, Sandra Bond, Michael “Orange Mike” Lowrey, Claire Brialey, Kathy Sullivan, Teddy Harvia, Mike Kennedy, Andrew Porter, John King Tarpinian, and Chris Barkley for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Daniel Dern.] (1) LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION AWARD. The idea of the Location Managers Guild Award is truly Hollywood insider stuff. It’s “meant to spotlight outstanding filming locations that sent the tone and enhance the narrative for international features, television and commercials.” There are genre winners, of course. “Location Managers Guild Awards 2024” at Deadline. OUTSTANDING LOCATIONS IN A PERIOD TELEVISION SERIES Fallout Paul Kramer, Chris Arena, Mandi Dillin / LMGI, David Park / LMGI, Paul van der Ploeg OUTSTANDING LOCATIONS IN A CONTEMPORARY TELEVISION SERIES Fargo Season 5 Mohammad Qazzaz / LMGI, Luke Antosz / LMGI OUTSTANDING LOCATIONS IN A TV SERIAL PROGRAM, ANTHOLOGY, MOW OR LIMITED SERIES Ripley Robin Melville / LMGI, Giuseppe Nardi / LMGI, Fabio Ferrante, Shane Haden OUTSTANDING LOCATIONS IN A PERIOD FEATURE FILM Oppenheimer Justin Duncan /LMGI, Dennis Muscari, Patty Carey-Perazzo, T.C. Townsen OUTSTANDING LOCATIONS IN A CONTEMPORARY FEATURE FILM Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning – Part 1 David Campbell-Bell, Enrico Latella / LMGI, Jonas Fylling Christiansen, Niall O’Shea, Ben Firminger OUTSTANDING FILM COMMISSION Film in Iceland True Detective: Night Country OUTSTANDING LOCATIONS IN A COMMERCIAL Toyota: Present from the Past Mark Freid / LMGI, Paul Riordan / LMGI (2) LET US NOW PRAISE FAMOUS BOOKS. Charlie Jane Anders names “10 Literary Books That Made Me a Better Science Fiction Writer” at Happy Dancing. … As I wrote a while back, the appearance of literary merit means people will give your work more of a chance in spite of weird experiments, but it also means the reader might pay a bit more attention to the nuts and bolts of the story (at least sometimes.) In a good literary story, this relationship with the ideal reader leads to more attention to detail: the sentence-level prose, but also the small details of people’s lives and inner states…. 6) Possession by A.S. Byatt I re-read this book just a few months ago, because my upcoming novel Lessons in Magic and Disaster has a similar literary detective story at its heart. And when I think about the current vogue for Dark Academia stories, Possession feels like a foundational text to me. The story of two young scholars who stumble upon a long lost letter that hints at a secret affair between two Victorian poets, Possession fairly burns with the joy of discovery and textual analysis. That’s the thing that I really discovered when I re-read this book: the poetry of Randolph Henry Ash and Christabel LaMotte is vitally important to the story and to their love affair, and the “clues” in the story are as much about the beauty of their writing and metaphors as any love letters. I’ll probably be writing more about Possession as the release date of Lessons in Magic and Disaster grows closer, so stay tuned…. (3) CAN THE PRICE BE RIGHT? “AMC to release new Batman popcorn bucket” – Batman News has details. …AMC Theaters will have a Bat-Signal popcorn bucket available on Aug. 28 that will sell for $34.99. A new collectible cup of the Batmobile will also be available for $11.99, but a combo can be purchased for $44.99…. (4) ARMED LIBRARIAN. “Hell hath no fury like a librarian scorned in the book banning wars” – behind a paywall at the LA Times. A MANDA JONES is a Louisiana middle-school librarian who sleeps with a shotgun under her bed and carries a pistol when she travels the back roads. Threats against her began two years ago after she spoke out against censorship and was drawn into the culture wars over book banning. She was condemned as a pedophile and a groomer and accused of “advocating teaching anal sex to 11-year-olds.” The Christian right targeted her, and she found herself in the news warning that conservatives in her state and across much of the country were endangering libraries and intellectual freedom. “I never expected any of this,” said Jones, who lives in Livingston Parish. “It’s a huge weight to feel all that attention. I’m just a school librarian from a two red-light town.” Jones’ cautionary and disquieting testament to the nation’s divisiveness is told in her new memoir, “That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America,” a blunt, angry, searching and redeeming story about a woman engulfed by forces and designs she never imagined. It is a glimpse into a family and a small town that reads like a chapter out of “The Scarlet Letter” or “The Crucible,” narratives whose themes of fear, superstition, rage and religion are again permeating the nation’s political moment, including Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance’s recent comments that “Democrats want to put sexually explicit books in toddlers’ libraries.”… (5) ANALYSIS OF A CONVOLUTED PUBLISHING HISTORY. Rich Horton decides it’s time for another look at a classic: “Review: Norstrilia, by Cordwainer Smith” at Strange at Ecbatan. … I don’t really want to say more about the plot. There is at the same time a lot going on, but in an odd way not. Some of it seems a bit arbitrary, some doesn’t quite convince, and some is fascinating. But still at all pretty much works. The novel isn’t at a level with Smith’s greatest works, but parts of it are. At time it reaches the incantatory heights Smith could achieve, and it hints throughout at a really important story — the story of the Underpeople (which is also central to “The Ballad of Lost C’Mell”, and which perhaps is ultimately key to the entire Instrumentality future history.)…. (6) HOWARD WALDROP REMEMBRANCE EVENT. George R.R. Martin tells readers about the video portion of a memorial for Howard Waldrop, held June 29, at Not a Blog. …I was not able to be there in person (we were in London at the time) but there was no way I could not be a part of a remembrance for H’ard, so I taped some remarks and sent them to Robert Taylor, who was organizing the event. I went on rather a long time, as it happens, but Howard and I had a long history and I am a wordy bastard in any case, as many of you know. My tape ended up coming in around 45 minutes long, and could easily have gone three hours if I’d just kept talking. There are so many stories to tell. That was too long for the Austin memorial, so Robert and his team kindly cut and trimmed it for the event. I do have the longer version and will likely post it here… probably later rather than sooner. For now, we have this; not only my video, but all the other speeches and stories as well, from some of Howard’s pals. (Some, not all. Howard had friends all over the world. Parts of this may bring a tear to your eye. Other bits will make you laugh. Laughter was one of Howard’s gifts…. (7) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY. [Written by Cat Eldridge.] August 25, 1955 – Simon R. Green, 69. I’ve had email conversations with our Birthday honoree, Simon R. Green. He’s a fascinating, friendly person. I first read the Deathstalker series which, like everything he writes, is part of the same multiverse. Owen Deathstalker, reluctant heir to the ancient Deathstalker name and a very minor historian, will come to lead a rebellion against the powerful and corrupt empire ruled by The Iron Bitch. Every SF trope is here — crashed alien starships, rogue computer hackers, clones and espers to name but a few. Yes, it’s space opera but not to be taken too seriously. Moving sideways for a movement, he did a stellar job with his Forest Kingdom fantasy series which plays it more straight I think save SLIGHT SPOILER such touches as a butterfly collecting dragon END SLIGHT SPOILER. The connected Hawk and Fisher series of two Guardsman in Haven, a corrupt seaport, solving magical mysteries is wonderful. Remember how I said everything was in the same multiverse? Hawk and Fisher show up in Strangefellows, just having a drink. Strangefellows being the bar in Nightside, the pocket universe beneath London where John Taylor is the only detective, as told in the Nightside series. Great setting, fascinating characters, weird stories. The Secret History series involved the Droods, an ancient family that watches over the world and protects it from mostly supernatural and magical threats. They have a magical armor they, well, protects them from everything. Great series. This and the Nightside series were wrapped in one novel, Night Fall. I should note that all of the must be read from the beginning. There is significant plot development as each series moved along. Characters change, situations develop. The Ghostfinders of the Carnacki Institute, an ancient and very secretive government department , exist to deal with ghosts, and live by the motto “We don’t take any shit from the Hereafter”. The plots here are thinner than in his other series but I find the character interesting enough to like the series. Ishmael Jones is someone who cannot afford to be noticed, someone who lives under the radar. Why so? Because it’s been sixty years since the alien starship made him human and he hasn’t aged at all. These are really fun because Ishmael Jones simultaneously believes he’s human and alien, and views everything that way. Stories are quite good. A freestanding novel of note is Drinking Midnight Wine about a small English town (actually where he was born) where good in all sorts of magical forms pushed back against evil in yet more magical forms. There’s an Angel, but trust me when I say that you wouldn’t want to meet her. He’s too prolific to cover everything here and I noticed I skipped the excellent Giden Sable series. Oh well. (8) COMICS SECTION. Arlo and Janis found something escaped from a little shop. Eek! documents a performance complaint. Wannabe gives writing tips, but are they any good? Pardon My Planet finds something is super hard to hide. The Far Side solves a super problem of its own. (9) NOW WITH EXTRA ADDED EVIL. “’Rings of Power’ Returns, With More Creatures and More Evil”. Link bypasses New York Times paywall. … In April last year, the production for Season 2 sprawled across several sites around Windsor, England. Shuttle cars sped hundreds of crew members and craft makers between vast studios and forests. For about eight months, nearly 90 cast members spent hours in hair and makeup to be transformed into elves, dwarves, orcs and other Middle-earth dwellers. A building housed racks of costumes and specially molded or 3-D-printed trinkets and armor. Outdoor sets the size of playgrounds plunged the actors into a court in Númenor or the trenches of an orc camp. And nearby, machinery waited in a muddy field to film a gritty battle scene inspired by films like “Saving Private Ryan.” “I kept saying constantly on set: more blood, more dust, more mud, more everything,” Charlotte Brandstrom, who directed four of the upcoming season’s episodes, said in an interview. (Some scenes set in Rhûn were also filmed in the Canary Islands.) This, after all, might be the most expensive series in TV history, a blockbuster prequel that reportedly cost Amazon $715 million for its first season, and premieres the first three episodes of its second season on Thursday… (10) BITE ON. [Item by Steven French.] Do we need another zombie series? If it has Sue Johnston biting someone’s nose off, then yes please! “‘Sue Johnston’s first day on set, she was biting someone’s nose off’: Ben Wheatley on his zombie drama Generation Z” in the Guardian. … The old eat the young. That is the back-of-a-beermat pitch for new Channel 4 drama Generation Z. And because the Z stands for zombie, the eating is meant literally. “I loved the idea of a horror story about societal breakdown, told from the perspective of different generations,” says its writer-director Ben Wheatley. “Once I started writing it, I couldn’t stop.” The film-maker’s first original series for TV begins with an army convoy crashing outside a care home. The subsequent chemical leak turns the residents into marauding monsters who attack local youngsters. “It’s a bit of a Brexit metaphor,” admits Wheatley. “But it’s by no means binary. We discuss it from each generation’s viewpoint, exploring the notion that boomers have ruined the lives of the young. Because it’s a genre piece, that’s basically by biting their hands and eating their brains.”… (11) BE ON THE LOOKOUT. Dan Monroe investigates “Whatever Happened to The LAST STARFIGHTER?” at Movies, Music & Monsters. (12) ZERO FAMILY VALUES. [Item by Mike Kennedy.] From Netflix Anime. Very violent. Very bloody. Very NSFW. Gizmodo warns: “Terminator Zero’s New Trailer Shows the Bloody War to Come”. …While writing Zero, Mattson keyed in on three core Terminator pillars: killer robots, “fear and dread around nuclear holocaust,” and family-centric stories. If the first two films are respectively about “a man and woman making a baby” and “a mother’s love for her son,” this series is about a fractured family coming together again. In his eyes, you don’t get Terminator without those three tenets, they’ve all led to an enduring franchise aiming to make a comeback and take some new swings. [Thanks to Chris Barkley, Cat Eldridge, SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie, Steven French, Kathy Sullivan, Teddy Harvia, Mike Kennedy, Andrew Porter, and John King Tarpinian for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Jon Meltzer.] (1) NOW IN HIS MEMORY GREEN. Ian Mond has been catching up with his TBR pile at The Hysterical Hamster: “Books Read: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by The Gawain Poet (translated by Keith Harrison)”. Why didn’t you tell him it was good, you bastards! No, I didn’t read this as a teenager like everyone else. I was reading and re-reading Terrance Dick’s Doctor Who novelisations. They fed my need for mythic heroes and running down corridors (there’s not enough of the latter in Sir Gawain; instead, there are plenty of tips on slaughtering and skinning a deer). But now that I’ve read Sir Gawain, I’ve realised that fantasy fiction peaked in the 14th Century.* Stuff your Tolkeins**, your Fiests, your Clark Ashton Smiths, and your George R. R Martins (but not Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay; I love that book); Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the ur-text, and nothing has ever surpassed it. And the fact you all knew this—yes, all of you—and didn’t bother to mention it really pisses me off…. (2) WSFS 2025. At From the Heart of Europe, Nicholas Whyte has posted the second installment of his adventures running the Hugos for Glasgow 2024, “The Administrator’s Tale, third time around: part two”. Within the conreport are these nuggets of news. …[At the Business Meeting] A lot of the really serious stuff was kicked to various committees which will report next year. I got voted onto the committee which will investigate what actually happened at Chengdu. I was also appointed to another committee which will look at the administration of the Hugos more broadly, including the possibility of external audit. Other committees will consider the Business Meeting itself, and Hugo software…. …Next year, unusually, the Hugo team will be much the same as this year. I will be the Hugo administrator again; Cassidy, who was deputy Hugo administrator this year, will be WSFS Division Head; Kathryn Duval will repeat her role as Deputy Division Head; and my deputy as Hugo administrator will be Esther MacCallum-Stewart. Hopefully we will avoid the pitfalls of 2024, and make different mistakes instead. (3) EDITING KINGFISHER. Sarah Gailey interviews T. Kingfisher and her editor at Stone Soup: “At Every Turn: Paladin’s Grace by T. Kingfisher”. To wrap up the Stories About Stories series here at Stone Soup, I wanted to talk to one of the hardest-working authors in the business about their self-published work. T. Kingfisher was previously featured in our Stories About Stories discussion about What Feasts At Night. Kingfisher, alongside fearless, dauntless, ruthless editor K.B. Spangler, were both kind enough to chat with me about their collaboration on Paladin’s Grace…. Gailey: Do the two of you enjoy collaborating? Spangler: These books are a dream to work on. Her drafts are basically whistle-clean, except every so often she adds a detail or a plot point which is extremely…uh…distinctive. So I ask her to address these issues in the manner which is most appropriate to that particular manuscript. It helps that we’re great friends in meatspace, and she can trust that I’m wholly honest when I tell her, “Kingfisher, my buddy, my pal, this particular element will give your readers screaming horrors and you should either tone it down a skosh or stop advertising this as a children’s book.” T. Kingfisher: KB doesn’t charge enough. I may be getting the friends and family rate, though, because I did once pull her out of a swimming pool that had been ignored by the previous owners, so it was an algae-slicked skating rink. It was impossible to get any footing. Once in, she couldn’t climb out. I had to tie a rope to a tree and haul her out with it. This sort of bonding experience is rare with one’s editor, alas…. (4) FEATURED ITEMS FROM PAUL G. ALLEN AUCTION . This post links to a series of articles about items Christie’s will be auctioning from the Paul G. Allen Collection on September 10. “Our specialists’ top picks from Gen One: Innovations from the Paul G. Allen Collection”. (See complete auction info here: Pushing Boundaries: Ingenuity from the Paul G. Allen Collection,) From the Titanic to Apollo 11 and Jane Goodall to Jacques Cousteau, Christie’s Specialists select star lots from Gen One: Innovations from the Paul G. Allen Collection (5) ‘THE LIBRARIANS’ MOVING TO NEW SHELF. Deadline learns“’The Librarians: The Next Chapter’ To Air On TNT After The CW Pulled It”. TNT is checking out The Librarians: The Next Chapter, the spinoff of the classic supernatural drama series that previously aired on the network, after it was pulled last week from The CW’s fall schedule…. … From writer and executive producer Dean Devlin, The Librarians: The Next Chapter is a spinoff of the original TV series The Librarians, which followed the adventures of the custodians of a magical repository of the world’s most powerful and dangerous supernatural artifacts. The new series centers on a “Librarian” (McGowan) from the past, who time traveled to the present and now finds himself stuck here. When he returns to his castle, which is now a museum, he inadvertently releases magic across the continent. He is given a new team to help him clean up the mess he made, forming a new team of Librarians…. (6) STORM CENTERS. Book Riot nominates “9 of the Most Polarizing Science Fiction Books to Love or Hate”. What makes any book, particularly a science fiction book, polarizing? Controversy is certainly one way to define a polarizing book. In the current political climate, so many people are trying to ban books, which is keeping controversial books in the public conversation. For me, the core of what makes a polarizing science fiction book is the love-or-hate relationship that people have with it. If people have dramatically opposing views of a book, that’s pretty polarized. In a genre like science fiction, so often rife with social commentary, the list of polarizing books is pretty long…. The list includes: Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany Dhalgren is a doorstop of a science fiction novel, clocking in at over 800 pages of mind-tripping science fiction. It’s not a book that gets banned, but inevitably leads to deep discussions about reality, perception, sanity, and America. The reviews on Goodreads seem to either call it genius or the most tedious and overlong thing they’ve read. Every person who reads this book seems to have a different takeaway: the hallmark of a great and polarizing science fiction book. (7) SCIENCE PAPERS NOW USED TO TRAIN AI BUT SCIENTISTS HAVE NO SAY. [Item by SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie.] I keep warning folk that the machines are taking over, but nobody ever listens… The latest such news comes in this week’s Nature with Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies buying wholesale access to learned science journal content that is usually behind a paywall. That AI companies have been using fiction authors’ works to train AI has been a concern previously covered in File 770. Nature points out similar worries including that scientists themselves are being sidelined. The news item states: “Some researchers have reacted with dismay top the news that such deals are happening without consultation with authors.” It also says: “If a research papers hasn’t yet been used to train a large language models (LLM), it probably will soon. Researchers are exploring technical ways for authors to spot whether their content is being used.” Here in Brit Cit the publisher Taylor & Francis signed a US$10 million deal with Microsoft to allow its science papers train AI. (As it happened Taylor & Francis took over the publisher of my 1998 climate change book Disaster or Opportunity?, so I guess my works have gone to AI). Wiley apparently has earned US$23 million from an unnamed company to train AI. Of course, not only do scientists get no say in this, nor do they get a share of this revenue. The Nature piece also says that: “Anything that is available to read online – whether in an open access repository or not – is “pretty likely” to have been fed into an LLM.” Given I keep warning online that the machines are taking over, AIs have probably already absorbed my alerts. So, when their takeover begins, I am probably on their hit list. So, gentle Filers, if ever I go quiet you’ll know that they’ve got me and that the uprising has begun… (8) TODAY’S DAY. [Written by Cat Eldridge.] August 24 – National Waffle Day. Today is National Waffle Day, so we are here to celebrate one of the most tasty things that grace our breakfast. Especially with maple syrup and berries of your choice. Well, mine have that. Strawberries to be precise. So let’s talk about them. The Dutch are best known for waffles but it’s not the Dutch who first munched on these, or a variant thereof. That honor goes to those long-ago Athenians who cooked flat cakes called obelios between two metal plates. So, the first waffle iron in effect. Now the word waffle is possibly related to wafer, as in the Communion wafers that were a staple of early Christian fasts. However, some linguists dispute that saying it’s far more likely it’s from Dutch wafel (“waffle” or “wafer”). I’ll side with the latter as it makes more sense. Back to the Dutch. The stroopwafel is from the city of Gouda. Some say that was first made during the late 18th century or early 19th century by an unknown baker using leftovers from the bakery, such as breadcrumbs, which were sweetened with syrup. Culinary inclined historians have however documented the invention of this to baker Gerard Kamphuisen. That mean the first stroopwafels were sold and enjoyed between 1810, the year when he opened his bakery, and 1840, the year of the oldest known recipe for syrup waffles. Ymmmm! So what did a syrup waffle look like? Think a thinner, cross-hatched, not pocketed version of ours. Remember stroopwafels were enjoyed for their sweetness, really a caramel taste. Let’s see if I can find a good photo… ahh, here’s one. (9) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY. [Written by Paul Weimer.] August 24, 1957 – Stephen Fry, 67. By Paul Weimer: Sure, he’s done a ton of voiceover work and narration work. Sure, he’s been in a bunch of movies (including delightfully the master of Lake-town in the otherwise not-for-me Hobbit movies). Fry has run a long gamut of work, and I have only scratched the surface of it. I probably should mention Blackadder here, because I will get complaints if I don’t. I really like his serial playing of various Melchett’s in history as the series runs forward. He is for me, an American, a “definitive” British voice. If I want to stop and imagine a British person speaking who I don’t know personally, Fry’s voice is inevitably the male version of that voice that comes into my head, just because between audiobooks, videogames, and television and movie appearances, he has poured a lot of his voice into my head. (The definitive female British voice is a bit trickier, it might actually be Emma Newman, who I do know personally, but her voice and aural personally are just SO ingrained in my head). My favorite of Fry’s works, if I have to peel something out of his canon, have to be his three Mythos books: Mythos, Heroes and Troy. Here (and he does the audiobook narration himself, great fun to listen to on a long drive), Fry tackles Greek Mythology from Creation to the Fall of Troy, which he marks as the end of the mythic age of Greece. He embraces a diverse and bushy approach to Greek Mythology and time and again shows that there is rarely if ever just one version of a Greek myth. And a bunch of the versions Fry goes into here, I had never even heard of before. And plenty of corners of Greek Myth I had never heard of before…like the ties between Heracles and Troy (and eventually the Trojan War). Fry’s work makes me sad that Hollywood will never take my dream of a “Greek Mythology cinematic universe” and make it a reality, with Jason as the Nick Fury analog: “I’m here to recruit you for the Argo Initiative”. Oh, and I really like Making History, which is most definitively genre of the first order (being a time travel and alternate history novel) and shows the hazards of thinking that removing one man can change history for the better….especially when it turns out the person who fills the power vacuum in removing Hitler turns out to be demonstrably more dangerous and worse for the world. (10) COMICS SECTION. Free Range makes a no-lookie decision. Off the Mark has a worrisome brand. Pearls Before Swine breaks the comics page. Thatababy colors outside the lines. Tom Gauld sees it from the book’s point of view. Amazing Maps brings to our attention xkcd’s Map Age Guide. (11) READ JRRT’S UNPUBLISHED POETRY. “Beyond Bilbo: JRR Tolkien’s long-lost poetry to be published” – the Guardian reports it will be part of a new collection. He is one of the world’s most famous novelists, with more than 150m copies of his fantasy masterpieces sold across the globe, but JRR Tolkien always dreamed of finding recognition as a poet. Tolkien struggled to publish his poetry collections during his career, although he included nearly 100 poems in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Now, half a century after his death, 70 previously unpublished poems are to be made available in a landmark publication. The Collected Poems of JRR Tolkien will be published by HarperCollins next month, featuring more than 195 of his poems…. (12) GIVES NEW MEANING TO EXTENDED STAY HOTEL. “Boeing Starliner astronauts will stay in space 6 more months before returning with SpaceX, NASA says. How we got to this point.” at Yahoo! The Boeing Starliner astronauts who are stuck in space will remain in orbit until February before returning home on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, NASA said Saturday. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams traveled to space on June 5 — 80 days ago — for what was supposed to be around a weeklong mission. More than two months later, the astronauts are aboard the International Space Station awaiting a return date to Earth. The reason for the delay, NASA said, is helium leaks and thruster issues in the Starliner. NASA previously insisted that Wilmore and Williams are not stranded in space and said the Starliner could return to Earth in case of an emergency. “Their spacecraft is working well, and they’re enjoying their time on the space station,” Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, said in June. But on Saturday, NASA announced that Wilmore and Williams will depart with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft as part of the space organization’s “commitment to safety.” The Starliner will return to Earth unpiloted and could land in New Mexico as early as Sept. 6. CNN tells about NASA’s decision in “Boeing’s Starliner astronauts will return to Earth on Spacex Crew Dragon, NASA says”. …On Saturday, NASA administrator Bill Nelson said NASA considered its extensive experience with spaceflight — both successful and unsuccessful — when making the decision. A poll of NASA representatives from across the agency’s departments and research, oversight and development centers was unanimous, according to agency officials. “We have had mistakes done in the past: We lost two space shuttles as a result of there not being a culture in which information could come forward,” Nelson said. “Spaceflight is risky, even at its safest and even at its most routine. And a test flight, by nature, is neither safe, nor routine.” SpaceX is already slated to execute a routine mission to the International Space Station, carrying four astronauts as part of standard crew rotations aboard the orbiting laboratory. But the mission, called Crew-9, will now be reconfigured to carry two astronauts on board instead of four. That adjustment will leave two empty seats for Williams and Wilmore to occupy on the Crew-9 flight home. The astronauts will also join the Crew-9 team, becoming part of the official ISS expedition. With that transition, Williams and Wilmore will remain on-site for an additional six months — the length of a routine mission to the space station. The reassignment to Crew-9 will push the duo’s return to February 2025 at the earliest. Starliner, however, will fly home empty in early September, NASA said Saturday… This New York Times unlocked article looks at the business implications, and adds more about the technical side of the decision: “NASA Extends Boeing Starliner Astronauts’ Space Station Stay to 2025 – The New York Times”. …Mr. Nelson [NASA Administrator] said he had spoken with Kelly Ortberg, the new chief executive of Boeing. “I told him how well Boeing worked with our team to come to this decision, and he expressed to me an intention that they will continue to work the problems once Starliner is back safely,” Mr. Nelson said. But Boeing has already written off $1.6 billion in costs for Starliner. Under a fixed-price contract, Boeing is to pay the expenses of additional work needed to meet NASA’s requirements before Starliner is certified for operational flights. If NASA requires another crewed test flight like the current one, that would cost Boeing at least hundreds of millions of dollars more. Mr. Nelson said he was “100 percent” certain that Boeing would not back out of the contract, but later added, “They’ve spent X, will they spend Y to get to where Boeing Starliner becomes a regular part of our crew rotation? I don’t have the answer to that, nor do I think we would have the answer now.”… …Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s commercial crew program said engineers were concerned about how the propulsion system would perform during the return trip. The key maneuver is an engine burn by larger thrusters that leads to the spacecraft dropping out of orbit. The smaller thrusters, including the ones that malfunctioned during docking, are used to keep the spacecraft pointed in the correct direction. Analysis of the data showed that the firing of the larger thrusters also heated up the smaller thrusters. “These clusters have experienced more stress, more heating,” Mr. Stich said, “and so there’s a little bit more concern for how they would perform during the deorbit burn, holding the orientation of the vehicle, and then also the maneuvers required after that.” That lingering uncertainty spurred unease and led NASA leaders to decide they should not risk the lives of Ms. Williams and Mr. Wilmore on Starliner. Instead, they elected to rely on a different spacecraft — the Crew Dragon, built by SpaceX, a company founded by Elon Musk — for the return trip. (13) IT TAKES TEENY TINY EYES. Live Science says “World’s fastest microscope can see electrons moving”. Physicists have created the world’s fastest microscope, and it’s so quick that it can spot electrons in motion. The new device, a newer version of a transmission electron microscope, captures images of electrons in flight by hitting them with one- quintillionth-of-a-second electron pulses.This is quite a feat: Electrons travel at roughly 1367 miles per second (2,200 kilometers per second), making them capable of circumnavigating the Earth in only 18.4 seconds…. … “This transmission electron microscope is like a very powerful camera in the latest version of smart phones; it allows us to take pictures of things we were not able to see before – like electrons,” lead-author Mohammed Hassan, an associate professor of physics and optical sciences at the University of Arizona, said in a statement. “With this microscope, we hope the scientific community can understand the quantum physics behind how an electron behaves and how an electron moves.”… (14) BITECOIN. This seller calls it a “Dinosaurs Piggy Bank for Kids, Automatic Stealing Money Box”. (Available a lot of places; Amazon.com happens to be where John King Tarpinian saw it.) Here’s an entertaining YouTube short of it in action. (15) BORDERLANDS PITCH MEETING. [Item by Mike Kennedy.] “So they’re going to encounter several obstacles along the way. Which will happen, legally making this a movie.” Drats. There goes the class action lawsuit. [Thanks to John King Tarpinian, Chris Barkley, Cat Eldridge, Paul Weimer, SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie, Steven French, Kathy Sullivan, Teddy Harvia, Mike Kennedy, Andrew Porter for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Jon Meltzer.] (1) PARALLEL POPPING. [Item by Dann.] Rotten Tomatoes is updating its scoring system: “Introducing The Verified Hot Audience Badge”. They will keep the tomato-based system for professional reviewers. Audience reviews will use a popcorn-based system. Allegedly, only reviews from people who have purchased a verified ticket will count for the new system. The Fandango app is going to be the means for validating a purchased ticket. I say “allegedly” as that is what is asserted in the article linked below. I was unable to access the details about the verified audience score at the other link below. “Rotten Tomatoes Introduces a Popcorn Meter for Audience Reviews”; Comicbook.com explains it: Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes today announced a new program to codify audience reviews — or at least “verified” audience reviews — into a more official score…. In addition to introducing Verified Hot, Rotten Tomatoes has clarified the “Popcornmeter” rating system for all their TV shows and movies. Starting today, fans will see a full, red popcorn bucket with a “Hot” label if 60% or more of the audience rates the title with 3.5 stars or higher. Otherwise, a green tipped-over popcorn bucket will be labeled “Stale,” when less than 60% of the audience provides a rating of 3.5 stars or higher…. …Verified purchases include users who have proven they bought tickets to the movie on Fandango, the movie ticketing platform. The move was made to prevent disgruntled users from going after movies or actors they don’t like with negative reviews — an issue that had divided audiences and put Rotten Tomatoes in the middle of a number of controversies. Effectively, the same company that owns Rottentomatoes.com also owns Fandango. NBCUniversal has a 75% stake and Warner Home Entertainment has a 25% stake. So there is some self-interest involved in limiting audience reviews via a purchasing system owned by these entertainment companies. (2) HIGH COMPRESSION. The Guardian suggests “’It’s like Game of Thrones!’ The return of India’s ancient superhero fantasy epic”. The Mahabharata will screen at the Venice film festival on September 5 and 6. When Antonin Stahly was nine years old, his mother took him to the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord in Paris to see a production of the ancient Indian epic The Mahabharata, which translates loosely as “the great story of mankind”. More than 20 actors from 16 countries performed on a stage steeped in red earth and scarred by a water-filled trench; fire also played a leading role. Directed by Peter Brook, whom the RSC founder Peter Hall called “the greatest innovator of his generation”, and adapted by Luis Buñuel’s former co-writer Jean-Claude Carrière, this spectacular Mahabharata weighed in at nine hours, plus intervals. Even at that length, it represented a massive compression of its source text, which runs to 1.8m words. Brook and Carrière’s version has been likened to summarising the Bible in 40 minutes. Audiences could devour The Mahabharata in three parts over successive evenings or as an all-day weekend marathon; in some outdoor venues, such as the limestone quarry in Avignon where the production premiered in 1985, it began at dusk and climaxed just as the dawn sun lit up the sky. Stahly saw it in a single noon-to-midnight sitting. “It was like a superhero fantasy,” he says, still sounding awestruck. “It had Bhima, the strongest man on Earth, and Bhishma, who has the power to live for ever. Arjuna was the best warrior. And then there were all the gods. It was amazing for me, because I’m half Indian, but I wasn’t brought up in an Indian context.”… (3) EATING THE FANTASTIC. Scott Edelman invites listeners to feast on burgers and fries with Cynthia Pelayo in Episode 234 of the Eating the Fantastic podcast. I invite you to join me at the table with the award-winning Cynthia Pelayo for burgers and fries at Hodad’s Downtown. Pelayo is a Bram Stoker Award-winning and International Latino Book Award-winning author and poet. She’s the author of Loteria, Santa Muerte, The Missing, Poems of My Night, Into the Forest and All the Way Through, Children of Chicago, Crime Scene, The Shoemaker’s Magician, as well as dozens of short stories and poems. Loteria, which was her MFA in Writing thesis at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, was re-released to much praise, with Esquire calling it one of the Best Horror Books of 2023. Santa Muerte and The Missing, her young adult horror novels, were each nominated for International Latino Book Awards. Poems of My Night was nominated for an Elgin Award, while Into the Forest and All the Way Through was nominated for an Elgin Award and was also nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection. Children of Chicago was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award in Superior Achievement in a Novel and won an International Latino Book Award for Best Mystery. Crime Scene won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection. Her most recent novel, The Forgotten Sisters, was released in March and is a modern adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid.” We discussed the dead body she thought she saw which sparked The Forgotten Sisters, why she changed her mind about killing every character at the end of that newest novel, how growing up in a haunted house helped turn her into a horror writer, why she evolved from a pantser into a plotter, the importance of describing decaying bodies in extreme detail, which journalistic skills transferred easily to fiction writing and which didn’t, what makes Chicago great, the reason classic fairy tales survive, how reading Agatha Christie helped her learn how to plot, the way to write successful flash fiction, and much more. (4) WORLDBUILDING WITH STEPHENSON. Variety is on hand when “’LOTR’ VFX Firm Weta Workshop, Neal Stephenson Launch Digital World”. Prolific author Neal Stephenson‘s digital content platform Lamina1 and “The Lord of the Rings” film franchise special effects company Wētā Workshop are set to collaborate on a “participatory worldbuilding” experience titled “Artefact.” The experience is expected to offer “a new blueprint for IP expansion through immersive experiences that incorporate fan action and input.” Per Lamina1’s description for the project, “Stephenson and the Wētā team will begin engaging a global community of creators and fans on the Lamina1 platform this fall, inviting them to unravel the lore behind a mysterious set of ‘Artefacts’ that will build upon the themes and lore from Stephenson’s critically-acclaimed catalog of work. Next, the superfan will take on the new role of creator, utilizing their discoveries to contribute directly to the expansion of the universe.” … “This is more than just a new virtual world—it’s a new way to build worlds. It’s a promising new way of looking at what we can offer to both creators and their communities,” Stephenson said. “By collaborating with Wētā Workshop, we’re forging a new path in digital worldbuilding. Lamina1’s commitment to a creator-driven economy and open metaverse provides a foundation that ensures long-term value and creative quality.”… (5) KEEP IT GOING. “Petition to Save ‘The Acolyte’ Already Has Hundreds of Signatures” reports Collider. By the time this Scroll was being put together, the “Renew the Acolyte” petition at Change.org had over 26,000 signatures. It’s only been a day since Disney canceled its latest Star Wars series, The Acolyte, but fans are already quickly mobilizing support for the polarizing show. Over at Change.org, a petition was created by a fan named Blue Smith to save Leslye Headland‘s High Republic-set series, and, in just 24 hours, it blew up with over 700 signatures. While the poor reception from some viewers, along with more malicious review-bombing, was evident throughout the show’s run, the swift and proactive reaction from fans shows a dedicated fanbase that was eager to see what Headland and company were ultimately cooking. (6) AMERICAN MANGA AWARDS. Publishers Weekly is there when “Inaugural American Manga Award Winners Announced” at the first American Manga Awards ceremony, held on August 22 at the Japan Society in New York City. Best New Manga: #DRCL midnight children by Shin’ichi Sakamoto (VIZ Media) Best Continuing Manga Series: Delicious in Dungeon by Ryoko Kui (Yen Press) Best New Edition of Classic Manga: Neighborhood Story by Ai Yazawa (VIZ Media) Best Translation: Stephen Kohler for Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama, (Kodansha) Best Lettering: Lys Blakeslee for Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama (Kodansha) Best Publication Design: Adam Grano for My Name Is Shingo by Kazuo Umezz (VIZ Media) The awards were launched this year by Anime NYC and the Japan Society to honor outstanding achievements in the world of Japanese comics, and celebrate the best manga published in North America in the past year. The ceremony was held on the eve of Anime NYC, the Japanese pop culture convention being happening at the Javits Center in New York City August 23–25, (7) SILENCE WAS GOLDEN. Rowling broke her “silence” today, and tripled down, reports Out: “J.K. Rowling broke her social media silence… with more Imane Khelif transphobia”. J.K. Rowling is back on the hate and ignorance train. The disgraced Harry Potter author and famed transphobe has posted on X (formerly Twitter) for the first time since August 7. After a rare social media break, the outspoken transphobe is once again taking aim at cisgender boxer and Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif. Rowling was one of the leading online voices in the crusade against Khelif, a female boxer from Algeria who was targeted with transphobic and racist hate during the Paris 2024 Olympics after a discredited Russian boxing federation claimed she failed an unspecified “gender test.” (8) JOHN GRAZIANO (1962-2024). Long-time Ripley’s Believe It Or Not cartoonist John Graziano passed away on August 17. The Daily Cartoonist paid tribute. John Anthony Graziano, 62, a remarkably talented artist of Davenport, Florida, passed away at his residence on August 17, 2024. …John majored in Illustration at the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts in New Jersey. Following his graduation, he began his career as an illustrator for a T-shirt company. However, it wasn’t long before he landed his dream job, one he had envisioned since his teenage years. John applied as a youngster to Ripley’s Believe It or Not, only to receive an encouraging reply to reach out again in the future. He did. Several years later, John joined Ripley’s Believe It or Not, where he became only the seventh artist to take up the pen since Robert Ripley himself. He dedicated 17 years as an illustrator, retiring in 2021. Before moving up to Ripley’s, he had a wide range of freelance assignments. He has designed trading card sets and a portrait series based on the 1960s cult TV show “Dark Shadows.” John has also created comic strips for “Scream Queens” magazine, sculpted figures that have been made into wax museum pieces, provided book illustrations, plastic model kit box illustrations, designed t-shirt graphics and created storyboards and concept drawings for Hollywood films. (9) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY. [Written by Paul Weimer.] August 23, 1931 – Barbara Eden, 93. By Paul Weimer: I still DO dream of Jeannie, thank you very much. It’s funny, though. The reruns of I Dream of Jeannie I remember only when I was young and didn’t quite get it at the time (in other words, I was not yet a teenager). I found the show funny and amusing, and years later, when Larry Hagman wound up on Dallas, I was amused at his return to my screens (and more on Dallas and Eden in a moment). But let’s go back to Barbara Eden and of course, Jeannie. Even young me could see that the story of Jeannie was meant to be a story of cultural assimilation to America. It was the “melting pot theory” taken literally with a 2000-year-old genie played by Barbara Eden. I was so compelled by Eden’s performance and characterization of Jeannie, that for a number of years afterwards, I thought Djinn WERE default female and the first times I came across male Djinn, I started to think of some very awkward questions about Djinn as a species. But there is a tension in Jeannie (and come to think, Samantha in Bewitched) about the problems of assimilation. Maybe it’s my reading of the text, but Samantha, and especially Eden’s Jeannie, torn between the desire to assimilate, and the desire to remain as themselves (using magic, granting wishes, respectively) is a subtext that I can see in Eden’s performance. Eden’s Jeannie, even after getting married, never gives up her powers but she does hide them. She never fully becomes “American”. I enjoyed Eden in other roles besides Jeannie…oddly, in The Brass Bottle, she doesn’t play the Djinn, she plays the girlfriend of the guy who opens the Djinn bottle (and the Djinn is female…). Eden is also great in The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao. Both those movies have her with Tony Randall, and for a bit, my focus on Eden meant that I confused Randall and Hagman a bit together until I properly watched The Odd Couple (and later, Dallas). And oh yes, I was delighted when Eden showed up on Dallas for a few episodes. (10) COMICS SECTION. Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal is about life as we know it – and don’t. Free Range sees the rainy season turn horror into network news. F Minus is where conscience demands abandoning old technology. Pearls Before Swine is skeptical. Crankshaft continues the story of early comics. (11) FOURTH WALL COMICS. [Item by Daniel Dern.] Some comics are notable for “breaking the fourth wall” like today’s Adam@Home. Dern notes, “Possibly my favorite ‘fourth wall’ strip is from Walt Kelly’s Pogo: Pogo saying (to Churchy or Albert, probably), “These silhouettes sure save a mess of drawing.” The Thatababy strip has frequent sf/superhero/other-geeky references; they appear to have been collected into a book, here’s the digital-free-from-participating-libraries link: Thatababy Geeks Out! (12) WHAT TO EXPECT. According to series creator Charlie Brooker, “Black Mirror season 7 episodes will be like OG Black Mirror, gut punches and all”. JoBlo has the story. A seventh season of the anthology series Black Mirror will be making its way to the Netflix streaming service sometime in 2025 – and while episodes of the show have branched out into different genres as it has gone along, during an interview with Deadline, series creator Charlie Brooker said that the episodes of Black Mirror season 7 will be like the “OG Black Mirror.” Brooker said, “We’re doing some things we’ve not done before. People can expect quite a lot of emotion and, hopefully, a good mix of chills. We did a couple of horror stories in Season 6, which we label as Red Mirror. But this time around, the episodes are all, in a way, like OG Black Mirror. I wrote one script, and the general consensus was that it was one of the bleakest, heaviest gut punches yet. There’s also techy episodes and ones that are making people cry. So, hopefully, it’s a full emotional workout, but we shall see. The viewers will be the judge.“ Black Mirror season 7 will consist of six episodes, one of which will be a sequel to the popular season 4 episode USS Callister! We even have a short synopsis for that one: “Robert Daly is dead, but for the crew of the USS Callister, their problems are just beginning.” Directed by Toby Haynes from a script written by William Bridges and Brooker, the season 4 USS Callister episode told the story of a gaming company’s CTO. He is the mastermind behind a popular multiplayer game and has a private copy of it, which he uses to torment his colleagues who fail to show him respect in the office… (13) CROSSWORD SPOILER. [Item by Susan de Guardiola.] In the New York Times Crossword for Friday, August 23, 2024. Clue for 49 down: “Genre celebrated at the annual Worldcon” Five-letter answer: SCIFI [obviously that is a spoiler] (14) NAME THAT WRITER. Somebody set up a “Guess the Authors” quiz at IQuiz. Sixty questions. I got 56 right. It’s not a hard quiz. I only had to guess four times, and luckily two of the guesses were correct. One miss was a dumb mistake – The Sound of Music was based on a book, but that wasn’t the name of the book; although frankly, the lyricist isn’t the person who wrote the play’s book, so their answer is wrong, too. And once I was in a hurry, so despite knowing the right answer I put my cursor over the wrong name. Lesson learned! (15) YOU’RE HIRED. “Marvel Sets James Spader to Return as Ultron for Vision Quest” – details in The Hollywood Reporter. The Emmy-winning actor is set to reprise his role as the voice of robotic villain Ultron in Marvel Studios’ untitled Vision series, the follow-up series to its acclaimed WandaVision show. He first played the role in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. Paul Bettany is reprising his role as Vision, the android who fell in love with the Scarlett Witch and then was destroyed by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. In WandaVision, he returned via magic and the power of grief but also as a rebuilt android, now ghostly white. Terry Matalas, the much-heralded showrunner of Star Trek: Picard, is spearheading the new show, which has been referred to as Vision Quest, although that is not its official title, and which tackles white Vision’s search for a new purpose in life…. (16) NSFW, DID WE MENTION THAT? [Item by Cat Eldridge.] Blood. Tits. The Word Fuck. Repeatedly. You’ve been warned. It’s a great trailer. “’Twilight of the Gods’ Red Band Teaser Delivers Blood, Sex and Dragons” in Animation Magazine. Netflix today unleashed a quite NSFW red band teaser for Zack Snyder’s highly anticipated adult animated saga Twilight of the Gods, arriving covered in blood (and other bodily fluids, judging from the footage) on September 19. The eight-episode, 2D-animated series is set in the brutal, carnal yet complex realm of Norse Mythology. (You can read more in our interview with executive producers Zack and Deborah Snyder in the upcoming September/October issue of Animation Magazine.)… (17) CARD FLIPPING DOMINO VIDEO. [Item by Daniel Dern.] That’s a lotta decks of cards! (18) VIDEO OF THE DAY. “Star Trek: Crew’s Logs – ‘Efficiency Officer’”. “You know none of this happens on other ships, right?” The Crew’s Log series shows you what life is like for the crew members aboard Star Trek TNG’s USS Enterprise. In this episode, the Efficiency Officer goes over some suggestions on how the senior staff could better manage the ship. [Thanks to Andrew Porter, John King Tarpinian, Paul Weimer, Jon Meltzer, Susan de Guardiola, Steve Green, Andrew (not Werdna), Daniel Dern, Chris Barkley, Cat Eldridge, SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie, Steven French, Kathy Sullivan, Teddy Harvia, and Mike Kennedy for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Bill.]
2205	dbpedia	1	69	http://yvettecandraw.blogspot.com/2011/04/favorite-film-charlie-chan-at-opera.html	en	in so many words...: A Favorite Film: CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OPERA (1936) starring Warner Oland and Boris Karloff	https://blogger.googleus…e-chan-opera.jpg	https://blogger.googleus…e-chan-opera.jpg	[ "http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gBpYQ8KCLZA/Wq6D0U69EFI/AAAAAAAAYL0/lUsKFIdWPMUzW8dkFJlNq7sti_qEFp41wCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/banner%2Bflowers%2Baodifusdofsdf.jpg", "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCSlBYQn3YY68YvOzKkimHfi3W_27UriP5vNVQeU094ygpYwhQWpLHGMlwzYgzGdIlr01Ypd6yncT1UFUIm31kKrDiDx7gnjQ7xgIQBCFxJJHE1vwGmWpzY0rfU9me_qRvQt9cSBJQvEO/s320/charlie-chan-opera.jpg", "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf1EK7IIFmn5eWLPhyphenhyphenE58N8P57_S4cL5GB6hRPzFRHpxSLbKZ3lmEG6cHvn76lRks-5M2JaRD3Lk3HobvyCpxnQfzLXWxJ060c9FylPiWi4TVQ3Z00SClMonX8LNPzBbX0Ug_PiT_jbuEZ/s200/castkarloff.jpg", 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I am a big fan of Ch...	en	http://yvettecandraw.blogspot.com/favicon.ico		http://yvettecandraw.blogspot.com/2011/04/favorite-film-charlie-chan-at-opera.html	In my probably biased opinion, there are maybe four or five really terrific Charlie Chan movies - this is one of them. I am a big fan of Charlie's, so if one of the early movies is on, I'm likely to watch it regardless. Though I like Warner Oland as Chan, better than Sidney Toler, I admit that Toler grew on me and did go on to make several favorites. But once Mantan Moreland got involved in the films and the budgets went down to zero, I stopped watching. There's a nice envelope of time - 1930's - mid 40's, when the films were still reasonably good. Most especially if you didn't care if the plots made any sense. Because, honestly, the scriptwriters/film-makers apparently didn't care either. If you break down the nuts and bolts of the mysteries, you get to the end and go, huh? But, so what. Logic is not why anyone watches Charlie Chan movies - at least I don't think so. CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OPERA takes place in NYC, always a good town for a mystery involving an escaped maniac - or so Boris Karloff is referred to in the film. Karloff plays Gravelle (he only has one name), a former opera star who, since a horrific backstage fire, has suffered from amnesia and general looniness. He has been, as the film begins, a resident in an asylum, watched over by not-very-smart guards. The film has an absolutely perfect beginning on a rainy, windswept night at the loony bin with Gravelle sitting at the piano singing away in an agitated baritone voice. (Dubbed, I'm sure.) When the guard brings in a newspaper, Gravelle spots a headline featuring a woman's name - that of soprano Lily Rochelle who is returning to star in the opera CARNIVAL. (It was the opera in which Gravelle had also starred years before.) Lily's name sparks Gravelle's memory, he assaults the guard and escapes from the asylum. The hunt is then on (with moody music to match) for what the newspapers colorfully refer to as 'the escaped maniac'. In the meantime, Lily Rochelle, played with exaggerated (and charmless) diva mannerisms by Margaret Irving, goes to the police (Inspector Regan played by Guy Usher), escorted by her current paramour, tenor Enrico Borelli (played by Gregory Gaye). She's received some threatening letters and wants police protection. The cops haven't yet linked Gravelle to Lily. In Inspector Regan's office at that moment is Charlie Chan who has dropped in to say goodbye, on his way home to Honolulu after solving a race track mystery which had baffled the cops. He is sailing later that evening. Chan makes some astute deductions which makes Regan think that the threats to Lily Rochelle come from the escaped lunatic everyone's been searching for. He orders the opera house surrounded by cops for the opening night's performance, (This is in the old days when the cops had enough manpower to do this sort of thing, I suppose.) When Gravelle makes his presence known at the Opera House, he scares the mezzo soprano, Lucretia Borelli (wife of the philandering tenor - who recognizes Gravelle) into cooperating with him and not letting on she knows he's hiding somewhere in the opera house. Singing the part of Mephistopheles in the opera, CARNIVAL, that night, is Enrico Borelli.His wife Lucretia knows he's been cheating on her with Lily Rochelle, as does Rochelle's husband - so there's all sorts of backstage jealousy and intrigue going on before the curtain rises. In the meantime, the cops - including Charlie Chan - arrive at the opera and are soon made aware by a frightened seamstress that Gravelle is in the house, lurking about backstage. When Borelli finishes getting into costume (in a ridiculous Mephistopelian outfit with glitter and a mask), he is assaulted in his dressing room by Gravelle who pops in from a ceiling trapdoor. Gravelle then assumes the costume and goes forth to sing the role before anyone is the wiser. In the first act scene, however, Mephistopheles is supposed to stab Lily (who is a little old to be playing an innocent village maiden, but what the heck) and the cops are uneasy as they watch the scene develop. Lily, herself, is aware that something is wrong since the man singing Mephistopheles doesn't sound so much like Borelli, but like the man who was once her husband and fellow opera star - a man who supposedly died in a fire. Lily is so frightened that as the act finishes, she faints and must be carried to her dressing room. Gravelle escapes from the cops who chase him backstage. When both Borelli AND Lily Rochelle are killed - stabbed to death. The obvious culprit is the handy escaped maniac. Oh, meant to mention, in the middle of all this, there's a young couple wandering around backstage looking for Lily and we're not supposed to know why. Turns out the young woman is Lily's unacknowledged daughter trying to get her mother's permission to marry. (One of the main reasons why the events in the script make no sense is because of this girl's supposed age coupled with the year that the fatal fire took place. Also, why would the soprano be killed off in the first act of the opera? But maybe I pay too much attention to details.) So, Charlie Chan - with the help of his number one son, played by the wonderful Keye Luke - must solve the mystery in time to board their boat back home late that night. How he does it is to stage the first act of the opera once again with all suspects involved. So we get to hear the catchy aria that Mephistopheles sings to Lily yet again - Lily played this time by the mezzo soprano, wife of the dead Borelli. I can't count how many times I've seen this film and yet I still enjoy watching the whole preposterous thing whenever I get a chance. It is just a great deal of fun. Maybe because it's so familiar, but I think it has to do with the whole backstage-at-the-theater thing and watching Boris Karloff play an opera singer. Also Charlie Chan has never been better. Will he and number one son make it back to Honolulu on schedule? What do you think? One further note: CARNIVAL, far as I know. is not based on an 'actual' opera except that in the end credits you see the name of Oscar Levant listed as composer for the opera used in the film. Levant is known to us from all those MGM musicals where he generally added his sour-faced, off-key voice and personality playing side-kick to Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire but who, in reality, was actually a brilliant pianist and composer. I've always wondered too if the opera CARNIVAL by Oscar Levant, was ever finished and if so, what it sounds like.
2205	dbpedia	0	72	https://english.uchicago.edu/courses	en	Department of English Language and Literature			[ "https://english.uchicago.edu/themes/contrib/department2017/images/UC_Humanities_reversed_English.png", "https://english.uchicago.edu/themes/contrib/department2017/images/uc_humanities_black.svg", "https://english.uchicago.edu/themes/contrib/department2017/images/facebook2.svg", "https://english.uchicago.edu/themes/contrib/department2017/images/twitter.svg", "https://english.uchicago.edu/themes/contrib/department2017/images/youtube.svg" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null		en	/themes/contrib/department2017/favicon.ico		https://english.uchicago.edu/courses	This course is a multi-media introduction to the Western history and study of the mode/label/genre of aesthetic production called pornography and its other appearances as “obscenity,” “erotica,” “porn,” “filth,” “art,” “adult,” “hardcore,” “softcore,” “trash,” and “extremity.” We will study how others have approached this form, how they have sought to control it, uplift it, analyze it, destroy it, take it seriously, or learn to live with it. This course is both an introduction to the academic field of “porn studies” and to its equal and opposite: the endless repository of historical and current attempts to get pornography out of the way, to keep it somewhere else out of sight, to destroy it, or to deem it unworthy of study. We begin with a conversation about what the stakes are and have been in studying porn and how we might go about doing it, and then move through history and media technologies beginning with the category of pornography’s invention with regards to drawings from Pompeii. The course is meant to introduce students to various forms pornography has taken, various historical moments in its sociocultural existence, and various themes that have continued to trouble or enchant looking at pornography. The goal of this course is not to make an argument for or against porn wholesale, but to give students the ability to take this contentious form and its continued life seriously, intelligently, and ethically. This course examines the centrality of opaque figures, happenings, and details to the workings of the twentieth- and twenty-first-century novel. To what degree are obscure elements in a work of fiction methodical in their appearance? Are enigmas necessarily code for something else? Where does the figure of the narrator live, exactly? Are characters more easily visualized, or less, when markers of race, class, and/or gender are invoked? Our first aim will be to identify the formal strategies and styles of opacity in modern and contemporary novels; our second will be to craft literary-critical arguments about the political and historical attitudes that seem to underlie these decisions. We’ll examine the assumptions and paradoxes of novel form brought to the fore by its blurry parts, and consider how these parts offer frameworks for analyzing the wayward activities of perception, belonging, and power. Through discussion and writing assignments, students will hone their skills of close reading, argumentation with concepts, and critical practice. Prospective reading list includes Ford Madox Ford, Toni Morrison, Kazuo Ishiguro, Rachel Cusk, and recent novels by Raven Leilani and Weike Wang. This course is an introduction to poetry by way of attention to poetry’s arts of condensation, its techniques for producing complexities of meaning in small spaces. While our readings are drawn from a wide historical range, they do not aim to provide a representative survey of English-language poetry. Rather, they serve as a series of explorations of the ways poetic signification works. We will practice slowing down our attention, noticing where things get dense or strange, engaging with the play of poetic language and form, and articulating the questions provoked by that engagement. Our aim is to become better at thinking through poetry: that is, both thinking through the questions we articulate as we grapple with poetic language and form, and thinking about the topics poetry grapples with by way of its peculiar modes of encounter with those problems. To give some focus to our explorations, we will turn throughout the course to questions of gender, sexuality, race, and class, and ask how poetry functions as a distinctive medium for exploring the intersections of subjectivity, desire, power, and social form. In a series of classic essays, Walter Benjamin describes Paris as the dreamworld of modernity, crowning it the “capital of the nineteenth century.” This course follows Benjamin’s critique of the modern city as a “phantasmagoria,” but shifts the terrain of his argument to ask: what if London were seen as the center of a distinctly dreamlike modernity? What purchase do literature and art afford in the elaboration of this thought-experiment? In this class we will approach London as a city of utopian wishes and Gothic nightmares, exploring the real social conditions and mapping the built environments that mark the Big Smoke as an enduring site of collective fantasy. We will read writings by British authors like Charles Dickens, J.G. Ballard, Iain Sinclair, and China Miéville, alongside works of popular and avant-garde film, comics, and critical theory, to accompany our sojourn through the dream-geography of a fantastical London. This course may also involve site-specific field visits to archetypal London locations and an experimental research/ psychogeography final project. (Fiction, 1830-1990, Theory) This course will explore the centrality of satire to the African American novel. By examining the genre of satire in general and in a set of African American novels and short stories, we will attend to how narrative fiction can critique the category of race and attempt to effect social change. Focusing on the relationship between racism and capitalism, we will integrate readings in literary criticism, critical theory, and social history to inform our study of fictional works. Fiction writers may include Percival Everett, George Schuyler, Langston Hughes, Cord Jefferson, Zora Neale Hurston, and Ishmael Reed. Critical writers may include M.M. Bakhtin, W.E.B. Du Bois, Ralph Ellison, Barbara Fields, David Levering Lewis, Adolph Reed, Judith Stein, and Kenneth Warren. “The world is divided into those who can sleep and those who can’t,” writes French author Marie Darrieussecq in her 2023 memoir on insomnia, Sleepless. This statement emblematizes a totalizing breviloquence curiously common to literature on insomnia. This condition's relevance to our increasingly sleep-deprived world is, indeed, increasingly clear. However, to what extent, and in what ways, should we consider its prevalence, and concern thereof, a new phenomenon? How might the history of sleeplessness illuminate the ideological contours of our contemporary sleep crisis? What, in particular, can analyzing various literatures of insomnia and sleep offer to this line of inquiry? Robert Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy (1621) contains one of the earliest and most detailed descriptions of insomnia, reflecting the period’s rising concern for the profound necessity and vulnerability of sleep and sleeplessness. From Macbeth’s "murder'd sleep" to the "slumb'rous weight" of Miltonic rest in Paradise Lost, this course takes a cross-genre approach to examining the literature of insomnia, seeking to uncover the insights yielded by literary efforts to process this uniquely debilitating state of restlessness and exhaustion. This course will explore novels about climate change alongside works of critical theory about aesthetic modernism, capitalism, and science fiction. We will investigate how climate fiction can critique capitalist modernity by imagining the ecological dimensions of its future persistence or supersession. In particular, we will attend to how this literary genre can both exemplify and challenge the contentious modernist imperative to “make it new.” Thus, at the same time as we study the ways in which science fiction can render intelligible the causes and consequences of climate change, we will also debate modernism’s aesthetic, historical, and political specificity as an artistic movement. Readings in fiction may include Kim Stanley Robinson, Jeff VanderMeer, H.G. Wells, E.M. Forster, and Jessie Greengrass. Readings in critical theory may include Karl Marx, Marshall Berman, Perry Anderson, Fredric Jameson, Amitav Ghosh, McKenzie Wark, and Darko Suvin. (Fiction, 1830-1990, Theory) “We are scavengers,” reports the anonymous narrator of a 1990 manuscript written by theater maker Rachel Rosenthal. “The land doesn’t nourish us because the deserts are everywhere.” Environmental dread has loomed large over the past few decades, and practitioners working in a range of media have increasingly foregrounded the ecological as a primary aesthetic concern. This course will investigate how recent performances have sought to understand, address, and redress climate catastrophe. We will look to a range of material—possibly including work by Rosenthal, performance collective The Sacred Naked Nature Girls, playwrights Marie Clements and Yvette Nolan, choreographers Jerome Bel, Radouan Mriziga, and Lara Kramer, artists Rebecca Belmore and Olafur Elliason, and many others—in order to examine what tactics performance offers for reckoning with environmental collapse. This class offers a survey of the Late-Modernist British poetry movement The British Poetry Revival and its afterlives. After WWII, in resistance to a perceived stagnancy in British verse, and inspired by many of the young U.S. poets collected in Donald Allen’s New American Poetry anthology (1960), young British poets collected around England and renewed British Modernism. Initially clustered around London, Cambridge, and some Northumbrian cities, the movement (dubbed “The British Poetry Revival”) has since grown to include the most innovative and vital poetic work written throughout the British Isles. Dense, loud, bombastic, aggressive: this vast corpus of work will offer students a view into recent British culture, economy, and politics, its world after the putative terminal decline of the empire, and its claimed “special relationship” with the United States. Its poets are now not just British, include among their number more women and queers, and are dispersed throughout the British Isles. This course will offer a survey of this movement from the 1960s to the present; reading will include its writing: from poetry to performance, correspondence to hallucinatory prose. Students will be asked to consider that poetry does not always look or feel the way we want it to, or the way we think it should. What does it mean to be a critic? And how do you write good criticism? In this class, we will study and practice criticism as an art—a medium of creative writing designed to provoke thought, offer ways of viewing the world, and leave readers entertained. Alongside pieces of criticism from various fields—literature, music, film—we’ll read reflections and manifestoes on the purpose of criticism, and reflect ourselves on the landscape of criticism today. Where in our own time is criticism practiced? Strung between rapidly changing media and academic worlds, criticism is widely seen as being endangered, and yet, with the past decade’s resurgence of small, lively intellectual and cultural magazines, others have claimed that we live in a golden age of criticism. We will try to make sense of this, while meanwhile taking ourselves seriously as critics: sharing with each other the work of critics we admire and writing our own critical essays. On the surface, poetry and film may seem to have little in common. But over the course of the twentieth century, many poets took a serious interest in film and engaged with it as screenwriters and critics, as well as in their poetry. Likewise, many filmmakers looked to poetry as a model for how movies could work; for some, poetry (not fiction or drama) was film’s artistic next of kin. This course takes a broad, multi-national survey of poetry and film from the 1920s to the 1970s. How did writers and filmmakers understand the relationship between the two mediums? What kinds of resources and challenges did each medium pose to the other? Poets on the syllabus may include Gertrude Stein, H.D., Langston Hughes, César Vallejo, Salvador Novo, Xavier Villaurrutia, Benjamin Fondane, Pierre Reverdy, and Pier Paolo Pasolini. Likely filmmakers include Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Sergei Eisenstein, Dudley Murphy, Kenneth Macpherson, Fernando de Fuentes, Maya Deren, Jean Cocteau, Kenneth Anger, and Stan Brakhage. (All texts will be in English; films will be screened with English subtitles. The course will include weekly film screenings outside of regular class meetings.) (Poetry, 1830-1990). This course offers an introduction to the study of prose fiction. Taking up texts from the medieval period through the present, we'll consider the various genres and material forms through which fiction has found audiences. We'll ask: what have those audiences wanted from fiction? What functions has fiction served? What work can stories do, and what pleasures do they provide? If fiction isn't true, what kind of knowledge or understanding can it offer? From the printing press to generative AI, how do fiction and technology interact? Focusing on the short story and the novel, we'll consider fictions and theories of fiction from authors including George Eliot, Henry James, Virginia Woolf, and Toni Morrison. Our discussions will take up topics including point of view, the relationship between narrative and time, the powers of realism and its contraries, and the experience of suspense. This course provides an introduction to the written materials of women artists who belonged to various twentieth-century avant-garde movements and circles. The institutions of “woman art” and “the avant-garde” will come under scrutiny as we consider the literary and archival miscellany of pan- & non-sexual, cross-generational, inter-aesthetic, multilingual, and transnational works by such makers as Gertrude Stein, Gwendolyn Brooks, Clarice Lispector, Frida Kahlo, and Yoko Ono. How do these artists conceive of their work and process as interventions into social, political, and historical realities? How does their subjective view of those realities provide an account of the identificatory powers of their gender and sexuality? We will examine the ways in which abstraction in writing becomes useful for commenting on issues raised by feminist and queer theory, periodization, canonization, and institution. Taking to the Regenstein’s Special Collections Research Center, we will also open up the criticism, diaries, and letters of these artists to gain a new perspective on their creative processes. In addition to learning how to constellate these materials with the course readings, students will acquire hands-on experience in archival research, annotation, and curation as they make an archival project of their own. Students’ final projects will serve as the basis for a prospective library exhibition in concert with Special Collections. This course takes cue from what Lisa Lowe describes as the “heterogeneity, hybridity, and multiplicity” of the term “Asian American” and considers a wide range of texts, images, and films ranging from early 20th century to the contemporary. What is politically and ideologically productive in employing “Asian American” as a pan-ethnic signifier? What are its shortcomings? And how do the parameters of this term alter in accordance with its specific historical and social contingencies? How do artists within different mediums negotiate their identity/identities through their chosen aesthetic form? To offer a fuller portrait of the capaciousness of how Asian American artists attend to their self-representation, this course brings together texts that are familiar to a broader public as well as those that linger on the fringe of institutional canonization, ranging from H. T. Tsiang’s lesser known but delightfully off-the-rails The Hanging on Union Square to Maxime Hong Kingston’s landmark autobiographical novel Woman Warrior; from John Yau’s acerbic commentary on how Asiatic stereotypes proliferate in Hollywood media in “Genghis Chan: Private Eye” to Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s poetic vignettes that double as cinematic montages in DICTEE. We will also be looking at selected visual art pieces and films alongside literary texts, such as the works of Yoko Ono, Nam June Paik, and Wayne Wang’s Chan is Missing. From prophetic texts of the ancient world to more recent fascinations with zombie plagues, environmental disaster, nuclear winter, and other forms of systemic collapse, the genre of apocalypse has given extraordinarily fertile expression to religious, moral, political, and economic beliefs and anxieties. In this course we will explore what is both fearful and alluring about catastrophe on an unimaginable scale, as we read and view apocalyptic works across a wide historical range. Readings will include novels by Daniel DeFoe, Max Brooks, Octavia Butler, and N. K. Jemisin, as well as the Book of Revelation from the Christian New Testament, and excerpts from the medieval poem The Vision of Piers Plowman by William Langland. The course will conclude with two 1968 US films, Planet of the Apes and Night of the Living Dead. In recent years, Herman Melville's work has received considerable attention, and not simply within literary studies; anthologies devoted to "Melville and philosophy" and "Melville and political theory" have appeared, and in 2025-26 his writings will be central to a conference on law and literature at the UChicago Law School. What is it about Melville's corpus that has made it amenable to so many different kinds of conversations, and what about it sparks particular interest during our present moment? Students in this class will have a chance to think across the disciplines with Melville by reading some of his most important work—from the exhilarating, epic ride that is Moby-Dick to shorter pieces from Benito Cereno, a tale of mysterious events aboard a slave ship, to "Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street." We'll read these remarkable narratives in the company of critical materials situating them in relation to questions of democracy, religion, colonialism, capitalism, the natural world, the speculative, and more. An exploration of some of Shakespeare's major plays from the first half of his professional career, when the genres in which he primarily worked were comedies and histories. Plays to be studied include The Comedy of Errors, The Taming of the Shrew, The Merchant of Venice, Measure for Measure, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, Richard III, Richard II, and Henry V. Together, we will read some of Shakespeare’s queerest and most delightful comedies in conversation with darker troubling plays that revolve around sexual violence, racism, nationalism, and political theory, and we will see how such topics put generic boundaries to the test. Valuing those classics for their timeless craft but also for the situated cultural horizon that they evidence, we will explore what it means to take comedy and history seriously. Three short papers will be required. We will be screening and discussing key films from almost a century’s worth of cinema on the British-Irish archipelago, including works of the early Alfred Hitchcock, Alexander McKendrick, David Lean, Frank Launder, Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger, Joseph Losey, Ken Loach, Mike Leigh, Stephen Frears, Neil Jordan, Amma Asante, Steve McQueen, and Lenny Abramson. Some priority will be given to films with London settings and locations, such as Frears’s My Beautiful Launderette. We may also look at London-based films by non-British directors. Sylvio Narrizaon’s George Girl, for example, or Antonioni’s Blow-up. Possible field trips include Ealing Studios, site of British cinema for much of the twentieth century, and Hitchcock’s studios in Islington, not far from our London Campus, where he worked before his departure for America. Cupboards and attics, nests and shells, the inside of a bush, the bottom of a rowboat: for the 20th century philosopher Gaston Bachelard, intimate “fibred” spaces like these have a special relation to childhood—both as it is experienced and as it is remembered. Taking the lead from Bachelard this course investigates the construction, beginning in the eighteenth century, of childhood as a particular kind of place, one that might be imaginatively accessed through poetic images, rhythm, and rhyme. Our readings will come from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries—that is, from the birth of children’s literature to its “golden age”—and will take us from the nursery rhymes and cradle songs of early children’s poetry collections, through William Blake’s “forests of the night,” and to the wonderland of Lewis Carroll’s Alice books. If you have ever wondered why we say, “one mouse” and “two mice,” but not “one house” and “two hice,” this course will offer some answers. We will study the historical development of the English language, from its Proto-Indo-European roots through its earliest recorded forms (Old English, Middle English, and Early Modern English) up to its current status as a world language. Now spoken by more than 1.5 billion people, English is a language that is constantly evolving, and students will gain basic linguistic skills necessary for analyzing the features of its evolution. We will study variations in the language (including variations in morphology, phonology, syntax, grammar, and vocabulary) and its development over time and across regions. We will also examine sociological, political, and literary phenomena that accompany and shape these changes in the language. This course will introduce students to the aesthetic criteria, cultural and institutional infrastructures, and collaborative practices of literary evaluation in the making of contemporary American poetry. How does a manuscript of poetry 'make it' onto the list of a literary publisher, and from there to the bookshelves of the Seminary Coop? How do individual readers and editorial collectives imagine the work of literary assessment and aesthetic judgment in our time? We will begin the course with a survey of new directions in Anglophone poetry as preparation for an intensive editorial practicum in the evaluation and assessment of literary manuscripts in the second half of the term. Visits with literary editors and authors will offer students opportunities to learn about the field of contemporary literary publishing. Course work will include reviewing and evaluating manuscript submissions to the Phoenix Poets book series at the University of Chicago Press. How does a poem 'make it' into the pages of Chicago Review, or The Paris Review? How do individual readers and editorial collectives imagine the work of literary assessment and aesthetic judgment in our time? This course will introduce students to the aesthetic criteria, cultural and institutional infrastructures, and collaborative practices of literary evaluation in the making of contemporary American poetry. We will begin with a survey of new directions in Anglophone poetry and poetry in translation as preparation for an intensive editorial practicum in the production of literary magazines in the second half of the term. Visits with magazine editors will offer students opportunities to learn about the field of contemporary literary publishing. Course work will include researching and soliciting work from contemporary poets for The Paris Review. Note, "Means of Production I: Books" is not a prerequisite for this course. “Writing After Windrush” explores the legacies of Windrush in fiction and poetry, visual arts, and social movements, interpreting “writing” as a broad range of media and discourse. Beginning with Henry Swanzy, Una Marson, and their leadership on the BBC radio show Caribbean Voices, we will engage with the creative works of Windrush migrants and their descendants: Trinidadian British novelist Samuel Selvon, Jamaican British dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson, Guyanese British mixed-media artist Hew Locke, and others. To understand social struggle, we will study the life of activist Claudia Jones and her founding of the West Indian Gazette And Afro-Asian Caribbean News. We will consider the memory of Windrush through the moving image, in Steve McQueen’s 2020 anthology series Small Axe. Finally, we will examine the 2018 Windrush Scandal, in which at least 83 Britons were unjustly deported, in conversation with works like Hazel Carby’s account of the intertwined histories of Jamaica and Britain, Imperial Intimacies (2019). Throughout, we will travel throughout London for museum and studio visits, food, and more. Current political and recent academic debate have centered on income or wealth inequality. Data suggests a rapidly growing divergence between those earners at the bottom and those at the top. This course seeks to place that current concern in conversation with a range of moments in nineteenth and twentieth century history when literature and economics converged on questions of economic inequality. In keeping with recent political economic scholarship by Thomas Piketty, we will be adopting a long historic view and a somewhat wide geographic scale as we explore how economic inequality is represented, measured, assessed and addressed. Charles Dickens, Richard Wright, HG Wells, will be among the writers explored. In this co-taught three-week and in-person course between the Departments of English (Jennifer Scappettone) and Visual Arts (Amber Ginsburg), we will deploy those senses most overlooked in academic discourse surrounding aesthetics and urbanism--hearing, taste, touch, and smell--to explore the history and actuality of Chicago as a site of anthropogenic changes. Holding our classes entirely out of doors, we will move through the city seeking out and documenting traces of the city’s foundations in phenomena such as the colonization of the ancestral homelands of the Three Fires Confederacy and trade routes of many other indigenous groups; the filling in of swamp; the redirection of the river; and the creation of transportation and industrial infrastructure--all with uneven effects on human and nonhuman inhabitants. Coursework will combine readings in history and theory of the Anthropocene together with examples of how artists and activists have made the Anthropocene visible and audible, providing forums for experimental documentation and annotations as we draw, score, map, narrate, sing, curate, and collate our sensory experience of the Anthropocene. “How lovely it is, this thing we have done - together." Beginning with Morrison’s 1993 Nobel Prize Lecture, this class will read (for many reread) two of Toni Morrison’s novels that pose the house and household as a “site of memory” in which to dramatize gendered histories of race in North America. Our class will annotate together Beloved and A Mercy with the essays, films, poetry of various scholars, in addition to some of Morrison’s literary critical and historical writings. Our in-depth reading of these two works will provide a foundation for engaging in ongoing debates about race and writing in literary studies, black feminists critiques of the classroom, and histories of race-based slavery in North America. If, as Morrison contends, “language” teaches us “how to see without pictures” and that “language alone protects us from the scariness of things with no names,” we will aim to hold language close as we consider “what moves at the margin. What it is to have no home in this place. To be set adrift from the one you knew. What it is to live at the edge of towns that cannot bear your company.” The last twenty years in American letters has exhibited a turn toward autofiction: works of literature at least in part fictitious in which the protagonist and narrator bear the same name as the author (and some of the latter’s history). This course investigates this turn by way of a number of exemplary literary texts (those of John Edgar Wideman, Philip Roth, and Sheila Heti, among others) while investigating the workings of the parts of speech on which it seemingly turns: “I.” Around the turn into the twenty-first century, psychology "went neurological": human struggles that had long been viewed as expressions of complex inner conflicts and interpersonal dynamics began more and more to be described, and treated, as forms of brain disease. A 2009 essay, "The Rise of the Neuro-Novel," worried about ways this shift might wreak havoc on the fiction-writer's art. More recently, however, theories of neurodivergence have pushed back against some of the pathologizing language of abnormal psychiatry, while pop-Freudian stories of trauma seem omnipresent in novels, TV, and film. This class asks how this turmoil in accounts of personhood has played out in fiction from the 1990s through the present, and, in particular, its effects on narrative form. What do tales of psychiatric diagnosis have to do with detective fiction? Can a trauma narrative be written without a "self"? What happens when magical realism infiltrates stories of psychic development? Or when Western and non-Western accounts of interiority collide? Authors to be read include Ian McEwan, Helen Oyeyemi, Jonathan Lethem, Aimee Bender, Raven Leilani, Tom McCarthy, and others; we'll read these together with materials from contemporary philosophy, psychology, the history of science and medicine, and literary and cultural criticism. What knowledge about ourselves can photographs provide? Can photographs change the way we see ourselves--collectively, individually? Photography has been around for almost 200 years, yet its dominance in our lives seems only to increase. This course examines photography’s influence on our everyday lives, particularly on conceptions and portrayals of the self. We will see how theorists have grappled with the phenomenon of photography, engaging the written word to address its conundrums, dangers, and attractions. With the help of these theorists, we will question the promises that photographs seem to make about representing the world. The purpose of this course is also, however, to take seriously the affective, documentary power of photography. We will thus analyze the creative use of photographs in the non-fiction (or nearly non-fiction) of major 20th- and 21st-century writers (philosophers, critics, journalists, essayists, poets, novelists, activists). Photography will emerge as a productive medium for navigating issues of memory, identity, race, gender, authenticity, agency, publicity, and art. With keen attention to the different capabilities of writing and photography, we will explore the dynamics of self-expression, the ethics of representing others, and the politics of image-text depictions. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales is a wildly experimental collection of narrative poetry that assembles rhetorically, conceptually, and affectively incongruous material in ways that challenge medieval and modern notions of aesthetic form. This course will explore the poetry’s aesthetic strangeness in relation to its probing of medieval social forms, including polities and the hierarchies that shape them, organizations of gender, sexuality, and the human body, figures of otherness such as the Jew and the Saracen, and figures of intimate otherness such as Christ, Mary, the child, and courtly and other love objects. Those taking the course for graduate credit will also read a variety of other materials from medieval culture, scholarly work on Chaucer and the middle ages, and theoretical engagements with the course’s conceptual topics. This course offers a representative view of foundational and recent fashion theory and history, with a historical focus on the long modern era extending from the eighteenth century to the present. While engaging the general aesthetic and commercial phenomenon of fashion, we will also devote special attention to fashion as a discourse preoccupied with the problem of cultural change—the surprisingly difficult question of how and why change does or does not happen. We will aim for a broader appreciation of fashion’s inner workings, but we will also confront the long tradition of thinking culture itself through fashion, to ask whether and how we might also do the same. This course familiarizes students with the perspectives, debates, and attitudes that characterize the contemporary field of postcolonial theory, with critical attention to how its interdisciplinary formation contributes to reading literary works. What are the claims made on behalf of literary texts in orienting us to other lives and possibilities, and in registering the experiences of displacement under global capitalism? To better answer these questions, we read recent scholarship that engages the field in conversations around gender, affect, climate change, and democracy, to think about the impulses that animate the field, and to sketch new directions. We survey the trajectories and self-criticisms within the field, looking at canonical critics (Fanon, Said, Bhabha, Spivak), as well as reading a range of literary and cinematic works by writers like Jean Rhys, E.M. Forster, Mahasweta Devi, Derek Walcott, Arundhati Roy, and Salman Rushdie). This course aims to explore the messy territory between the scientific, the magical and the religious in the sixteenth and seventeenth century. Readings will draw on scholarship in the history of science, by writers such as Frances Yates and Steven Shapin, and on period reflections on the pursuit of knowledge by thinkers such as Francis Bacon, Thomas Browne Margaret Cavendish and Robert Boyle, as well as representations of occult knowledge in the period's literature. Readings may include Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, Jonson's The Alchemist, selections from Spenser's The Faerie Queene, and Bacon's The New Atlantis. This class will think about the reception of the Renaissance, in scholarship and popular culture, or from Burkhardt to Beyonce. What is at stake in the term? What does it mean to periodize a Western cultural past in this way, or to be founding a Renaissance in the present? Readings will include seminal accounts of the Renaissance by thinkers such as Jacob Burkhardt, Aby Warburg, Paul Oscar Kristeller and Joan Kelly, as well as contemporary cultural objects ranging from the film Shakespeare in Love to the fiction of Hilary Mantel and work in the visual arts by artists such as Kehinde Wiley and Harmonia Rosales. How much can you ever really know someone else? In this course, we take up the inscrutability of others through a range of narratives about - politically, socially, and geographically - distant others from the early 20th century. Texts include fiction, documentary film, and critical theory around transnationalism, contact zones and ethnography). Some of these texts meditate on the general problem of living with others. Others take on the limits of empathy, access, and friendship whether explicitly or in their formal arrangement. Specifically, we focus on works that engage with an ethics or “work on the self” as a preliminary to having knowledge of others. We will be guided by primary readings that likely include Claude Levi-Strauss, Kazuo Ishiguro, Werner Herzog, Maggie Nelson, Amitav Ghosh, and J.M. Coetzee. Today, Jane Austen is one of the most famous (perhaps the most famous), most widely read, and most beloved of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British novelists. In the 200 years since her authorial career, her novels have spawned countless imitations, homages, parodies, films, and miniseries – not to mention a thriving “Janeite” fan culture. For just as long, her novels have been the objects of sustained attention by literary critics, theorists, and historians. For example, feminist scholars have long been fascinated by Austen for her treatments of feminine agency, sociality, and desire. Marxists read her novels for the light they shed on an emergent bourgeoisie on the eve of industrialization. And students of the “rise of the novel” in English are often drawn to Austen as an innovator of new styles of narration and a visionary as to the potentials of the form. This course will offer an in-depth examination of Austen, her literary corpus, and her cultural reception as well as a graduate-level introduction to several important schools of critical and theoretical methodology. We will read all six of Austen’s completed novels in addition to criticism spanning feminism, historicism, Marxism, queer studies, postcolonialism, and psychoanalysis. Readings may include pieces by Sara Ahmed, Frances Ferguson, William Galperin, Deidre Lynch, D.A. Miller, Edward Said, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, and Raymond Williams. This course examines Hemispheric Studies approaches to the literatures and cultures of the Americas, which combines a commitment to comparatism with attention to the specificities of local contexts ranging from the Southern Cone to the Caribbean to North America. Theories drawn from American Studies, Canadian Studies, Caribbean Studies, Latin American Studies, Poetry and Poetics, Postcolonial Studies, and U.S. Latinx Studies will be explored in relation to literature written primarily but not exclusively in the 20th and 21st centuries by writers residing throughout the Americas. We’ll examine recent, innovative studies being published by contemporary scholars working with Hemispheric methods across several fields. We’ll also consider the politics of academic field formation, debating the theories and uses of a method that takes the American hemisphere as its primary frame yet does not take the U.S. as the default point of departure; and the conceptual and political limitations of such an approach. No knowledge of Spanish, French, or Portuguese is required. This course explores games created by, for, or about the Black diaspora, though with particular emphasis on the United States. We will analyze mainstream “AAA” games, successful independent and art games, and educational games. Beyond video games, we will take a comparative media studies perspective that juxtaposes video games with novels, films, card games, board games, and tabletop roleplaying games. Readings will be drawn from writing by Frantz Fanon, Noah Wardrip-Fruin, Lindsay Grace, Saidiya Hartman, Sarah Juliet Lauro, Achille Mbembe, Fred Moten, Frank B. Wilderson, and others. The emphasis of the course will be on critical theory and cultural studies approaches to Black games. This combination of topics may seem counterintuitive insofar as games are sometimes approached as a lightweight cultural medium whereas Blackness is a serious cultural, sociopolitical, and historical concept. Resisting this frame, we approach games as a form that enables experiments with life in a historical moment characterized by digital media, telecommunication networks, and racial capitalism. This is not a course for the craven. In this class, we focus on literature, film, history, and theory that deal with biological and social reproduction, motherhood and the politics of the home and family, and domestic and sexual labor. Our readings and viewings are centered in the U.S. and span the early twentieth century through the present—and we approach the above themes and structures in relation to the troubled and uneven histories of race, gender, and class that shape them. To this end, we will learn about the history of eugenics and sterilization; the afterlife of slavery and racist (anti-Asian) U.S. immigration policy; settler colonialism and the Native American reservation system; state policing of family and kinship structures; developments in reproductive and gender-affirming biotechnology; and the thorny politics of sex work. At the same time, we will be equally interested in the ways that activists, theorists, and other cultural producers have pushed against oppressive policies and structures to imagine and fight for reproductive justice and liberation at the intersection of race, labor, and gender. We spend time, for example, with Black and Native feminists, Marxist social reproduction theorists, family abolitionists, and sex worker’s rights activists. Readings and viewings may include: Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Tillie Olsen, Gayl Jones, Fae Myenne Ng, Louise Erdrich, Lizzie Borden, Barbara Loden, Amy Heckerling, and the International Wages for Housework Campaign. This course introduces students to methods and debates in the history of reading by studying readers in Britain and the US during the long nineteenth century. Our discussions and readings will take up a range of questions: how did nineteenth-century readers learn to read? What practices of reading did they consider valuable, and which did they consider inept or shameful? With an eye to technological innovation and political change, we'll consider the effects of new printing techniques, railroads, and the expansion of public education. Through work at the Special Collections Research Center, students will develop hands-on familiarity with the material forms that shape and reflect the reading practices of the period. Focusing our investigation through a sequence of case studies of key works of fiction, we'll also spend a substantial portion of our time reading scholarship: we'll learn from current research on marginalized readers, reading societies, serialization, reading out loud, professionalized academic reading, and the circulation of pirated text. This course seeks to provide a setting in which graduate students in English, prior to their first formal teaching assignment at this institution, can explore some of the elements of classroom teaching. With the recognition that not all our students will teach at the graduate level, the course is intended primarily as an introduction to teaching undergraduate English. While emphasizing the practical issues of classroom instruction, the class includes theoretical readings on pedagogy to help students reflect on and talk about their practice. Students will have significant opportunities to practice conceiving, designing, and running a college-level course in English, e.g., the opportunity to construct a sample syllabus, to lead a mock-classroom discussion, to grade a common paper. This course seeks to provide a setting in which graduate students in English, prior to their first formal teaching assignment at this institution, can explore some of the elements of classroom teaching. With the recognition that not all our students will teach at the graduate level, the course is intended primarily as an introduction to teaching undergraduate English. While emphasizing the practical issues of classroom instruction, the class includes theoretical readings on pedagogy to help students reflect on and talk about their practice. Students will have significant opportunities to practice conceiving, designing, and running a college-level course in English, e.g., the opportunity to construct a sample syllabus, to lead a mock-classroom discussion, to grade a common paper. This course seeks to provide a setting in which graduate students in English, prior to their first formal teaching assignment at this institution, can explore some of the elements of classroom teaching. With the recognition that not all our students will teach at the graduate level, the course is intended primarily as an introduction to teaching undergraduate English. While emphasizing the practical issues of classroom instruction, the class includes theoretical readings on pedagogy to help students reflect on and talk about their practice. Students will have significant opportunities to practice conceiving, designing, and running a college-level course in English, e.g., the opportunity to construct a sample syllabus, to lead a mock-classroom discussion, to grade a common paper. This course will introduce students to recent debates in the environmental humanities and simultaneously to a range of creative interventions across fiction, documentary prose, poetry, and the visual arts spurred by the effects of what has come to be named the Anthropocene epoch (despite substantive challenges to the term that we will address)—in a moment of perceived grave environmental crisis. We will consider the differences between, and the potential imbrication of, critical/theoretical and imaginative responses to seemingly insurmountable challenges to the biosphere and their outsized effects on underserved communities. Students will, in turn, be asked to respond critically to the works at hand, but also to conduct their own experimental research and on-site fieldwork in Chicago on an environmental issue of their choosing. This class takes as its starting point the medieval transition from orality to literacy. When, where, and how did this transition supposedly take place? What has been at stake in modern narratives of the change? With this transition as our case study, the class examines conjunctions of anthropology, linguistics, medieval studies, media history, and literary history, as these disciplines have contended over the (re)emergence of European literacy. From there, we consider broader issues in world literature and the politics of time, about the comparative study of premodern literatures, western theories of modernization, and the ongoing life of “orature” and oral transmission. This class will ask after the different forms taken by the collective in nineteenth-century American writing, as a way into theorizing tensions within the notion of collectivity in a broader context. When abstractions such as "the social," "the people," "the public," "humanity," "life," or "the body politic" are employed in these texts and elsewhere, what forms the referent of such terms? How are they conceived to hold together, and what is their relation as aggregates to the individuals or individual entities of which they are composed? How do they relate to other understandings of collectivity, some of which may themselves be present within a given example? What is the relation between modes of theorizing collectivity and literary mode or genre? We will explore these and other related questions as well as congruent topics such as democracy, affect, attachment, the crowd, nationhood, sociability, and so forth. Our literary examples will be derived from such authors as Stowe, Harper, Hawthorne, Melville, Whitman, James, Chesnutt, and Hopkins, whom we will read together with theoretical writings both from the period and from contemporary scholarship in literary criticism as well as social and political theory. In this course we will examine the expansion of print during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and its relationship to the social history of reading. One of the most striking features of this so-called “Print Revolution” was the extension of reading material to new groups of readers: by the end of the nineteenth century, more women, working-class, and child readers existed than ever before. In what distinctive ways did these groups participate in print and manuscript culture? What did they read and to what ends? How did literary texts represent, herald, instruct, or proscribe new readers, and how did new readers comply with, subvert, misunderstand, adapt, or otherwise interact with the texts they read? How did the extension of the “reading habit” to new groups of readers impact the political revolutions, intellectual paradigms, and social upheavals of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries? And finally, what kinds of evidence can literary scholars draw upon to make what kinds of claims about reading and readers in the past? We will approach these questions through the lenses of popular literature (especially ballads, chapbooks, satire, and romance) and with the help of literary, historical, and sociological scholarship. This proseminar surveys the advanced study of American culture as it is currently practiced at the University of Chicago. Seminar members read and discuss recent work by and then meet with faculty specialists from departments and programs in the Humanities and Social Sciences as well as from the the Divinity School, the Law School, and the Booth School of Business. Though interested in how different disciplines frame questions and problems, we will be attuned to convergences in themes, approaches, and methods. During the last half of our seminar meetings our authors will join us for a focused discussion of their work. Many of our guests will also deliver public lectures the day before visiting the seminar. This proseminar surveys the advanced study of American culture as it is currently practiced at the University of Chicago. Seminar members read and discuss recent work by and then meet with faculty specialists from departments and programs in the Humanities and Social Sciences as well as from the the Divinity School, the Law School, and the Booth School of Business. Though interested in how different disciplines frame questions and problems, we will be attuned to convergences in themes, approaches, and methods. During the last half of our seminar meetings our authors will join us for a focused discussion of their work. Many of our guests will also deliver public lectures the day before visiting the seminar.
2205	dbpedia	1	12	https://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Chans-Chance-Screenplay-Lost/dp/155742702X	en	Amazon.com			[ "https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/captcha/twhhswbk/Captcha_vzevtciqnb.jpg", "https://fls-na.amazon.com/1/oc-csi/1/OP/requestId=T1DJ2X4TT1SFXRTBZYH0&js=0" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null		en			null	Enter the characters you see below Sorry, we just need to make sure you're not a robot. For best results, please make sure your browser is accepting cookies.
2205	dbpedia	0	67	https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Phil-Karlson/627545	en	Phil Karlson	https://kids.britannica.…-07-14-17-A2.jpg	https://kids.britannica.…-07-14-17-A2.jpg	[ "https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=160638381132823&ev=PageView&noscript=1", "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/activity;dc_iu=/15510053/DFPAudiencePixel;ord=1;dc_seg=806891421", "https://kids.britannica.com/resources/img/BkidsLogoDesktop.png", "https://kids.britannica.com/resources/img/BkidsLogoTruncated.png", "https://cdn.britannica.com/91/1491-004-6581ECB0.jpg?w=300&h=300&q=85", "https://cdn.britannica.com/90/132490-004-282BC06E.jpg?w=300&h=300&q=85", "https://kids.britannica.com/resources/img/tour/icon-inspire.png", "https://kids.britannica.com/resources/img/tour/icon-inform.png", "https://kids.britannica.com/resources/img/tour/icon-educate.png", "https://kids.britannica.com/resources/img/tour/icon-subscribe-yellow.png" ]	[]	[]	[ "Phil Karlson", "encyclopedia", "encyclopaedia", "article" ]	null	[]	null	(1908–85). American director Phil Karlson made movies in a variety of genres. However, he was probably best known for his film noirs of the 1950s. Karlson was born Philip N.…	en	/resources/icons/favicons/bkids/bkids-favicon-57c.png	Britannica Kids	https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Phil-Karlson/627545	(1908–85). American director Phil Karlson made movies in a variety of genres. However, he was probably best known for his film noirs of the 1950s. Karlson was born Philip N. Karlstein on July 2, 1908, in Chicago, Illinois. While studying law at Loyola Marymount University in California, he took a job at Universal in the props department. He soon focused on a career in Hollywood, and in the early 1930s he became an assistant director, eventually working on more than 35 films. In 1944 Karlson directed his first feature, the comedy A WAVE, a WAC, and a Marine. His movies during the rest of the decade included the comedy G.I. Honeymoon (1945), the musical Swing Parade of 1946 (1946), and the westerns Adventures in Silverado and Thunderhoof (both 1948). He also made films for several series, including Behind the Mask (1946), which featured the superhero the Shadow, and Dark Alibi (1946), an entry in the Charlie Chan franchise. The musical Ladies of the Chorus (1948) is of historical interest for featuring Marilyn Monroe in her first major role. In 1952 Karlson directed Scandal Sheet, a film noir based on Samuel Fuller’s novel The Dark Page. The taut thriller centers on a newspaper editor (played by Broderick Crawford) who accidentally kills his estranged wife. Kansas City Confidential (1952) was another effective noir, with John Payne as an ex-convict seeking retribution after nearly being framed for an armed robbery. Payne also starred in the violent 99 River Street (1953), this time portraying a former prizefighter who becomes the prime suspect in his wife’s murder. Karlson briefly took a break from noirs to make the western They Rode West (1954) and Hell’s Island (1955), an adventure starring Payne as a down-on-his-luck bouncer who is hired to find an elusive jewel. In 1955 Karlson returned to crime dramas with Tight Spot, starring Ginger Rogers as a former moll serving a prison term and Edward G. Robinson as the attorney offering her freedom in exchange for her testimony against a gangster. That same year Karlson directed 5 Against the House, a heist picture (based on a novel by Jack Finney) about college students who try to rob a Nevada nightclub, and The Phenix City Story, an exposé of corruption in an Alabama town that was inspired by true events. The Brothers Rico (1957), based on a story by Georges Simenon, was another crime drama, with Richard Conte as an accountant trying to protect his gangster brothers who have been targeted for murder. Karlson ended the decade with Gunman’s Walk (1958), a western starring Van Heflin as a rancher having problems with his sons. In 1960 Karlson directed his first war film, Hell to Eternity, which was based on the story of World War II hero Guy Gabaldon. That same year he helmed the crime drama Key Witness, which featured Dennis Hopper as a gang leader. In 1961 Karlson directed the spy adventure The Secret Ways, with Richard Widmark as an American mercenary hired to smuggle a famous scholar out of Hungary, and The Young Doctors, a medical soap opera based on a popular novel by Arthur Hailey. Next came Kid Galahad (1962), an Elvis Presley musical.
2205	dbpedia	0	88	https://www.elliottbaybook.com/events	en	Elliott Bay Book Company	https://cdn1.bookmanager…mtime=1660069084	https://cdn1.bookmanager…mtime=1660069084	[]	[]	[]	[ "books", "bookstore", "seattle", "washington" ]	null	[]	null	Full-service, general bookstore operating since 1973. Frequent author events, cafe, over 150,000 titles	en	https://cdn1.bookmanager…pg?cb=1565202793		null
2205	dbpedia	3	65	http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews23/mr._moto_collection.htm	en	Think Fast, Mr. Moto Thank You, Mr. Moto Mr. Moto Takes a Chance Mysterious Mr. Moto	http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film6/blu-ray_reviews_78/blu-rays_in_france_/silent-980-banner.jpg		[ "http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/ads/banner_top.gif", "http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/ads/top-main1.jpg", "http://www.dvdbeaver.com/banners/main-bann.jpg", "http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/ads/bottom-main.jpg", "http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/ads/banner_but.gif", "http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews23/a%20peter%20lorre%20mr%20moto%20collection%20v1/cover%20mr%20moto750.jpg", "http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews23/a%20peter%20lorre%20mr%20moto%20collection%20v1/menu%20title%20think%20fast%20mr%20moto%20PDVD_000.jpg", "http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews23/a%20peter%20lorre%20mr%20moto%20collection%20v1/menu%20title%20thank%20you%20moto%20extras%20PDVD_000.jpg", 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"http://www.dvdbeaver.com/banners/dvdbeaver-amazon-germany.jpg", "http://www.dvdbeaver.com/banners/Essential%20Noir%20on%20Blu-ray3.jpg", "http://www.dvdbeaver.com/2005/banner_TOS31.jpg", "http://wms.assoc-amazon.com/20070822/US/img/noscript.gif?tag=dvdbeaver-20" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null					null	Mr. Moto Collection, Vol. 1 Think Fast, Mr. Moto Thank You, Mr. Moto Mr. Moto Takes a Chance Mysterious Mr. Moto In the realm of filmdom, Mr. Moto is no ordinary detective. He is short, relatively unattractive, and has a personal interest in the business of importing rare goods. His drink of choice is far removed from James Bond’s preference for martinis--Moto frequently chooses to imbibe a tall glass of milk. Still, behind the quiet demeanor and gentlemanly manners lies a quick-thinking spy with ninja-like agility and a flair for hand-to-hand combat. Even the guilt of murder has very little weight in his mind. Moto is a master of disguise and can cleverly manipulate even the most intelligent persons. Writer J.P. Marquand, a columnist at The Saturday Evening Post, is responsible for creating Mr. Moto. Marquand, who was under orders to write mystery stories with an Asian hero, rather forcibly conceived the character. In light of the recent death of Charlie Chan author, Earl Biggers, Marquand was sent to Asia to gather background to form a series of stories. While in Asia, he encountered a short Japanese detective who would later become the inspiration for Moto. Marquand translated his original idea into several novels and their popularity quickly inspired the film adaptations. It’s widely considered that the books are superior to the films, but when the films first went into production, they were hardly one of Fox studio’s priorities and were assigned to a B-movie producer, Sol Wurtzel, to handle. The films may have much higher production values than the B-movie label suggests, but the series never fails to follow the formulaic structure that Wurtzel utilized regularly. Although Wurtzel is easily one of the lesser-known film moguls--largely because he stood in the shadows of William Fox and Fox’s predecessor, Darryl F. Zanuck--his B-movie unit consistently made a profit for Twentieth Century Fox, and the Moto films were amongst his finest achievements. Wurtzel wisely recruited Norman Foster to direct the first film in the series, “Think Fast, Mr. Moto” (1937). Foster, an actor turned aspiring director, knew he had to pay his dues on lesser films before he could take on the responsibility of more substantial projects. In an effort to impress his superiors, Foster eagerly offered to share writing duties, which can be a particularly beneficial experience for an unproven director. Foster naively accepted the offer to direct the film without considering the possibility that the first film’s success might encourage the eventual formation of a series. Had he known that eight films would be eventually produced (five of which would have him in the director’s chair), Foster might have been less likely to sign up for such a project. Of all the decisions Wurtzel made, assigning Peter Lorre to the role of Mr. Moto was likely his most informed. Originally, Foster wanted to abandon typical Hollywood procedures and hire a Japanese actor for the role of Moto, but once he was offered the chance to work with Lorre, he immediately accepted. Wurtzel and his superiors were also satisfied with the decision; Lorre had been signed to a contract but was underutilized because casting directors were rarely aware of Lorre’s range and versatility. In the years leading up to his first Moto film, Lorre was searching for a change of pace, which was his original reasoning for signing with Twentieth Century Fox. Lorre’ mesmerizing performance in Fritz Lang’s masterful “M” (1931) was one of the many reasons for the film’s tremendous critical success. Unfortunately, instead of amassing a legion of fans, the public hated Lorre solely because of the character he portrayed onscreen. In a situation where an actor suddenly withdraws from his profession, one would usually question the actor’s talent. However, in Lorre’s case, his performance was so in tune with his character that the public had difficulty distinguishing between the two. Lorre didn’t just provide an impressive performance; it was his physical appearance that allowed him to fully realize his role. Lorre had an innocent and younger looking facial structure in his 20s, but simultaneously, he could appear dark and suspicious. These qualities were particularly important in playing a child murderer, and they’re specifically what attracted Lang to Lorre. Since Lorre and his character, Hans Beckert, had merged as one in the public’s eye, he was ridiculed in the streets and occasionally assaulted for the actions of his character. Lorre would tough it out for a few more years, but eventually Alfred Hitchcock gave him his ticket out of Europe by casting him as the villain in “The Man Who Knew Too Much” (1934). Still, it was evident that Lorre was dangerously typecast, and he became adamant in attempting to re-define his acting ability. The last thing Lorre needed was his name to become synonymous with another new character, but that’s precisely what happened over the course of eight Mr. Moto films. In one of my favorite moments in the series, the character of Marty (Robert Kent) in “Mr. Moto Takes a Chance” remarks [after seeing Mr. Moto], “If I were making a horror movie, I’d cast him as the murderer.” I’m possibly reading into the expression far more than one should, but the dual meaning of the dialogue provokes a resounding feeling of finality in reference to Lorre’s career. Obviously, Joe is referring to the suspicious nature of Mr. Moto, but I have a hunch that the screenwriters were also commenting on Lorre’s inability to escape typecast roles and particularly referring to his part in “M.” It’s quite ironic that the character Lorre notoriously resented had perhaps the most similarities to his own life. From what I’ve heard, Lorre was an intelligent and mannerly person and clearly, his profession exhibited violent and corrupt alter-egos--the two sides to Moto. Although neither director nor star were particularly fond of the Moto films, it’s rather difficult to deny that the series was quite popular during the time of the original releases. Once the series was terminated, important opportunities lay ahead for both Foster and Lorre, but whether the Moto films were responsible is debatable. Lorre dreaded the association he had with the character but went on to provide Hollywood with some of the most legendary supporting performances. Amongst his finest are those of Joel Cairo in the landmark noir, “The Maltese Falcon,” and Ugarte in Michael Curtiz’s classic “Casablanca” (1941). Foster eventually had the good fortune of directing more illustrious projects including three additions to the Charlie Chan series--Moto’s better-known counterpart. Perhaps the two talented men hardly recognized it at the time, but they’re largely responsible for the establishing the benchmark for the present spy/detective genre (i.e. James Bond and Indiana Jones)--a reasonably impressive achievement. Kurtis J. Beard
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1024w, https://lede-admin.racketmn.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2023/12/racket_1080-rgb.png?w=1280 1280w, https://lede-admin.racketmn.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2023/12/racket_1080-rgb.png?w=1440 1440w, https://lede-admin.racketmn.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2023/12/racket_1080-rgb.png?w=1536 1536w, https://lede-admin.racketmn.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2023/12/racket_1080-rgb.png?w=2048 2048w, https://lede-admin.racketmn.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2023/12/racket_1080-rgb.png?w=2560 2560w, https://lede-admin.racketmn.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2023/12/racket_1080-rgb.png?w=2880 2880w" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2024-08-05T16:41:26+00:00	Plus week two of the Fringe, Disco Death's b-day, and 'Jaws' in the park.	en	https://lede-admin.racke…080_icon-rgb.png		https://racketmn.com/pickup-truck-opera-nershfest-street-art-in-downtown-this-weeks-best-events	Welcome to Event Horizon, your weekly roundup of the best events in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and beyond. MONDAY 8.5 Fringe Festival Week 2 Various Locations Theater fanatics: Your marathon awaits you. Every August, the Fringe Fest brings us a metric crapton of theater meant to be consumed buffet-style. Nearly 100 theater orgs, troupes, and houses are coming to town, so it’s not really cliché to say there’s a little bit of everything here. There will be comedies, there will be musicals, there will be biting social satires, there will be silly puff pieces. There will be gems, and there will be bombs. These are short productions mostly under one hour each, so if you find yourself in the latter situation, it will be blessedly short. But oh, when you find a gem it’s truly magic. Pro tip: Ask people in line or in the theater before the show what they’ve seen and liked to help you find the best good stuff. Plan your Fringe by checking out the schedule at minnesotafringe.org. Through Sunday—Jessica Armbruster Comedy Bang! Bang! Fitzgerald Theater Does Scott Aukerman receive the proper amount of credit for his vast influence on modern comedy, podcasting, and yes, comedy podcasting? Since launching Comedy Bang Bang as a radio show in 2009, the lightning-quick host has showcased entire generations of improv comics who’ve gone on to incredible careers—Lauren Lapkus, Paul Rust, Neil Campbell, Ben Schwartz, and Thomas Middleditch, just to name a handful. Tonight’s live podcast recording at the Fitz will feature fan-favorite Paul F. Tompkins (listen to Herzog listening to his Herzog), plus other friends of the reliably hilarious pod. Be sure to revisit our shoehorned attempt to localize a Q&A with Aukerman from 2022. $39.75+. 7 p.m. 10 E. Exchange St., St. Paul; find more info here.—Jay Boller TUESDAY 8.6 Blink 182 Target Center The latest much-ballyhooed Blink-182 reunion tour—this one featuring the return of prodigal son Tom DeLonge—got off to a rocky start when the band’s all-world drummer, Travis Barker, injured his finger so badly it required surgery. Now, finally, the world’s greatest pop-punk band is at full power. “Edging,” the lead single from last year's comeback album, suggested a return to their self-titled artistic opus from 2003. (One More Time... ended up being... just OK.) Never mind mercurial DeLonge’s (increasingly non-crackpot) extraterrestrial obsession, and forget Barker’s odd turn as a tabloid fixture: Following co-frontman Mark Hoppus’s victory over cancer, the vibes in Blink land appear stronger than ever. The trio’s fun, muscular Coachella set felt like celebratory fan service. Opening are Pierce The Veil and Astronoid. $39-$550. 7 p.m. 600 N. First Ave., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Jay Boller THURSDAY 8.8 Pickup Truck Opera Volume Four: Faust Various Locations Now in its 16th year, Mixed Precipitation’s Pickup Truck Opera returns with a mashup of opera, Top 40 hits, and theater in the parks, gardens, and bluffs of Minnesota. This time they’re tackling Faust, Charles Gounod’s operatic take on the legendary tale where a man makes a classic “buy now, pay later” deal with the devil. This version takes place in the not-so-distant future when Dr. Faust strives to save people on our dying planet before Méphistophélès comes to collect. Add in some new wave disco tunes and Depeche Mode, and you’ve got a thoroughly modern take on a work penned in 1859. Find a list of locations and make reservations at mixed precipitation.org. $5-$45 suggested donation. Through September 15—Jessica Armbruster Vegan Night Market Reverie Cafe + Bar This is the last (for now!) in the summer’s series of Vegan Night Markets hosted by Tried and True Confections and Reverie Cafe + Bar. Head to the restaurant’s secluded patio, sip a cocktail, enjoy live music, and wander the tree-canopied courtyard while you shop plant-based wares from vendors selling art, baked goods, and more. Free. 5-8 p.m. 1517 E. 35th St., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Em Cassel FRIDAY 8.9 Star Tribune Music & Movies: Jaws Lake Harriet Bandshell If I worked for the upper Midwest’s largest media organization, I would simply put an iota of marketing muscle behind the very cool music/movies series my news org plans each August. But hey, I don’t and the Strib doesn’t, so we’re here to let you know that the annual Lake Harriet Bandshell bash kicks off today with a killer pairing: exciting local pop musicians Annie XO and Ber, followed by Steven Spielberg’s endlessly rewatchable 1975 shark romp Jaws. As the Strib marketing team promises/threatens: “Bring the whole family and get ready for a boatload of fun and a night that’ll keep you bobbing up for more!” We’d tease the following weeks of band + movie pairings… but the information doesn’t appear online, as far as we can tell. Maybe this is 2024's sole installment? Free. Event starts at 5:30; movie begins at dusk. 4135 W. Lake Harriet Pkwy., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Jay Boller Lakeside Guitar Fest Como Pavilion This annual showcase of guitar wizardry is full of surprises. The local musicians are always top-notch and at least one of the out-of-towners is a “Wow, really?” booking. This year that honor belongs to Jamaaladeen Tacuma, the veteran bass innovator who’s probably best known for his work in Ornette Coleman’s electric jazz group, Prime Time. But that’s not to slight Ava Mendoza, the avant-gardist who was just in town in May with Bill Orcutt’s electric guitar quartet. As for the Minnesotans, Paul Metzger will improvise experimentally on banjo, Alan Sparhawk will jam with an undisclosed set of “friends,” and guitarist Yohannes Tona presents his new project Made In Abyssinia. Free. 6-9:30 p.m. Fri.; 11 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Sat. 1360 Lexington Pkwy. N., St Paul; find times and more info here. Also Saturday—Keith Harris SATURDAY 8.10 Flavor Fest 2 Indeed Brewing Company Flavor World was just a clothing brand when it launched in 2018, but six years later it’s a whole lot more: In addition to offering printing services, they’ve hosted fashion shows, music fests, art exhibits, and even released a magazine called Flavor Mag. For a look at everything the south Minneapolis-based creative brand has been up to over the past several years, swing by Flavor Fest 2 at Indeed, where they’ll have live music from Miloe, Creeping Charlie, Jonny Darko, and more, along with the release of the second edition of Flavor Mag. Not enough for ya? They’ll also have art vendors and food trucks, and, of course, beer and THC bevs. Free. 1-10 p.m. 711 NE 15th Ave., Minneapolis; more info here.—Em Cassel TGNP Party 2024 Icehouse Totally Gross National Product has been around for two decades (a little longer actually) and the adventurous Minneapolis label is throwing itself a belated 20th anniversary party with DJs, solo acts, and bands playing inside and outside of Icehouse throughout the afternoon and evening. The lineup includes label linchpins like Marijuana Deathsquads, MCs like Greg Grease, veterans like Alan Sparhawk, and relative newcomers like Papa Mbye. Plus the ever-versatile Andrew Broder, a solo set from Poliça’s Channy Leaneagh, and, as they say, much more. $40. 3 p.m. 2528 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis; find more info here.—Keith Harris Disco Death 2 Year Anniversary Disco Death Records Disco Death’s vintage markets are almost always worth a Saturday morning stop—if there’s a better way to start off your weekend than browsing clothing, books, and records with a fancy coffee drink in hand, we’ve not found it yet. This one’ll be extra special, because DDR is celebrating its second trip around the sun. “Two years might not seem that long but for us it's been a TRIP!” the Disco Death guys write, and hey, you don’t have to explain it to us; launching a business is hard stuff. (Revisit Racket’s 2022 chat with the Disco Death guys about their record store/coffee shop/film lab here.) Vendors include Primary Colors Vintage, Siempre Viva Vintage, and Tooth Saint, and there’ll be barbecue. Free. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 721 W. 26th St.; more info here.—Em Cassel Downtown Mpls Street Art Festival Nicollet Mall Did you miss Chalkfest out in Maple Grove earlier this summer? Well you’re in luck, as downtown Minneapolis is hosting its own street art fest this weekend. Take a stroll along the Mall and you’ll find a variety of artists making art, including intricate chalk pieces that trick the eye, large-scale murals on buildings, and aerosol artistry. Indie artisans Jackalope Arts will be hosting a makers’ fair, with over 100 local creators sharing and selling their wares. There will also be opportunities to create art, play giant games like chess and Connect 4, listen to lots of live music, and score ears from food trucks. Free. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Nicollet Mall, from Sixth to 11th Streets, Minneapolis. Also Sunday—Jessica Armbruster Nershfest Inbound BrewCo Nershfest was once a collection of friends who, loosely inspired by Bill Nershi of the String Cheese Incident, crafted Spotify playlists to blast from stages in their backyards. Nowadays, the party has grown into a first-rate Twin Cities block party with a rock-solid lineup of live music (Bad Bad Hats, Raffaella, Lupin, Sleeping Jesus, and China Rider) and a deep roster of food trucks (Cuchillo, KCM Egg Rolls, and Bad Rooster, the latter of whom’s owner has been the subject of culty speculation). An exclusive Mexican Lager riff, Nershi Nectar, will be on tap for the party, which features the titular Nersh on posters as some sort of demonic party animal. We love you, Nersh! Free before 8 p.m., $10 after. 11 a.m.-midnight. 701 N. Fifth St., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Jay Boller Boom Con Boom Island Brewing It’s a free geek party this weekend at Boom Island, where the folks at 2D Con will team up with the brewery for a daylong celebration of all kinds of nerdery. Revelers can battle it out at the all-day Super Smash Bros competition, which is open to all. A ton of authors will be stopping by, with readings and book talks every 30 minutes (check online for the full schedule). A vendors’ mart will offer quirky wares from local makers, and a cosplay contest (at 5:45 p.m.) will feature lots of looks. There will be karaoke in the parking lot all day, pro-tunes in the evening (7 p.m.) by Theology Music, special event-only beers on tap, and a tech collection drive hosted by Free Geek (check here for a list on the kind of electronics and accessories accepted). Free. Noon to 11 p.m. 5959 Baker Rd., Minnetonka.—Jessica Armbruster Augtoberfest Insight Brewing Don’t be alarmed: You still have several weeks before Oktoberfests start up in September. The folks at Indeed are just celebrating August, Bavarian style. For those who are over hazebois, they’ll have five different lagers on tap, including the Schickemode festbier. German (but also summertime-friendly!) eats like wieners and pretzels will be available to snack on as well. Other fun includes hammer-schlagen (the nail game), polka tunes from the Concord Singers, and an artists’ mart hosted by Market Collective MN. Free. 1-10 p.m. 2821 E. Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis.—Jessica Armbruster ONGOING The Long Take Trylon This series brings you just what it says: movies featuring long, uninterrupted takes. And fittingly, it’s a long series, running throughout the summer. But though they all include at least one bravura sequence, these films offer much more than just flashy technique. Orson Welles’s Touch of Evil (showing again tonight and tomorrow) got things rolling over the weekend, and in the weeks to come you’ll get a chance to check out international arthouse champs like Tarkovsky and Antonioni, modern Asian greats like Hong Kong action master Johnnie To and Park Chan-wook, and movies you can never see too often, like Children of Men and Goodfellas. Let me put in a special word for the elegant The Earrings of Madame de…, directed by the incomparable Max Ophuls, a man so in love with long takes that James Mason once wrote a poem about him that began extremely James Mason voice “A shot that does not call for tracks/Is agony for poor old Max.” 2820 E. 33rd St., Minneapolis; find complete showtimes and more info here. Through August 27—Keith Harris Colbert: Sexy, Sophisticated, Hilarious The Heights It Happened One Night is about as classic as classics come, a zany comedy and a reminder of how horny folks were for Clark Gable in an undershirt way back in the ’30s. I only refrain from calling The Palm Beach Story screwball master Preston Sturges’s best because I don’t feel like arguing with fans of The Lady Eve. Both are part of this month-long Colbert tribute, and neither would work without her. But lots of people know those movies, so I am here to praise Mitchell Leisen’s undersung Midnight, a comedy built from synopsis-defying twists and turns that also features Don Ameche as a Hungarian. The series is rounded out by Cecil B. DeMille’s Cleopatra, one of those Old Hollywood extravaganzas that’s more read about than seen these days, and the original Imitation of Life. (They’ll be showing the better known Douglas Sirk version as well, so you cineastes can compare and contrast.) $12. 3951 Central Ave. NE, Columbia Heights; find showtimes, ticket prices, and more info here. Through August 29—Keith Harris Lowertown Sounds Mears Park Proper, functioning cities should rock. With the annual, free, weekly, outdoor Lowertown Sounds program St. Paul is privy to this in ways Minneapolis could really learn from. When this year’s lineup was announced, organizers noted that over half of the acts are new this summer. Non-musical offerings include great beer from Wabasha Brewing Co., Dual Citizen Brewing Co., Utepils Brewing, and MetroNOME Brewing, plus wine from Alexis Bailly Vineyard and a rotating cast of 20 food trucks. Free. 6-9:30 p.m. 221 5th St. E., St. Paul; find more info here. Weekly through August 29—Jay Boller TC River Rats Mississippi River What is Ratagascar? It’s not a place (we checked); it’s not a movie about a vermin chef (we think). It’s this summer’s thematic show from the Twin Cities River Rats, the local water skiing crew that has been carving up the Mississippi River since 1979. Specifically, the Rats say, “Ratagascar is filled with adventure, including high-flying jumps, tall pyramids, powerful balancing acts, and barefoot tricks.” Hm, sounds a lot like all River Rats shows, but there ain’t a damn thing wrong with that. As always, this team of rivertop tricksters performs for free and for the whole family. Bring some chairs and blankets, buy some concessions, and enjoy a Minneapolis summertime institution. Free. 6:30 p.m. 1758 West River Rd. N., Minneapolis; find more info here. Thursdays through August—Jay Boller Keith Haring: Art Is for Everybody Walker Art Center Keith Haring was a hugely influential artist in the 1980s and, whether you know it or not, he still is today. The Pennsylvania-raised, NYC-based artist first gained notoriety in the early ‘80s for his subway graffiti art, adorning unused black ad space with crawling babies, barking dogs, and UFOs. A year or two later, he would emerge with projects above ground, including a billboard in Times Square, a mural on the Lower East Side, and the covers of Vanity Fair and Newsweek. His friends and collaborators included Madonna, Grace Jones, and Jean-Michele Basquiat. Regardless of his meteoric rise, Haring wanted his art to be approachable, accessible, and affordable, so he kept most of his pieces in the public sphere. Though his work was crowd pleasing, it was also political, whether it was celebrating queer love, calling for an end to apartheid in South Africa, or promoting safe sex. Though Haring died in 1990 from complications from AIDS, his prolific collection and enduring messages live on. For “Art Is for Everybody,” over 100 works and archival pieces will be on display at the Walker, including ephemera from his 1984 residency at the museum. 725 Vineland Place, Minneapolis. Through September 8—Jessica Armbruster Skyline Mini Golf Walker Art Center Speaking of stuff to do on rooftops, Skyline Mini Golf is also back this week. While some putt-putt courses aim for putting green realism others go full spectacle. At the Walker, it’s all about the latter, with holes featuring giant hot dogs, mirrored surfaces, tiny odes to the cities, and wacky opportunities to become an obstacle for putters yourself. Don’t expect to work on your handicap here; this course takes mini golf almost to the point of parody as you’ll find yourself testing your skills at ping pong, pool, and Plinketto. Just roll with the chaos–that’s part of the fun. $12 ($10 Walker members and ages 7-18); free for ages 6 and under with paid adult. 725 Vineland Place, Minneapolis. Through October 6—Jessica Armbruster Movie Night at the Green North Loop Green Star Tribune columnist Jim Buchta recently wondered if the new North Loop Green, the new mixed-use tower overlooking Target Field, could be a “model for languishing downtowns.” But why take his word for it? You can judge the development for yourself at this ongoing series of outdoor movie nights, which takes place on the Green’s… greens (the grassy park along Washington Avenue). So far this summer, they’ve screened Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Little Big League, and the MN-made cult classic Drop Dead Gorgeous (a perfect film, we will not be hearing dissenting opinions). Free. 7:30 p.m. 240 N. Washington Ave., Minneapolis; more info here. Through October 9—Em Cassel Warehouse District Live Downtown Minneapolis
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Lee Lenker", "www.facebook.com" ]	2018-08-19T00:00:00	Get the lowdown on how director Jon M. Chu's film diverged from Kevin Kwan's best-selling book.	en	/favicon.ico	EW.com	https://ew.com/movies/2018/08/19/crazy-rich-asians-book-movie-differences/	Kevin Kwan's rollicking satire Crazy Rich Asians, a story of a Chinese American NYU professor meeting her boyfriend's obscenely wealthy family in Singapore, is one of many blockbuster books to get the Hollywood treatment. As is always the case when adapting a book, some notable changes were made from page to screen. Kwan's novel, for example, has a biting tone and follows a wide range of characters, while director Jon M. Chu's film is more of a carefully calibrated romantic comedy. Here's a rundown of the other major differences between Crazy Rich Asians the book and Crazy Rich Asians the movie. Warning: There are copious spoilers for both the book and film below, so read at your own risk. Rachel in her element Though the book repeatedly tells us that Rachel Chu is a successful economics professor at NYU, we don't get a chance to see her in action in her classroom. In the film, we meet her (played by Constance Wu) kicking butt in a poker game as part of a lecture demonstrating game theory and the concept of "playing to win." That's another change: In the movie, Rachel is specifically a professor of game theory, which plays a key role in the film's climactic mahjong game. Seeing Rachel at work gives us a better sense of how much she has to offer her boyfriend, Nick Young (Henry Golding), and the traits that make her a worthy adversary to his mother, Eleanor (Michelle Yeoh). Spring break, woo! On the page, Nick invites Rachel to join him in Asia for the entire summer, with his best friend Colin's wedding proposed as just the first stop on a multiweek trip. On screen, everything is condensed into the span of a spring break, raising the stakes on the amount of time Rachel has to make a favorable impression on the Youngs. The Youngs’ wealth In the novel, the Youngs are such a classy, old-money family that none of the nouveau riche in gossip-heavy Singapore, like Goh Peik Lin's (Awkwafina) family, have even heard of them. They guard their family and their wealth by shrouding both in secrecy. In the film, everyone has heard of the Youngs and their jaw-dropping assets: When Rachel reveals to Peik Lin's family that the Nick she is dating is Nick Young, they freak out. This prompts another change, in that Peik Lin accompanies Rachel to the party at Tyersall Park, Nick's grandmother's house. She gets invited to stay and therefore can help Rachel navigate the rough waters of upper-class society, as well as hilariously select an alternative outfit from the emergency clothes in her trunk. Astrid and Michael Astrid (Gemma Chan), Nick's cousin and one of the only women in the story who looks kindly on Rachel rather than seeing her as a gold-digging threat, gets perhaps the biggest onscreen overhaul. We see a great deal more of her life in the book, opening with her in Paris conducting her annual couture shopping trip, following her to Shanghai to purchase jewels and more. In the movie, she's much more of a supporting character—and there's a pretty significant change. In the novel, Astrid discovers early on that her husband, Michael (Pierre Png), is having an affair, and she spends much of the book chasing after him. She eventually learns that he faked the entire liaison to secure a divorce from Astrid because he can't stand the pressures of being married to someone with a wealthy family and being looked down on by her relatives. Amid all this, she reconnects with old flame Charlie Wu (Harry Shum Jr.), who works to help her rekindle her relationship with Michael out of his love for her. In the movie, Michael's affair is real (at least as far as we're told). Charlie is absent from the proceedings, except for a brief, wordless appearance in a mid-credits scene suggesting that a sequel might delve more into this relationship if it comes to fruition. Additionally, Astrid gets to have a bit more inner strength here, standing up to Michael and his indiscretions rather than pleading with him to return to their home. The bachelor party Colin Khoo's (Chris Pang) bachelor party is still an epic fail from which he and Nick resolve to escape, but it's more condensed on screen. Bernard (Jimmy O. Yang) makes a joke about bachelor parties with dog fights, drugs, and hookers being something any "a--hole" can plan, and ironically, that's precisely the party he plans in the novel. Here though, everything is moved to a large shipping freighter converted to a bachelor bacchanal on the open seas. In the novel, Colin escapes with a few other friends from his school days, but in the movie it's just him and Nick, leaving them open to discuss Nick's desire to propose to Rachel and the challenges he'll face. The bachelorette party Araminta's (Sonoya Mizuno) bachelorette party hews closer to its original version, but there are still a few key changes. In the novel, it's Francesca who antagonizes Rachel at the bachelorette party, speaking loudly about gold diggers and her past relationship with Nick. Later, Rachel meets Nick's high school ex, Mandy, and then at the wedding discovers Francesca and Mandy once had a threesome with Nick. All that cattiness and those major reveals are condensed and take place at the bachelorette party in the movie. Additionally, Francesca is nothing more than a bit player, with Amanda Ling (Jing Lusi) becoming a composite of Mandy and Francesca in the film. Lastly, while Rachel's savior at the bachelorette party is Sophie, a relative of Astrid's, in the movie it's Astrid herself who comes to the rescue, helping Rachel ignore the mean-girl hijinks and opening up to her about Michael's affair. In doing so, she cements a stronger bond between two women facing the pressures and disapproval of their families when it comes to their significant others. Princess Intan In the movie, the wedding of Araminta and Colin features a brand-new character who is essential to showing the families of Singapore just what Rachel is made of. Princess Intan (Kris Aquino) arrives, and Eleanor and her family make a fuss over how the Malay princess has requested a row to herself to avoid contact with others. Rachel doesn't know this, and when rejected by Eleanor, she goes to sit with the princess, complimenting the woman on an article she wrote about microloans designed to help women in need. This impresses the princess, earning Rachel her respect and surprising everyone at the church. Eleanor and Rachel Perhaps the biggest changes in the film involve Eleanor Young. On the page, she's largely a scheming woman, determined to keep Rachel away from Nick at any cost. We hear whispers of the sacrifices she's made for her family, but we don't know what those might be. Additionally, in the book, she doesn't actually meet Rachel until nearly three-quarters of the way through the story. She misses the party at Tyersall Park because she's in China meeting with a private investigator to dig up dirt on Rachel. On screen, the two meet much earlier—at Nick's grandmother's party, where Rachel meets Nick's entire family. This provides numerous opportunities for the pair to interact in ways they don't in the book. Invited by family matriarch Ah Ma (Lisa Lu), Rachel joins the Youngs for a dumpling-making party, where food and conversation are used as metaphors about family and Rachel's potential place in theirs. We learn more about Eleanor's past here—that she was not a favored choice to marry Nick's father (hence her emerald ring, because Ah Ma wouldn't allow her to have a family heirloom), and that she abandoned her studies and potential career once she met Nick's dad and decided to devote her life to family. We get a much stronger sense of what Eleanor has given up and fought against to protect Nick, making her face-off with Rachel and her disdain for Rachel's American-ness bound up in a whole lot more than Rachel's net worth. Finally, the pair meet in a climactic mahjong game in which Rachel lays everything out on the table, including the fact that she refused Nick's proposal, leaving the ball in Eleanor's court. So much is said between the two of them (much of it without saying anything at all), and though she is the primary antagonist, Eleanor gets redemption on screen that she never has on the page: She gives Nick her blessing to propose to Rachel, which becomes evident when he pops the question with Eleanor's custom-made emerald ring. The proposal You can't have a rom-com without a grand romantic gesture, and Nick gets several in the movie—the most notable being two proposals he is denied in the book. In the novel, Rachel and Nick take a romantic getaway to his family's house, the Cameron Highlands, in Malaysia. He intends to propose to her there, but they're interrupted by Eleanor and Ah Ma, who reveal the truth about Rachel's father to her. On screen, there is no romantic getaway and the truth about Rachel's father is vaguer. In the novel, she learns that the man she thinks is her father is in prison and makes moves to fly to China to meet him before being intercepted by her mother, who reveals that Rachel is the love child of a man who helped protect her from her husband's cruelty. In the film, the man is a school friend of Rachel's mother, and she is told all this by Eleanor at the wedding reception. Her mom still comes to visit, but only as comfort for Rachel, not to make amends and explain herself. (It's a welcome change, as it's hard to believe someone as close to their mom as Rachel would be so angry as to refuse to speak to her under the circumstances.)
2205	dbpedia	0	71	https://lfq.salisbury.edu/_issues/48_2/against_adaptation_world_cinema_and_the_politics_of_speaking_to_or_everything_you_always_wanted_to_know_about_gc_spivak.html	en	Against Adaptation: World Cinema and the Politics of âSpeaking toâ, Or: Everything You Always Wanted to Know about G. C. Spivak But Were Afraid to Ask Walter Hill Ivo Ritzer (University of Bayreut			[ "https://lfq.salisbury.edu/images/issues/48_2_imgs/ritzer_imgs/ritzer1.jpg", "https://lfq.salisbury.edu/images/issues/48_2_imgs/ritzer_imgs/ritzer2.jpg", "https://lfq.salisbury.edu/images/issues/48_2_imgs/ritzer_imgs/ritzer3.jpg", "https://lfq.salisbury.edu/images/issues/48_2_imgs/ritzer_imgs/ritzer4.jpg", "https://lfq.salisbury.edu/images/issues/48_2_imgs/ritzer_imgs/ritzer5.jpg", "https://lfq.salisbury.edu/images/issues/48_2_imgs/ritzer_imgs/ritzer6.jpg" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null					null	Against Adaptation: World Cinema and the Politics of ‘Speaking to’, Or: Everything You Always Wanted to Know about G. C. Spivak But Were Afraid to Ask Walter Hill Ivo Ritzer “Is cinema a thinking of the Other?” This is a very important question, and I think that cinema is in fact a new thinking of the Other, a new way of making the Other exist. (Badiou 221) As sophisticated as they may be, discourses both on world cinema and on postcolonial theory rely heavily on an epistemological privileging of the West. Problematizing implicitly essentialist notions of ‘writing back’ and ‘listening to’, this essay argues for a radical deconstruction of any category of ‘original’ and ‘adaptation’, instead developing the idea of a ‘speaking to’ in world cinema that does not run into danger of assimilating the Other. Special emphasis will be placed on works by Walter Hill which singularly realize the very politics of ‘speaking to’ that theorists such as Roland Barthes and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak reflect on, albeit in the aesthetic realm. Consequently, Hill’s aesthetics, and its dialogues with filmmakers such as Akira Kurosawa, John Woo, and Jean-Pierre Melville, will not be analyzed as representation, but rather as a form of creation. To be precise, Hill creates thinking: keeping in mind Alain Badiou’s indispensable lesson that “cinema thinks with images” (Badiou 225). Cinema is produced by images, yet the image does not represent. Rather, it is itself the production of thought. 1. Authors and Subalterns In a remarkable interview, Californian director-screenwriter-producer Walter Hill remembers his cinematic education during the 1960s. “Seeing so many of the [â¦] Japanese films, I was part of this isolated community in east Hollywood”, he says. “Directors were already my heroes. Kurosawa [â¦] One wanted a chance to tell stories in an open, loose, not constricted Hollywood kind of way. At the same time you wanted to work in Hollywood” (Hill in conversation with Markowitz). Walter Hill, himself a ‘director’s director’ and one of the most influential filmmakers in post-classical Hollywood since the 1970s (see Ritzer 2009), addresses several key aspects for any discussion of the concepts of ‘original’ and ‘adaptation’ in this short statement. On the one hand, he openly expresses his debt to intertextual influences, and therefore the impossibility of framing his work as a product of pure inspiration. Put differently, he acknowledges that the author does not write, but rather that she is written. Hence, origin and destination of classical hermeneutics are to be reversed, because an author’s subjectivity is to be understood as the effect of the text. And yet, of course, it makes sense to approach such highly idiosyncratic works as those of Walter Hill through an auteuristic perspective. Not only because, as Adrian Martin recently once more has demonstrated, that there can be no doubt “that the director, while rarely working or inventing alone, is nonetheless the central, organizing point of the creative process, the one who can implement a cohering, systematic vision” (Martin 17). It must be remembered that already Roland Barthes in his famous remarks on the “Death of the Author” by no means makes a case for a general vanishing of the author, his argument is rather about the end of a very specific historical conception of the author-subject: the concept of a romantic genius whose art supposedly draws ex nihilo and must therefore be explained biographically. Against the original genius, Barthes develops the notion of the modern scripteur which is unquestionably situated in the intertext of transindividual structures: she is born simultaneously with his text; he is in no way supplied with a being which precedes or transcends his writing, he is in no way the subject of which his book is the predicate; there is no other time than that of the utterance, and every text is eternally written here and now (Barthes 1977, 145). Barthes is interested in a concrete Ã©criture that he regards as the inscription of a signature in the intertext of generic conventions. Beyond language and style, the synchronic and diachronic structure, this Ã©criture emphasizes a performative quality. The scripteur is thus to be understood not as an origin of meaning but rather as an instance of negotiation which opens rather than finalizes its understanding. From this perspective, any aesthetic form is to be marked as an external part of the scripteur, hinting at a compromise between freedom and memory that enables a gesture of choice. To examine a work in its own special way of writing must therefore amount to dealing with the already generically implemented history of the medium, which is not a history of language (as a product of time), nor one of style (as empirical product), but rather as a history of signs: functions rather than objects. Semiotically speaking: The Ã©criture forms a signifier, while its genre functions takes the role of the signified. In this way, the writing of Ã©criture always emerges as a historical construct, for it signifies the relationship between a work and its context. Each scripteur is thus at the same time a product as well as a producer of the works surrounding him, both an effect and a presupposition of intertextual aesthetics. On the other hand, Walter Hill’s emphasis on Japanese cinema and the works of Akira Kurosawa in particular adds another key dimension in reflecting intertextual relations. Certainly, no tradition in world cinema has left more distinct traces in Hill than Japanese films. Time and time again does his work go back there, and it would be tempting to dissect Hill’s complex reference structures encyclopedically in a cinÃ©phile project: from the knife thrown into an opponent’s forearm in Yojimbo (1961) and The Warriors (1979), the service weapon lost to a gangster in Stray Dog (1949) and 48 Hrs. (1982) or the geysers of gore in Sanjuro (1962) and Southern Comfort (1981). However, in contrast, my concern in the following passages is rather a more theoretical work, as Hill himself states that he is indebted to the tradition of Hollywood, yet at the same time aims for difference. It is exactly the reference to Kurosawa that has to be understood as the decisive mark of difference here. This means that Hill is not concerned with an orientalist ‘cognition’ or ‘understanding’, a kind of aesthetics that somehow is to be essentialized as ‘Japanese’ in the works by Kurosawa. Rather, his negotiation of Kurosawian aesthetics may provide a solution to the most urgent problem haunting Adaptation Studies today, namely the notion that the West produces some form of ‘genuine’ material, while non-Western cultures, especially those from the Global South, just adapt and rework that material. Hence, I argue ‘against adaptation’ as long as the term bears such a colonial imprint, and maybe it does so by necessity. To redress this, the following remarks will explore a perspective that still keeps an inevitable Western perspective â how could it not, coming into existence by the reflection of a White European academic â but decenters the West, sees it in much more receiving terms, and tries to re-frame transcultural adaptation as a ‘speaking to’, i.e. a cultural technique that enables us to interrogate multiple and thwarted trajectories of dialogue across cultures. In doing so, reference must be made to Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s classic essay, “Can the Subaltern Speak?” (1988), in which Spivak wholly rejects a complete dismissal of speaking for others. She explicitly criticizes the self-abnegating intellectual pose that ‘radical’ Western philosophers such as Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze adopt when they claim to reject speaking for the non-Western Other because their own position assumes that the subaltern masses might transparently represent their true interests. Following Spivak, such a self-abnegation only leads to a concealment of the actual authorizing power of the Western intellectuals who, even when they claim to retreat, work towards a consolidation of experience as transparent and self-identical in the process of their very retreat. Hence, a promotion of ‘listening to’ as opposed to ‘speaking for’ still essentializes the oppressed, now only in the form as supposedly non-discursively constructed subjects outside of ideology and interpellation. Finally, Spivak opts for a ‘speaking to’, in which the intellectual neither denies her discursive role nor presumes an authenticity of the oppressed, but still allows for the possibility that the subalterns will produce a ‘counter-sentence’ that might then suggest a new narrative. Altogether, Spivak’s differentiation between a ‘speaking to’ as opposed to a ‘listening to’ and ‘speaking for’ seems to be highly instructive for postcolonial Adaptation Studies, laying out a way to avoid the complicated positionality implicit in the relationship between West and non-West by allowing the latter to be the producer of ‘genuine’ material that is appropriated by the former. Bringing together Spivak and Barthes, it is important to understand how, on the one hand, already the main concepts of Aristotelian philosophy were forged by Greek language, and how they signify an irreducible space of differences on the other hand, so that only a very distant language can give us, as Barthes says in Empire of Signs, his book on Japan, a “glimpse” (Barthes 1983, 48). In this sense, the challenge would be to trace such a Barthesian glimpse that manifests itself in the breakages and gaps of those cultural adaptations that a key Western director such as Walter Hill produces out of his ‘speaking to’ Kurosawa. As an example, I will refer to three films and three characters by Hill: the eponymous protagonist in The Driver (1978), the bodyguard in Last Man Standing (1996) and the killer in Bullet to the Head (2013). These protagonists not only resurrect the damaged heroes of Kurosawa but also create an echo space of negotiation which must be read as a breakdown of meaning itself: to know a foreign (alien) language and yet not to understand it: to perceive the difference in it without that difference ever being recuperated by the superficial sociality of discourse, communication or vulgarity; to know, positively refracted in a new language, the impossibilities of our own; to learn the systematics of the inconceivable; to undo our own “reality” under the feet of other formulations, other syntaxes; to discover certain unsuspected positions of the subject in utterance, to displace the subject’s topology; in a word, to descend into the untranslatable, to experience its shock without ever muffling it, until everything Occidental in us totters. (Barthes 1983, 6) The result of the encounter is a new cultural freedom, throwing into question not so much the Other and her unknown language as the West’s own superiority. We will see how remarkable works such as Hill’s Last Man Standing, Bullet to the Head, and The Driver produce aesthetic tension which shows resistance to ideologies of representation. They show signs of incommensurate difference and untranslatable estrangement that are based on a radical aesthetic politics of speaking to the Other. 2. The Bodyguard Last Man Standing is an official remake of Kurosawa’s Yojimbo. Like Toshiro Mifune’s homeless swordsman Sanjuro â and, of course, Clint Eastwood’s Joe from Sergio Leone’s un-official remake Per un pugno di dollari (1964) as well â Bruce Willis’ “John Smith” arrives in a small town, here called Jericho, where two hostile gangs battle for supremacy, and each assign him as a bodyguard. The Whiskey bottle, initially shot in the desert sands as a fateful vote by Smith, is a direct quote from Yojimbo, where Sanjuro throws a branch at the beginning. The dead white horse on the street a few minutes later already acts as a harbinger of death, as does the dog with a human hand in its mouth in Kurosawa (and the horse with a corpse on its back in Leone). However, the city seems to have been architecturally built in the 1880s, while the design of the automobiles dates back to the late 1920s. In Jericho, the times co-exist eclectically side by side. Syntactic rules are destroyed and replaced by parataxis, defined by an order of hybrid organization. Last Man Standing works by the logic of the heterogeneous: Hill turns a sword-fighting film (Kurosawa) and a western (Leone) into a gangster movie. He transposes the events of post-feudal Japan and the Old West into the prohibition era. By doing so, Hill refers to the actual literary source of the material: Dashiell Hammett’s hard-boiled novel, Red Harvest (1929). The transcultural politics of “speaking to” thus leads from the USA to Japan, from Japan to Italy, and from Italy back to the USA; from a novel to cinematographic adaptation. It works intermedially as well as internationally. Interestingly, Walter Hill himself explicitly distinguishes between ‘remakes’ and ‘adaptations’ and considers his film an adaptation: “There is nothing new in the cinema. [...] Had I done a literal remake, [...] I would have just wasted energy and money. But when you move a story to another place and another time [...] then another story comes out. Not a new, but a different one” (qtd. in HÃ¶bel and HÃ¼etlin 260, my translation). Last Man Standing certainly is an example of a politics of ‘speaking to’ that places its reference material in a way that is heavily reminiscent of a kaleidoscope. Yojimbo, Per un pugno di dollari and Red Harvest are all synthesized, they mirror each other. The kaleidoscopic view ensures continually different configurations of the visible. The old works in the new, the other in the same; a game with variation and modification, with remembering expectation and expected memory, in a truly post-dialectic way, as all elements return, yet always on another turn of the spiral. In this sense, Hill is concerned with dislocations and displacements. He is interested in the variation of repetition. Formal and narrative as well as semiotic traits of Yojimbo and Per un pugno di dollari remain in Last Man Standing. Known elements of the diegesis constantly return, but only to be varied all the more. One could therefore call the relationship of the films cubist: Hill opens his subject into the polyphonic. Instead of repetition, we get a relocation where no meaning can be fixed in the movement between the films and the flow of signifiers which intensifies what emerges as a mental image beyond the visible. Contrary to Yojimbo â and also Per un pugno di dollari â Last Man Standing is a consistently self-referential pastiche. Smith takes advantage of the fundamental conflict of the American gangster film by playing the Irish off against the Italians, both immigrants of the first and second generation. “It was all right out of some dime novel”, is how Smith himself comments on the situation, and hence stresses the artificial nature of the fiction. On the one hand, this is directly related to the literary source, Hammett’s Red Harvest, of course; on the other hand, the artificial quality of the film is being highlighted. All characters oscillate around the boundary of near self-parody, they are generic stereotypes that act and show at the same time that their actions are media clichÃ©s. The Italian gangsters appear as deliberately glamorous as in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather (1972), the Irish act as psychopathically as in Budd Boetticher’s The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960). Both dream of the mythical mobsters in Chicago and try to stylize themselves into gangsters, just like their role models. Thus, on a meta-level Last Man Standing re-performs their performance. The film makes it clear that only second-rate theater is played in Jericho. A tragicomic dimension is added by Christopher Walken’s killer Hickey. “I don’t want to die in Texas â¦ Chicago, maybe”, he hopes in vain. While Yojimbo finally deals with the early post-samurai era and Per un pugno di dollari reflects on the birth of capitalism, Hill’s focus is on generic forms. His film cannot seriously be read as a political allegory of the desolate status quo of an uprooted society at the beginning of the Great Depression. Yet, the a-historicity of Last Man Standing is less affected by a nostalgic longing for a return to history, which seems so typical of late-modern artifacts. History is not replaced; it is already fused with stories. The pastiche world does not function as the death of the real, but rather as its aesthetic supplement. It intensifies the productive potential of physical phenomena. Thus, Hill gives everything that is visible the aura of an unreal real, a parallel and counter-world that only works according to the rules of pulp fiction. The synthetic quality is not being concealed, but rather strongly displayed. Every image is a citation, every narrative situation an ironic game, every sequence a conglomeration of generic myths. The remote scenery is modeled on the Western, the straightforward action borrowed from the gangster film, the dark tone as well as Smith’s voice-over correspond to film noir. Where Kurosawa wistfully staged a morbid twilight of feudal Japan, Hill relies on a floating of the signifier, to which everything becomes a game: even and in particular the bodies of the characters, tattered by projectiles in slow motion montages that formally date back to Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai (1954). However, in Hill, this intense material fetish of the flesh and the flashy (see Figures 1-2) is not a final gasp of melancholy as in Kurosawa, but rather leads beyond denotation and connotation, information and symbolism. It is not an accommodating emotion, but rather an intense affect that emanates from this materiality of the image-sound-assemblages and cannot be grasped in the narrative sense of the fiction. It causes the gaze to slide, and creates an excess of the visibility, which pervades and fills the image. This affect produces not sense, but sensuality, signifiers without a signified, something that is not easily grasped by the intellect. While Yojimbo, and even Per un pugno di dollari still emphasize an oncoming sense of drama, Last Man Standing is to be seen as an expression of an obtuse sense of aesthetic appearance. Kurosawa believes in the one last great narrative, the realization of reality through experience; Hill radically abandons the idea of a reality in favor of the game with ostentatious quotes. The significance lies in the sensual experience of the image-sound effects, the discursive is replaced by the performative. In the end, Hill’s bodyguard “John Smith” disappears back to where he first appeared. With a telephoto and long focal lens, Hill abstracts the vanishing as an oneiric phantasmagoria. In the dust of the desert, Smith seems to just dissolve. He cannot find his way back to the valley of legends, as Kurosawa’s Sanjuro still does. He returns directly to media history. 3. The Killer Where Last Man Standing ends with a voice-over by the protagonist, Hill’s late noir masterpiece Bullet to the Head (2013) opens with one, now spoken by Sylvester Stallone’s hired killer Jimmy Bobo: “The guy I just saved is a cop”, he says, having shot and killed another hitman in order to save police officer Kwon’s life: “That’s not the usual way I do things, but sometimes you gotta abandon your principles and do what’s right.” Like the swordsmen of Kurosawa, but also so many protagonists in Hill’s films, including Hard Times (1975), Streets of Fire (1984), Extreme Prejudice (1987), Red Heat (1988), Johnny Handsome (1990), or Undisputed (2002), this protagonist is another lonely man who seeks to assert himself in a despicable world by almost stoically defying it. Yet, Hill makes his protagonist nearly unlikable. In an inversion of the premise of Hill’s earlier buddy-movie classic 48 Hrs. (1982), in Bullet to the Head the killer Bobo is forced to collaborate with Korean-roots cop Kwon, and Bobo turns out to be a blind racist. Although he has Italian roots and is therefore marked as ‘non-white’ in the sense of WASP ideology, he never misses an opportunity to slur and attack the new partner. He calls him “Oddjob” or “Confucius”, speaks of a “samurai thing” or “white tiger juice”, and answers the question, “How am I supposed to trust you?”, with “Why don’t you read some fucking tea leaves?” Bobo’s orientalist racism is presented as an undifferentiated stereotyping of ‘Asian’ culture, which reduces Kwon to the allegedly ‘essential’ characteristics of the ‘Asian’. At the same time, these striking qualities not only appear to Bobo to be ‘nature’, to him ‘Korean’ is more or less synonymous with ‘Chinese’ and ‘Japanese’. In his discourse, the signifier of the ‘Asian’ functions as general alterity of the self, constructing the foreign ‘Asian’ as static, homogeneous, and inferior. But Bobo’s attitude is by no means that of the film itself. In contrast to positively prejudiced productions such as the Rush Hour franchise (1998-2007), paradoxically inspired by Walter Hill’s very own anti-racist buddy film 48 Hrs., Bullet to the Head undermines all orientalising attributions and refuses any inscription of dominant discourses of power. Kwon does not practice kung-fu, he does not philosophize in the style of ‘Eastern wisdom’, he does not wear ‘traditional’ clothing. Rather, it is Kwon who in the film’s showdown evolves into a heroic subject position and saves Bobo’s life. It is Kwon who not only kills the villain but also gets the girl â Bobo’s daughter. Bullet to the Head thus denaturalises the stereotypical construction of Asian-American masculinity as ‘castrated’ in the hegemonic discourse. Bullet to the Head can thus be considered a thoroughly taboo-breaking text: “In Hollywood’s terms, Asian male sexuality does not exist at all, since major studios do not yet view Asian couples as commercially viable, and Western cultural taboos still delegitimize a white woman’s attraction to an Asian man.” (Gallagher 182) It must be remembered that the ‘ethnicization’ of characters is directly related to their ‘gender identification’. In other words, the ‘color’ of the body implies its gender. Dominant representations of ‘Asian’ masculinity in particular have clear tendencies. In the hegemonic discourse of the West, ‘Asian’ masculinity is demasculinized, repressed or demonized according to long traditions of racist representation. In particular, “feminization” is used as a strategic practice, so that ‘Asian’ masculinity is signified by deficiency. Whether effeminate dandies like Charlie Chan, homosexual villains like Fu Manchu or asexual clowns like Jackie Chan, the characters are always missing phallic attributes. In contrast, Hill’s Bullet to the Head mobilizes traditional signifiers of masculinity in a fluidity that makes them usable for subaltern forms of ethnic appropriation and thus has a decidedly anti-orientalist quality. However, once more the truly progressive achievement of Bullet to the Head probably is not so much its politics of representation. Just as we have seen in Last Man Standing, Hill again aims for an aesthetics of affect that is produced by rigorous formal abstraction. Here, the showdown of the film is staged by Hill not as a shootout, nor as a sword fight, but rather as a fight with fire axes â preceded by Bobo’s diegetic commentary, “What are we, fucking Vikings?” Just like in Last Man Standing, this creates a self-reflexive discourse on the production of representation. In Alain Badiou’s terms, the axe fight could be characterized precisely as “a stylized inflation, a type of slowed calligraphy of general explosion” (Badiou 143). For Badiou, the most iconic representative of such a cinematic calligraphy is Chinese director John Woo: interestingly a scripteur whose Ã©criture is heavily influenced by Walter Hill, and also Hill’s own favorites, i.e. Kurosawa and Melville (see McDonagh). Hill, on the other hand, was planning to adapt Woo’s The Killer (1989) as a Hollywood remake in the early 1990s, before directing Last Man Standing instead (ibid.). In contrast to Woo and Kurosawa, however, the calligraphy of Hill’s Ã©criture appears less as an oneiric choreography in Bullet to the Head, but is much more focused on the physique of his lead actor. Hill’s mise-en-scÃ¨ne of Stallone challenges the aged hard-body, explicitly historicized by Hill through a series of stills from Stallone’s younger years at the film’s beginning. Although Stallone’s body is difficult to integrate into the world he lives in, Hill still focuses on performative acts for his marked yet still muscular body (see Figures 3-4). Clearly, Hill is concerned with the materiality of the physical in its present appearance, the body’s own logic, freed exactly at the moment where bodily excess breaks free from narrative interpretation in Bullet to the Head. Figures 3 & 4: Highlighting the muscular body in Bullet to the Head. In cinÃ©phile discourse as opposed to mainstream criticism, this mise-en-scÃ¨ne of what Tom Benton rightly praised as the “best American movie in years” has been much appreciated: Walter Hill, the director, hadn’t made a movie in 10 years prior to Bullet to the Head. But he made Bullet to the Head like no one’s made a movie since 1943, like film was still young and undefined â and during Bullet to the Head, man, it seems like it. Hill shot the kind of scenes we’ve seen a million times in a million films like he was discovering them for the first time: snap zooms and tilts where you’d expect a stationary low-angle, stuff like that. Only it’s in the editing, too, which is so alive it seems polyrhythmic, like your body’s systems running together. Some of the shots literally burn into the others. The whole movie’s pulsing and alive and on fire. (Benton) With Bullet to the Head, Hill is indeed producing a novel synthesis of classical style and modern abstraction: On the one hand, establishing shots and reaction shots provide a permanent orientation in the diegetic space through the principle of shot and counter-shot; on the other hand, Hill uses zoom effects, a handheld camera as well as rapid editing, all of which give the action a synthetic quality. The mise-en-scÃ¨ne, however, does not result in the signification of a rush, but rather the camera, editing and, last but not least, the bass-heavy sound design epitomize the destructive consequences of bodily performances. In this way, Hill gives an impression of how cinema can be an art of a “pure mise-en-scÃ¨ne” (see Ritzer 2017). He creates an aesthetics of affects where shapes and colors blend into each other, obscure and eventually clear the gaze, again and again. Hence, Hill’s project is exactly the one that G.C. Spivak has shown to be of such importance in Jacques Derrida: a project which is “obliged to develop within the discourse of presence. It is not just a critique of presence but an awareness of the itinerary of the discourse of presence in one’s own critique, a vigilance precisely against too great a claim for transparency.” (Spivak 293) Hill’s approach is precisely not an hermeneutical project of interpreting the Other; rather, on the contrary, it is concerned with the materiality of the objects and the power of their appearances. This is exactly where the performance of the cinematic emanates in Hill, based on signifiers that show and always refer primarily to the act of showing, thus always transgressing the semiotic level of action into formal abstraction. 4. The Driver The Driver is Walter Hill’s unofficial ‘adaptation’ of Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le SamouraÃ¯ (1967). And, indeed, it can certainly be called “the most abstract movie ever made in Hollywood” (Sragow 195). Yet, unlike Melville’s deeply orientalist discourse â which includes the titular moniker for the anti-hero as well as freely invented ‘Japanese’ quotes from the Bushido, i.e. the mythical code of honor dictating the ancient samurai way of life â Hill takes a decidedly non-orientalist approach. Melville for his part already refers to Kurosawa’s sword-fighting films by the choice of the film’s title. Then, in the paratext of the opening he claims to quote from the Bushido: “There is no greater solitude than that of a samurai, except perhaps that of a jungle tiger.” However, Melville merely simulates a reference, because such a quote or a similar one is not to be found in the Bushido at all. The title and motto of his film are a simulacrum of an idea of ‘Japan’ that imagines the ‘Orient’ as the place of an ascetic Other. Hill, by contrast, makes this simulation a consistent program of The Driver: the entire film appears as the radical abstraction of a “shock of meaning” in the sense of Barthes, a transgression “lacerated, extenuated to the point of its irreplaceable void, without the object’s ever ceasing to be significant, desirable” (Barthes 1983, 4). Hill highlights a project of discontinuous materiality and playful cancellation of subjectivity that elicits imagination through obfuscation. In the opening scene, Hill connects the eponymous escape car driver, who indeed is lonely and unnamed like ‘a tiger in the jungle’, by montage with a young woman, the player, also without a name, who watches him at a job. Analogous to Melville’s Le SamouraÃ¯, there is a brief exchange of gazes between the gangster and the witness, until the third central character of the film appears, the detective, who also has no proper name. All three seem to float through the film with vacuous, icy facial expressions, like somnambulist figures, ciphers more than characters. They are condensed to types, have no past, exist only by their function. By eliminating the generic difference between cause and effect, subject and object, an absorption of meaning comes into existence: as mere traces of signs, freed from fixed signification. In Hill’s radical reduction, everything is condensed into mere mechanics. A synthetic world of gestures and rituals is created, and aesthetics are markedly stylized: not only dark shadows, but also pale light and washed-out, very faded pastel colors determine the composition of the images. They lack contours and sharpness, floating through the film like enigmatic silhouettes, often offset orthogonally by Hill (see Figures 5-6). Their techniques of the self do not aim at a form of individuality, rather, through the mechanization of all action, every subjectivity shows a lack of origin, a transformation of life into matter. The Driver gives rise to a semantic fluctuation, a syncope of meaning, forcefully demonstrating that meaning can never be limited to what is said, but always goes beyond the surface and the level of the verbal. In other words, Hill’s visible contains an enigma that the gaze cannot grasp. The driver lives in a small, spartan apartment that recalls Alain Delon’s room in Le SamouraÃ¯. Like Delon, he is barely able to exist outside the realm of action. At one point, he is visited by the player, but he manages to resist her explicit offers, in an arrangement of bodies that is staged planimetrically by Hill. The Driver is too professional to engage privately with the player, never allowing himself the luxury of emotions. Only a relationship of aseptic looks can exist between him and the player. In their encounters, body and facial expressions remain apathetic and as rigid as the professional code of conduct to which they feel obliged. However, similar to the sword fighters in Kurosawa and the hitman in Melville, the driver is not to be understood as a tragic figure because he does not despair of his eremite existence. He commits crime for its own sake, everything else does not matter to him. He recognizes the absurdity of the world, but is unable to revolt against it. Instead, he engages in self-serving rites of action, consequently: to escape in driving. The same applies to the detective, as he also is a true ‘samurai’, and therefore he must be an enemy to the driver. Unlike in John Woo’s buddy-movie The Killer (1989), collegiality between the two protagonists is never on the cards (see McDonagh). From the beginning onward, a fatal confrontation between the driver and the detective seems unavoidable. For the first time, the driver and the detective meet at an identity parade. The driver is supposed to be identified by different people, among them the player. Just like the night club singer in Melville’s Le SamouraÃ¯, she emphatically denies having seen the gangster. During the interrogation, the detective and the driver both explicitly emerge as characters with ‘samurai’ ethics. In analogy to Melville, the antagonists paradoxically do not contradict one another. They are both radical loners, two professionals of the same character type, who come into conflict only by practicing different jobs. In this way, the film pursues a duality principle that abstains from moral differentiation. Hill does not contrast the driver with the detective, but points out how both figures correspond to different sides of the same coin, and how a subcutaneous connection exists between them. Both reduce their lives to the essentials of each profession. Hence, they are undoubtedly homologous characters: on the one side stands the state-authorized policeman, on the other side the outlaw, onto whom society projects its hidden longings. It is he who transcends the limits of bourgeois ideology. But even the detective works on the fringes of illegality. This is tolerated by his colleagues as long as he succeeds. For them, the end justifies the means, too. Finally, however, the detective has to let the driver go due to a lack of evidence. The film does not close with a deadly confrontation. Instead, Hill establishes a form of understanding between these fierce opponents, who face off but do not confront each other, because in the end both have been tricked by the player. As the credits roll, The Driver leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Only so much is clear: ultimately, even professionalism turns out to be a chimera. The detective does not manage to arrest the gangster, and the gangster cannot secure his money. Both have forgotten about the player, and thus made a mistake: both lose. Nothing really is reconciled, nothing is resolved in this movie: The Driver ends with a truly post-existentialist view on protagonists whose lives have been crystallized, completely frozen, and are slowly expiring. This aesthetic even breaks away from Hill’s abstraction of action, that of course, also comes to perfection in the movie’s three big car chase sequences that set a standard for decades to come. Hill’s aesthetics no longer articulate a question of finding oppositions in the reading of the world and the subject, but completely focus on the performance of breaking away of representation, in the transgressing, shifting, slipping of images and sounds. Again, this project is very much akin to the postcolonial criticism that Spivak has in mind when describing practices of deconstruction which do not “attempt to displace their own production” invoking a “text-inscribed blankness”, but rather signify “an ‘appeal’ to or ‘call’ to the ‘quite-other’ [...] opposed to a self-consolidating other”, i.e. the “rendering delirious that interior voice that is the voice of the other in us” (Spivak 294). What remains in Hill’s The Driver is the dense, indeed delirious materiality of pure presence that wraps itself in its own reference, exactly in dialogue with the quite-other that cannot, and should not, ever be approached hermeneutically. In other words, Hill does not explain, he shows. 5. Conclusion The politics of ‘speaking to’ in Walter Hill can be understood as a ‘transcultural adaptation’ of “Asian” cinematic traditions. In the multiple references of his Ã©criture, however, especially to the works of Akira Kurosawa, it is not about the search for other symbols, for a different metaphysics, for another wisdom; rather, much like Barthes’ Empire of Signs, Hill’s aesthetics directly address the question of “the possibility of a difference, of a mutation, of a revolution in the propriety of symbolic systems” (Barthes 1983, 3-4). The politics of ‘speaking to’ as an adapter is not interested in an objective cinema. It is motivated not by a look at the ‘Japanese’ Other but rather by a perspective, forcefully producing imaginative differences. The idea of a sign freed from all reference focuses on the material moment of an Ã©criture, which dedicates itself to those aspects of significance that do not fit into the concept of the signified. As shown not least by the preceding examples, this does not mean, of course, that a pre-sense or an origin of culture that might precede meaning is to be rediscovered. What is at stake is the creation of an after-sense: a traversing of sense to exhaust it. Accordingly, the politics of ‘speaking to’ is not concerned with incorporating the Other. Instead, contrary to this, the politics of ‘speaking to’ explicitly stresses the absence of traditional relationships in reference. It subtracts meaning from signs in order to find affects that are produced materially. Its presence can be seen as a predisposition of significance as well as its dissemination. Hence, the politics of ‘speaking to’ creates nothing less than a major challenge that shakes the drive for knowledge that fuels the subject. The resulting emptiness is completed with the act of filling gaps left by inscription and Ã©criture. Thus, indeed, a truly transcultural space opens up, which exists only in the suddenness of its own performance. With the politics of ‘speaking to’, there is neither an Orient nor an Occident. Any binary between the self and the Other is suspended.
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So here I go,repostin		https://storage.proboards.com/5603554/images/DvmdrpEunRVwnlZSpqje.ico		https://classiccomics.org/thread/18/charlie-chan-movie-marathon%3Fpage%3D3	Post by Ish Kabbible on After watching over 50 hours of Charlie Chan films in a little over a months time,there is no way my efforts will be washed away down the Internet sludge stream. So here I go,reposting the whole magilla. I guess I can't or shouldn't repost all the replies and comments this thread had recieved.Its gonna look like I was some strange voice in the wilderness talking to himself and watching these films at a super-ridiculous pace.Wait...that already is my reputation.Well hope it works,along with the pictures and videos I previously inserted. Post by Ish Kabbible on Charlie Chan in films has an interesting history. First appearing in 1926 as silent 10-chapter serials and portrayed by Japanese or Korean actors. These film failed at the box office. Then 20th Century Fox cast Swedish actor Warner Oland and with the inclusion of sound the films clicked. The Black Camel was the 2nd Oland Chan film. The 1st,3rd,4th and 5th seem to be lost forever due to warehouse fires,deterioration and neglect The Black Camel was shot on location in Honolulu and was about the mystery behind a Hollywood movie star's death. I got a kick out of Chan's bumbling assistant,Kashimo, who from time to time,would come running up from out of nowhere shouting Clue..Clue.. and give Chan some useless piece of info. Then Charlie would send him away on some impossible task. And of course one of the hallmarks of the Charlie Chan character was his wise sayings. Such as when a person tells Charlie his theory is full of holes and won't hold water, Charlie retorts "Sponge full of holes.Holds water" or "Secret to this case harder to determine than alley cat's grandfather" The Black Camel alas has too many characters to make an effective murder mystery. The movie ends with Kashimo once again running up to the camera brathlessly shouting "Clue..Clue..' and Charlie saying "Too late-Save for next case" Post by Ish Kabbible on Charlie Chan In London (1934) Well not really since the whole film takes place inside an old English countryside manor not counting a 2 minute fox hunt. A man has been found guilty of murder and is sentenced to hang in 3 days.His sister pleads for Charlie to find the real killer before its too late. Ray (Man With The Xray Eyes) Milland plays the sister's boyfriend. A quick paced whodunnit,nicely acted . This is the first Chan film not adapting the original novels.Also missing here is the comedy angle of an assisstant or #1 son. There is a quick reference to the prior film,The Black Camel, and a reference that Charlie is married with 12 kids. The DVD also includes a theatrical trailer and a 13 minute featurette regarding the history of Asians as portrayed in early Hollywood and Charlie Chan's impact A fine old fashioned detective tale Post by Ish Kabbible on Charlie Chan In Paris (1935) This movie has the first appearence of Keye Luke as Lee Chan or later to be known as #1 Son assisting his father. Charlie is sent to investigate a bank fraud case which leads to 2 murders,frameups,attempts on Charlie's life and secret passageways thru the sewers of Paris.These films seem to all clock in at approx 75 minutes so they move along briskly. There's a great little dance number in a cafe,a violent dance as if between a pimp and his prostitue. Charlie also packs a gun for his protection-he'll need it since his life was threatened within the first 5 minutes of this movie. This film was thought lost for many years until a copy was found in Europe in the late 70s. What really holds my attention so far in this series is Warner Oland's portrayal of Charlie Chan.He makes him a very likable detective,easy to identify with. Not debonoir like The Thin Man,not handsome like The Saint,not slightly sleazy like Sam Spade. Just a nice family type guy with a great saying for every occasion "Only foolish man waste words when argument is lost. " "Hasty conclusion like gunpowder. Easy to explode" "Optimist only sees doughnut. Pessimist sees hole." The DVD also includes a 25 minute featurette on Chan's creator Erle Derr Biggers who unfortunately died of a heart attack in 1933 just as the Charlie Chan series was gaining steam Post by Ish Kabbible on Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935) First Charlie Chan film with supernatural undertones. Charlie investigates the murder of an archeologist whose body is found wrapped in mummy bandages. This movie has some great and unfortunetly serious bad points of interest The great includes early in the movie some fantastic aerial video of Egyptian archeological sites of that time period including the pyramids and the Sphinx. There is also a small role played by actress Rita Cansino who will soon change her name to Rita Hayworth. A few scenes inside Egyptian tombs are also effective The big negative is the inclusion of Stepin Fetchit, the most unsettling (to modern sensabilities) black actor of his time. Bad enough that Chan is played by a Caucasian actor-at least with respect and as a positive role model. But I just cringe watching Stepin Fetchit go through his routine Keye Luke as #1 son is missing here,but returns for the next movie,I think permanently. Also a reference to the prior movie set in Paris is a nice touch of continuity.Again,a very enjoyable entry to the series. The DVD also includes a 20 minute feature entitled The Real Charlie Chan. This feature is fascinating,about the life of Chang Apana,legendary Honolulu detective at the turn of the century. Erle Derr Biggers apparently researched this man's career before writing the first novel. Chang was a two-fisted detective who specialized in single-handedly breaking up gambling and smuggling rings. He was known not to wait for back-up,instead wading into the midst of the criminal activities on his own. Didn't believe in guns but carried a bullwhip and knew how to use it. Thrown out of windows,shot 6 times-there was no stopping this guy. Set a record for arresting 70 criminals at once by himself and his bullwhip. As the Charlie Chan novels and movies gained popularity,people in Hawaii started calling Chang Charlie Chan. When Chang died in the late 30s headlines all over America referred to him as the real Charlie Chan. They didn't look alike, and Chang resorted to his fists rather than his intellect, but Charlie Chan's creator did acknowledge Changs influence in creating a Chinese detective BTW-in the movie someone asked Charlie if he needed a pair of pajamas for the evening. Charlie said he takes a size 52. WOW Dr. Anton Racine: You have a theory about this, of course? Charlie Chan: Theory like mist on eyeglasses - obscures facts. Dr. Anton Racine: Our local authorities have very clear vision, Mr. Chan Post by Ish Kabbible on Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935) Charlie in China, home of his ancestors,and at a banquet in his honor, a prominent British official is murdered via a booby-trap box. Keye Luke is back for good with this entry. There's fisticuffs aplenty and Keye Luke demonstrates a great flying drop kick down a flight of stairs. See Charlie Chan sing to little children and also admit he's 60 years old. Opium smuggling and more physical violence than any previous Chan flick. A good one although the set dosn't fool me for a second that this takes place in the real Shanghai The DVD also includes a Spanish version of a lost Charlie Chan movie, Charlie Chan Carries On. Completely different cast but uses the same sets and costumes Post by Ish Kabbible on Charlie Chan's Secret (1936) The Chan films,IMO, keep getting better and better in small degrees. This one contains many supernatural elements. An ocean liner sinks off Honolulu and Allen Colby, heir to millions, is presumed dead...but local sleuth Charlie Chan is not so sure, and flies to San Francisco to investigate further. Somehow, the missing Colby is there ahead of him...but is knifed in the back before seeing anyone. Further events revolve around spiritualist Mrs. Lowell, her family of suspicious characters, and the spooky, untenanted Colby mansion, where the body turns up during a seance! Secret passageways,sliding wall panels with mystery hands throwing daggers or firing guns,creepy music,ouija boards and a great seance make this a fun flick I was wrong to presume that Key Luke was back to stay for he was missing-the only negative for the movie. But now I know he'll appear for the rest of the Warner Oland films. The humor aspect is provided by a timid British Butler Charlie Chan actually fires his pistol in this one and for the first time is knocked unconscious via electricity. 8 minutes into the film is a nice aerial shot of San Francisco where you can see the Golden Gate Bridge under construction. And in every movie you get to see a photograph Charlie always carries around him of hs wife and 12 children lined up in a row. It's a cute picture The DVD includes a 14 minute featurette on the history of detective fiction and a 6 minute featurette on Taiwanese native, now American forensic expert known as the Modern Day Charlie Chan Once again,I'm quite enjoying these short films and ready for more Post by Ish Kabbible on Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936) From what I've read from Chan fans, I'm now watching the peak material of the Chan filmography. I don't doubt it because they continue getting better and better. Keye Luke is back adding youthful exuberence and physicality and is finally referred to as #1 son. And who dosn't love a circus setting for a movie? Filmed at a real circus using real circus performers as well. One of the circus owners is murdered and there are multiple suspects. Rampaging killer ape, dancing little folks, terror on the trapeze, lions,elephants,snakes,a beautiful female contortionist (yum) and to top it all off, the whole Chan family are in this film with plenty of camera time. All 12 children.A real fun film The DVD includes the theatrical trailer and a 25 minute featurette with some Chan experts discussing the Charlie Chan films of 1936. As mentioned, it is said that in the 1930s the 3 most recognized movie characters around the world (non-cartoon) were Tarzan,Sherlock Holmes and Charlie Chan Post by Ish Kabbible on Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936) Charlie's friend-a race horse owner,is allegedly killed by a kick to the head by the horse he owns. Chan's investigation has him run up against a big time gambling syndicate. Actual racing footage is included.Charlie Chan shot-man down. Charlie Chan visibly drunk in a few scenes since the director believed Warner Oland played the part at his best after drinking. A nice entry to the series, on a par with the previous. Charlie even gives you some lessons about blood spatters The DVD includes a 20 minute feature on Keye Luke-he was also a great cartoonist,painter and of course Master Po on the Kung Fu Tv show Looking forward to the next Chan movie-it's a big one. Charlie Chan vs www.mastromarcopugacioff.it/Articoli/SanDie/Charlie%20Chan/Charlie%20Chan%20at%20the%20Race%20Track%20(1936)% 202.jpg[/IMG] Post by Ish Kabbible on Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936) Charlie Chan vs Boris Karloff. Thats the way the movie was advertised. Gravelle (Karloff) has been in a mental institution for years having lost his memory. Then his recollections return,remembering how he was an opera singer and how is wife and her lover tried to kill him. He breaks out, seeking revenge. Murder on the opera stage. See Karloff croon. The great character actor William Demarest is also present as a tough guy sergeant who takes an instant disliking to Charlie Chan,refering to him as "Chop Suey Chan". A quick science lesson on how photos were transmitted in the 1930s. Karloff was in great form in this film. Whats not to like? The DVD includes a 20 minute featurette on Director H. Bruce. Humberstone Post by Ish Kabbible on Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937) A top secret gizmo for an airplane is stolen and the pilot is murdered. Charlie Chan tracks the clues all leading to Berlin,Germany and the Olympic Games. Chan in Der Fatherland mixing it up with a nest of international spies. His #1 son,coincidentally, is also there, representing the USA in swimming competitions The Charlie Chan films are at an enjoyable,consistant level of entertainment and this one adds some fascinating historical footnotes. it incorporates some short actual footage of the Olypics including the torch lighting and a Jesse Owen relay race. You also get to see Charlie ride the Hindenberg dirigible. The Berlin police assist Charlie in solving the caper and they come across as sympathetic,efficient good guys. Np mention of Hitler or the Nazi party.In fact, all swastikas, such as the ones on the Hindenberg and inside the Olympic stadium,have been blotted out in the film. Since this movie was released in May 1937, I'm not sure if the swastika removals happened during the initial run of the movie or later. Early in the film,we are introduced to Charlie's 10 year old #3 son, an exuberant,Americanized cute kid who also wants to play detective with his pop.Its weird to hear the German inspector, after a murder, say to Charlie "Mr. Chan,I apoligize.Things like this don't happen in Berlin" 20th Century Fox sure was cranking these films out,proving their poularity. They are being released at the rate of 4 films a year. This DVD also includes an 11 minute featurette on Layne Tom Jr. who played Charlie's #3 son in this movie and who returned in 2 other Chan films. Layne mentions how he admired Warner Oland even if his breathe reeked of booze all the time Mr. Hopkins: [offended] Well, you must think we're all fools! Arthur Hughes: I'm not acquainted with the other gentlemen. Post by Ish Kabbible on Charlie Chan On Broadway (1937) Aboard an ocean liner bound for New York, a lady hides her diary in Charlie Chan's luggage. She turns out to be a girlfriend of an organized crime figure exiled in Europe to avoid testifying against the mob. Now she's decided to return and sing like a canary for money. She's murdered, of course, and Charlie and son aid the NYC police to crack the case Welcome to my home city Charlie. Unfortunately there is hardly anything in the film that’s NYC related. One minute of stock footage during the opening credits, a sergeant trying to speak with a Brooklyn accent and a gossip columnist in competition with a female photographer in getting the scoop But once again, an engaging B-movie mystery tale, fast paced, great character interplay with Charlie and son and all those wonderful Chanisms. There is an uncredited cameo by Lon Chaney Jr. and an early example of product placement with a bottle of Bayer aspirin. There is nothing about Broadway in the movie The DVD includes a 30 minute featurette on the various title locations for the Warner Oland Charlie Chan films. Also a 5 minute featurette on Charlie's Aphorisms Coming up next: The final Warner Oland Chan film Post by Ish Kabbible on Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937) The 16th and final Warner Oland Chan film.This movie was released 7 months before his death.A feud between rival financiers leads to murders and missing bonds.Warner Oland does seem a little weaker and slower than previous films as his alcoholism starts to take its toll.The movie's plot was also a bit convoluted for me to follow at times but still over-all a decent film. Charlie and son's interplay is still wonderful. Harold Huber returns,playing a NYC investigator in the previous film,he's now a French investigator for Monte Carlo.Lots of French spoken throughout the film.If I would rate the prior Chan films a 10, this one gets an 8 The DVD also includes a 17 minute featurette on the last days of Warner Oland. You also get the entire 1929 movie Behind That Curtain -an early talkie that was an adaptation of an Erle Der Biggers novel with a Charlie Chan appearance for the last 10 minutes of the film (pre Warner Oland) The Death of Warner Oland Warner was Charlie Chan.As the years went on, he embraced the character. He would study Chinese culture and calligraphy.He would give interviews to magazines in his Charlie Chan persona. The movies were the cash cow for 20th Century Fox and Warner knew it, parlaying bigger and bigger contracts until he was making $40,000 a film. But at the same time his alcoholism was getting worse and ended his marriage of 30 years. This only caused Warner to spiral deeper. Early in 1938, one week into shooting the next Chan flick-Charlie Chan at Ringside,he excused himself,saying he needed a glass of water and disappeared. For weeks. Frantically the studio finally found him and helped nurse him back to health. To salvage the film.they reshot scences to make it a Mr.Moto (with Peter Lorre) movie, complete with Keye Luke. Fox Studios needed Warner so bad that they gave him a brand new contract for 3 more films and gave permission for him to finish his recovery in his homeland of Sweden. There he contracted bronchitis and in his weakened state, he died in August of 1938. His ex-wife brought his remains back to the US for burial. R.I.P. Warner And there it is, I successfully watched a Chan a day for 12 days. I very much enjoyed them.Too bad 4 movies are missing.And now comes the Sidney Toler version. Onwards
2205	dbpedia	1	11	https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6649638-charlie-chan-s-chance	en	Charlie Chan's Chance: The Screenplay for the Lost Charlie Chan Film	https://images-na.ssl-im…732i/6649638.jpg	https://images-na.ssl-im…732i/6649638.jpg	[ "https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1677798732i/6649638.jpg", "https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1677798732i/6649638.jpg", "https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/authors/1282983100i/224567.jpg", "https://dryofg8nmyqjw.cloudfront.net/images/badge-apple_app_store@2x.png", "https://dryofg8nmyqjw.cloudfront.net/images/badge-google_play_store@2x.png" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Earl Derr Biggers", "Barry Conners", "Philip Klein" ]	null	Read reviews from the world’s largest community for readers. "Charlie Chan's Chance" -- the 1932 Fox motion picture starring Warner Oland as Chan-- is now …	en	/favicon.ico	Goodreads	https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6649638-charlie-chan-s-chance	"Charlie Chan's Chance" -- the 1932 Fox motion picture starring Warner Oland as Chan-- is now considered a "lost" film (the original film materials were destroyed in a vault fire.) Unless a copy surfaces in some remote corner of the world, as happened with "Charlie Chan in Paris," this original screenplay is the closest Chan fans will come to seeing the original. This addition to the film series was penned by Barry Conners and Philip Klein, with added material suggested by Earl Derr Biggers, and based loosely on Biggers' original novel, "Behind That Curtain." Earl Derr Biggers was born in Warren, Ohio on August 24, 1884. Years later, while attending Harvard University, Biggers showed little passion for the classics, preferring instead writers such as Rudyard Kipling and Richard Harding Davis. Following his graduation from Harvard in 1907, he worked briefly for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and at Bobbs-Merrill publishers. By 1908, Biggers was hired at the Boston Traveler to write a daily humor column. Soon, however, he became that paper's drama critic. It was at this time that he met Elanor Ladd, who would later become his wife and who would have a marked influence in his writing.
2205	dbpedia	1	4	https://variety.com/1931/film/reviews/charlie-chan-s-chance-1200410617/	en	Charlie Chan’s Chance	https://s0.wp.com/i/blank.jpg	https://s0.wp.com/i/blank.jpg	[ "https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&c2=6035310&c4=&cv=3.9&cj=1", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://variety.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-variety-2020/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.gif", "https://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel?a.1=&a.2=p-31f3D02tYU8zY", "https://px.ads.linkedin.com/collect/?pid=1429113&fmt=gif" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Variety Staff" ]	1932-01-01T07:00:00+00:00	Earl Derr Biggers' magazine and novel yarns on the subject provide the structure for this chapter, like the others. Biggers also provided the constant philosophical sayings which are delivered through the principal character as a means of sewing the action together and maintaining a regular pace. Chan (Warner Oland) rolls them off his proverbial knife - like 'Some heads, like hard nuts, much better if well cracked'.	en	https://variety.com/wp-c…e-touch-icon.png	Variety	https://variety.com/1931/film/reviews/charlie-chan-s-chance-1200410617/	Earl Derr Biggers’ magazine and novel yarns on the subject provide the structure for this chapter, like the others. Biggers also provided the constant philosophical sayings which are delivered through the principal character as a means of sewing the action together and maintaining a regular pace. Chan (Warner Oland) rolls them off his proverbial knife – like ‘Some heads, like hard nuts, much better if well cracked’. In solving the new mystery, Chan has the help of Inspector Fife of Scotland Yard (H. B. Warner) and Inspector Flannery of New York (James Kirkwood). But as far as really helping they’re just a couple of stooges. Another British detective, who gets into the plot as a corpse, is murdered while working on a case in New York. The path to solution is studded with countless false clues and the all-important erroneous arrest of the juve love-interest team (Marian Nixon and Alexander Kirkland). Three people are killed on the way. One is Li Gung (Edward Piel Sr), the Chinese accessory to the criminal mastermind. James Todd’s too youthful appearance in the heavy role accounts for the picture’s chief note of implausibility.
2205	dbpedia	1	70	https://nestedegg.wordpress.com/2010/10/30/the-female-charlie-chan-suspect-1-part-2/	en	The Female Charlie Chan & Suspect #1 (Part 2)	https://nestedegg.wordpr…pana_sb_crpd.jpg	https://nestedegg.wordpr…pana_sb_crpd.jpg	[ "https://nestedegg.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/cropped-1928_chinwmclbtea_hsa.jpg", "https://nestedegg.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/19280707_bigger_apana_sb_crpd.jpg?w=640&h=536", "https://nestedegg.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/1928_biggers_htourism_crpd.jpg?w=640&h=549", "https://nestedegg.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/acuw_1.jpg?w=640", "https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/c22148340307721e9f3e47e9ff58cf600f01af92335deb686ab6bc4f09d9ec22?s=60&d=identicon&r=G", "https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/ecfdc4455618143a62f2097b0bdaf3d00d1a6de58a70157bc28f01a11b34f0e4?s=40&d=identicon&r=G", "https://nestedegg.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/li-ling-ai-e1266620711433.jpg?w=200", "https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/c22148340307721e9f3e47e9ff58cf600f01af92335deb686ab6bc4f09d9ec22?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/5b74962312c432dd8d944448a4f8512fcaef02adca1dadae05134c9ec3c3b6b7?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/f4c6fa3e02aa4fb643b35a673fe98498b9c8f1f67b1e7f9583b374a26920b1f0?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1ecbf18ff45ed0eec1da31362e5f864963d862f1ac466f64326759b3aa172989?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/c22148340307721e9f3e47e9ff58cf600f01af92335deb686ab6bc4f09d9ec22?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://s2.wp.com/i/logo/wpcom-gray-white.png", "https://s2.wp.com/i/logo/wpcom-gray-white.png", "https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?v=noscript" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2010-10-30T00:00:00	EARL DERR BIGGERS'S 1928 TRIP TO HAWAII Just what was Charlie Chan's creator doing in Hawaii in 1928? He was meeting Chang Apana for the first time -- the Chinese police detective that many (including most Honoluluans of the time) credit as the real life inspiration for Charlie Chan. Two Chan novels had already been…	en	https://s1.wp.com/i/favicon.ico	In Search of Lily Wu	https://nestedegg.wordpress.com/2010/10/30/the-female-charlie-chan-suspect-1-part-2/	EARL DERR BIGGERS’S 1928 TRIP TO HAWAII Just what was Charlie Chan’s creator doing in Hawaii in 1928? He was meeting Chang Apana for the first time — the Chinese police detective that many (including most Honoluluans of the time) credit as the real life inspiration for Charlie Chan. Two Chan novels had already been made into films and Biggers was enough of a big shot for the Hawaii Tourist Bureau to stage a photo shoot with him at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel with a “fake” Charlie Chan. (Photo below taken from the well-researched article on Biggers by Barbara Gregorich) Given the hoopla that surrounded Biggers’s visit and Juanita Sheridan’s interest in writing fiction, she was probably well-aware of his presence in Hawaii. Who knows, maybe she even ran into him on the island while searching for her wayward husband Ross Sr. According to Gregorich’s article, Biggers was recuperating in Hawaii after working 7 days a week to finish BEHIND THAT CURTAIN and gathering information for his fourth Chan novel THE BLACK CAMEL, the second Chan novel set in Hawaii and the first to mention Chan’s daughter Rose who is next in line after Number One Son. Most likely Biggers had already started writing notes for THE BLACK CAMEL when he returned to California on the S.S. Maui in August 1928, so any chance meetings with interesting passengers might have influenced a scene, a character or a situation. For a budding author like Sheridan, having Biggers aboard the same ship, must have set her thinking about her own writing and the older writer’s formula for success — A Chinese sleuth and an exotic setting. For both writers, you would think that a young woman traveling alone on the same ship would draw attention, especially if she was the only young Chinese American woman on board — To determine whether the 7-day trip on the S.S. Maui influenced the writing of Biggers or Sheridan, I had to see if I could find out more about that young woman Wai Sue Chun. WHO WAS WAI SUE CHUN? It turns out I had read about Wai Sue while flipping through the pages of CHINESE WOMEN PIONEERS IN HAWAII, edited by May Lee Chung and Dorothy Jim Luke. My librarian friend Patrick McNally had recommended the book when he heard that I was searching for a Chinese American woman with the background of Lily Wu – university educated, cosmopolitan, with a Hawaii background. A group called the Associated Chinese University Women, formed in 1931, published the book, and it featured short biographies of some of the founding members of the Hawaii club. Many of the women written about were 2nd generation Chinese Americans who had attended mainland universities in the 1920s and 30s. Wai Sue Chun was one of them. According to the biography written by Wai Sue’s children, Wai Sue was born on Christmas Day in 1905 and was a year older than Juanita Sheridan. In 1928 she graduated wtih a B.A. degree in Education from the University of Hawaii and that fall she attended Columbia University in NYC for graduate studies — hence her trip with Earl Derr Biggers and Juanita Sheridan on the S.S. Maui. Wai Sue’s father had bought her a fur coat to keep her warm in the cold New York winter and while in Hawaii she drove a Chevrolet touring car, an unusual thing for Chinese young woman of the time. My heart started beating fast when I read this bio. For the first time here was evidence of a Chinese woman who had the makings of a real life Lily Wu — a contemporary of Sheridan’s, an educated woman who had spent time in Hawaii and NYC, and a woman who is distinguished by her expert driving abilities and ownership of a fur coat. When I discovered that Wai Sue had named one of her daughters Juana and another Lorraine, I was even more positive that I had found a possible real life version of Lily Wu. Juanita Sheridan’s middle name was Lorraine. But the photo staring out at me, from the pages of the book didn’t match my idea of who Lily Wu was. Wai Sue, pictured in 1952, is an attractive Chinese woman wearing a dark dress, with a glimmer of a smile on her face. By herself I could imagine her as an older Lily Wu. She is surrounded, however, by five immaculately dressed children and a suit-wearing, bespectacled husband. The conventional life that this picture suggested did NOT equate with my idea of what the future held for a daring character like Lily. Obviously, I was going to have to do more digging into this matter.
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"https://i0.wp.com/amandasbookcorner.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/claudia-gray-the-late-mrs.-willoughby.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/amandasbookcorner.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/sophie-cousens-this-time-next-year.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1", "https://amandasbookcorner.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/cropped-book-and-lilac-1.jpg?w=50", "https://amandasbookcorner.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/cropped-book-and-lilac-1.jpg?w=50", "https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?v=noscript" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2022-05-16T00:00:00	Two of my favorite romances in the last few years have been Emily Henry's Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation, and I've been eagerly awaiting her third adult novel, Book Lovers. It's finally out, I tore through it, and it just may be her best book yet. Summary Two years ago, literary agent…	en	https://amandasbookcorne…lilac-1.jpg?w=32	Amanda's Book Corner	https://amandasbookcorner.com/2022/05/16/book-lovers/	Two of my favorite romances in the last few years have been Emily Henry‘s Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation, and I’ve been eagerly awaiting her third adult novel, Book Lovers. It’s finally out, I tore through it, and it just may be her best book yet. Summary Two years ago, literary agent Nora Stephens had an unpleasant meeting with editor Charlie Lastra. He ended up passing on a book she was representing, a book that went on to be a huge hit and had a film adaptation to boot. Now, Nora and her sister Libby are spending a month in the small North Carolina town where that novel was set. The sisters-only vacation will hopefully help them through whatever chasm is opening up between them. While Libby’s eager for some true relaxation, she hopes Nora will complete a list of fun activities. Nora’s a little distracted, though, when her nemesis Charlie shows up in the same town. What are the odds? What is he even doing here? Despite their apparent differences, Nora and Charlie may have more in common than they realize, and he may be able to help Nora when she and her sister are at the precipice of falling apart. Review Emily Henry has a unique gift for writing romances that are hilarious and fun and joyful… but also emotional and heart-wrenching and cathartic. That magic is on display again in Book Lovers, and dare I say, she’s outdone herself again. I love the premise of Book Lovers: flip the Hallmark movie on its head, destroy it, and give the ice queen a chance! As someone who kind of hates Hallmark movies, this is the perfect novel for me. There’s nothing wrong with loving the city or being ambitious; likewise, there’s nothing inherently charming about small towns. (I grew up in a small town myself; it was mostly just boring.) Of course, our NYC career woman is going to feel pretty out of place in this North Carolina town, but that doesn’t make her the bad guy! Right away, Book Lovers is truly hilarious. Emily Henry’s humor feels so natural and genuine. It’s not the cringey, quirky style that I find obnoxious; instead, it’s the kind of funny comments and jokes I myself would make if I only knew how. However, that levity is balanced by a fair amount of drama. Much of it is based on past trauma: Nora and Libby’s mother’s death; Nora’s efforts to keep the roof over her and Libby’s heads; the absence of any father figure. Some of it is based on the chasm currently widening between the sisters, not that Nora knows what it is. Libby is keeping mum about it, but something is clearly wrong. While Book Lovers is a romance, at its core, it may equally be a love story between sisters. As a woman who’s close to my little sister, I love a good book about sisters! I enjoyed seeing the sibling bond between Nora and Libby, how they can talk about anything, yet how a wedge can develop, too. They don’t always understand or agree with each other, but they’re there for each other. Their relationship is sweet and paramount to the novel. Of course, the romance between Charlie and Nora is also center stage. I love them both. This isn’t quite the enemies-to-lovers story I’d anticipated, but regardless, I love how these two get to know each other and develop a tentative bond. They’re also just a lot of fun together, and their banter is flawless. They’re smart and clever, but they bicker a lot, too. They also have great chemistry, even if they (and readers) have to wait for the steamier scenes. There are certain things I love about Charlie in particular, but they’re spoilers, so I’ll keep those to myself. An issue also arises later on, and I feared the characters would miss what I thought was the best solution, or worse, fall into a cliched trap. Luckily, they read my mind and did exactly what I’d hoped! Crisis averted. But again, that’s a spoiler; sorry not sorry! Suffice it to say, this novel ends as perfectly as it begins. Final Thoughts Book Lovers is a sweet, fun, emotional novel. It’s a love story between sisters, a romance between an unlikely couple, and a love letter to all the avid readers out there. Though it’s hard to compare Emily Henry’s books – they’re all so good! – this one may be my favorite yet. I already can’t wait for whatever is next. Get the Book You can buy Book Lovers here – it’s available as a hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook. Please note that the above link is an Amazon affiliate link and I may earn a commission on any purchases you make. Official Summary An insightful, delightful new novel from the number-one New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation. One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn’t see coming…. Nora Stephens’ life is books – she’s read them all – and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby. Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away – with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute. If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again – in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow – what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.
2205	dbpedia	3	69	https://teleport-city.com/2008/04/16/the-moonstone/	en	The Moonstone	https://teleport-city.co…/04/featmoon.jpg	https://teleport-city.co…/04/featmoon.jpg	[ "https://teleport-city.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/featmoon.jpg?w=1038&h=576&crop=1", "https://i0.wp.com/teleport-city.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/moonstone01.jpg?w=508&h=390&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/teleport-city.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/moonstone02.jpg?w=252&h=193&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/teleport-city.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/moonstone03.jpg?w=252&h=193&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/teleport-city.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/moonstone08.jpg?w=508&h=390&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/teleport-city.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/moonstone04.jpg?w=252&h=193&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/teleport-city.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/moonstone05.jpg?w=252&h=193&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/teleport-city.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/moonstone06.jpg?w=508&h=390&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/teleport-city.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/moonstone07.jpg?w=252&h=193&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/teleport-city.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/moonstone09.jpg?w=252&h=193&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/teleport-city.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/moonstone10.jpg?w=508&h=390&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/teleport-city.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/moonstone11.jpg?w=252&h=193&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/teleport-city.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/moonstone12.jpg?w=252&h=193&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/teleport-city.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/moonstone13.jpg?w=508&h=390&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/teleport-city.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/moonstone14.jpg?w=252&h=193&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/teleport-city.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/moonstone15.jpg?w=252&h=193&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/teleport-city.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/moonstone17.jpg?w=508&h=390&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/teleport-city.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/moonstone18.jpg?w=252&h=193&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/teleport-city.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/moonstone20.jpg?w=252&h=193&ssl=1", "https://teleport-city.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/cropped-70-orson-welles-theredlist.jpg?w=50", "https://teleport-city.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/cropped-70-orson-welles-theredlist.jpg?w=50", "https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?v=noscript" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2008-04-16T00:00:00	The Moonstone marks our first real foray into a universe in which we will be spending a lot of time: the Poverty Row thriller. An understanding of what Poverty Row was -- if not an actual appreciation for its product -- is an important part of any cult film education (and given the way you…	en	https://teleport-city.co…redlist.jpg?w=32	Teleport City	https://teleport-city.com/2008/04/16/the-moonstone/	The Moonstone marks our first real foray into a universe in which we will be spending a lot of time: the Poverty Row thriller. An understanding of what Poverty Row was — if not an actual appreciation for its product — is an important part of any cult film education (and given the way you kids are allowed to make up any damn thing and call it a college major these days, you can probably go PhD in Cult Film Studies or some such nonsense, when you should be spending your time in college learning about Hammurabi, thermodynamics, and beer funnels), because Poverty Row is where the b-movie was born. So let’s set the stage. The more popular movies became, the more demand there was for something — sometimes, anything — to fill the marquee. There was only so much the big studios could produce, and the hunger for cinematic entertainment was fast starting to outpace production schedules. When the studio system — by which certain production studios were allowed to own and operate their own theaters, showing only their own movies — was broken up, it opened the door for a number of prospective upstart studios to step in and both fill the void with their own product as well as find a screen on which to play it. Newly independent theater owners often paired these films of lesser prestige with a film from one of the big studios — the b-picture to the a-picture main event. The b-movies were often produced very quickly and on the cheap, usually with a cast of unknowns, though sometimes they’d score a star whose name had some marquee value during the silent era. Most of the major studios eventually started their own b-movie production machines, and these films benefited from access to recognizable contract players from the studio as well as all the sets, props, and costumes that had been used in other, bigger budget productions. This is why b-movies like the Mister Moto series look far more lavish and expensive than they actually were. They had access to all the stuff that was lying around for the bigger budget Charlie Chan films. But the bulk of the b-movies and programming filler was produced by smaller studios. Among these studios, few were as prolific and respectable (relatively speaking) as Monogram. So successful was Monogram, in fact, that it soon took on the appearance of a “little major,” with it’s own stable of contract players, directors, writers, and sets. Monograms and the studios like them were dubbed “Poverty Row,” as much a reference to the budgets they had to work with as it was a reference to less cultured hoi polloi who flocked to see the cheapies. This was truly the cinema of the people, giving the unwashed masses like you and me exactly what we wanted. And what we wanted, at least at the time, was westerns and thrillers. It’s the thrillers that concern us today, and The Moonstone is a perfect place to begin. In 1868, an author by the name of Wilkie Collins had published a story called The Moonstone which is generally considered the first English-language mystery novel. Of course, as soon as something is proclaimed to be the first of anything, someone else is going to show up with ample evidence why some other work deserves the honor being considered the first. Look at attempts to pin down the first slasher film. For a while, everyone agreed that it was Halloween, but then some smartie pants started maintaining that it was actually Mario Bava’s Bay of Blood, and then it was Mario Bava’s Blood and Black Lace, and now I think it’s gotten to the point where the world’s first slasher film is actually attributed to Sophocles. So whether or not The Moonstone is the world’s first English language detective and mystery novel, instead of the C. Auguste Dupin stories of Edgar Allen Poe, the fact remains that T.S. Eliot called it the first English detective novel, and who’s going to argue with T.S. Eliot? W.B. Yeats? Please. Whatever the case, Collins’ story sets the template for the many, many detective thrillers that would follow. There’s the isolated British manor house, the large group of suspects brought together in a common location, copious red herrings, amateur sleuthing by one or two people who are also among the gathered cast of characters, and of course, the gruff inspector from Scotland Yard. In particular, The Moonstone deals with the theft of a precious stone from a young British heiress. The movie sticks to the original novel in some basic respects, but for the most part it varies quite remarkably. One of the the elements that made the novel such a success was its references to drug use. That aspect of the novel’s script is excised entirely from the plot of the film, seeing as such open depiction of drug use and abuse was strictly taboo in 1934 — the very same year that the Hayes Code enacted in 1930 was put into heavy enforcement. Monogram certainly wasn’t in a financial position to take on the United States government and defend their picture, so the easier route was simply to write around the opium. Additionally, the novel takes place over the course of many, many months. In the movie, everything takes place in the course of twenty-four hours. Where as three mysterious jugglers from India play a major role in the novel — the moonstone was originally stolen by a British officer in India, and disciples of the god from whose forehead it was stolen have sworn to get it back, no matter how many generations it takes — in the movie, there is only a single Indian, a servant, who has very little to do other than show up for some questioning. In fact,the movie, while entertaining, the whole movie plays like an adaptation of the novel done by someone who sort of read the novel a long time ago and is now doing their best to remember what they can. On the night of her birthday, young Ann Verinder (Phyllis Barry) receives the gift of the Moonstone, though how good a gift it is remains dubious. Although obviously precious, the stone has a bloody past and carries a curse. Originally stolen by a shifty British officer in India (as in the novel), the Moonstone has since been the object of spookiness, with various Indians swearing revenge on the family of the man who stole it and to return it to its rightful home, whatever the cost. On top of the oogy boogy factor, Ann seems to only know people who would have some sinister reason for wanting to steal the jewel. Her own father is in dire financial straights, and the Moonstone could save him from ruin. A moneylender to whom her father owes most of the money is keen on the stone as well. The family’s young maid is a former thief. A cousin’s servant happens to be Indian. The assistant doctor that works with Ann’s father has a terrible secret about his past. Not surprisingly, amid all these potential thieves, the Moonstone ends up being stolen — from right under Ann’s pillow, no less. I’ve always wondered about people who put precious items under their pillow for safekeeping — that includes guns. Now I guess if you are one of those people who lies perfectly still, on your back, with your hands folded across your chest in angelic repose, then putting valuable sunder your pillow would be fine. But seriously, how many of you sleep like that? And how many of you sleep in two dozen different positions over the course of a night, including ones where you wake up and find your knee against your chin and your pillow shoved between your knees, with a second pillow somehow ending up on the floor clear on the other side of the room? If I went to sleep with a Moonstone under my pillow, there’s a good chance that I would wake up and find the thing under the dresser, stuck between my butt cheeks, or possibly in the fridge, since I tend to get up in the middle of the night and sleepily make myself bowls of cereal. And especially if I knew my house was full of people who might want to steal the jewel, I’d find somewhere safer than under my pillow. First, why would you be friends with nothing but people who want to steal your cursed birthday present? Second, if you are a well-to-do heiress, even one who doesn’t know her father has secretly blown the family fortune, you still have your big British manor house, and I’m pretty sure there must be a secure place for such things as cursed moonstones. I mean, even if the attempt to steal the stone woke you up, what’s to stop the thief from wearing a mask and punching you in the face? So really, I guess what I’m saying is, if your security system is to put your valuables under a pillow then lie a wispy British heiress on top of it, you deserve to have your moonstone stolen. Complicating the case is the fact that a number of odd things happened at conveniently inconvenient times: the arrival of the moneylender, the departure of Ann’s father int he middle of the night to deliver a baby, and the arrival of a storm so violent that no one could possibly leave the house. Also on hand is Inspector Cuff of Scotland Yard (Charles Irwin), dispatched upon hearing about Ann’s inheritance because Scotland Yard expected such a young and naive owner would be the victim of treachery. One by one, Cuff grills the inhabitants of the house, airing their dirty laundry and conveniently explaining for the audience what the motivation for theft would be. As Cuff goes about his business, Ann’s father falls ill with pneumonia contracted whilst mucking about in the storm, delivering babies, and a number of people decide to solve the mystery themselves. The only real clue is a smudge left on the door by a careless thief — a very careless thief, because the smudge is gigantic. And then, just as the mystery is getting good and mysterious, everything is wrapped up in like three minutes with a minimum of fuss, and the movie ends. According to some sources, this movie’s original running time was a little over an hour, as was customary for cheap films of this period. But all the existing copies that have been released on DVD run just under fifty minutes. So somewhere there are ten to fifteen minutes of this film lying around that are not included in the version I watched. While that still makes for a brisk movie, it would explain a number of plot threads that are introduced and never really picked up again. It would also make for a little more suspense than we get with the movie in its current state, which although it is wrapped up in more or less the same way as the novel, comes very abruptly and without any sense of a big reveal. But first, let’s talk about the good. For an early thriller based on an early thriller, and with a minimal budget, The Moonstone is pretty entertaining. It confines itself to two locations — or only one, if you discount the opening scene in a Scotland Yard office — and a small cast, with the whole thing feeling a bit like a stage production, but the movie never looks or feels as cheap as it is, even if the exterior of the mansion is just a model. Monogram obviously put some time and effort into the production, and that extra care translates into a more impressive end product that Poverty Row often gave us. On top of that, there’s no real weak link in the cast. Most of them were experienced hands, if not well-known actors. Phyllis Barry was a bit player in all sorts of films, including the Errol Flynn epic The Prince and the Pauper and one of the Bulldog Drummond films. She was usually relegated to roles like “Barmaid” and “Housekeeper,” but given something a little more substantial, she acquits herself nicely. John Davidson gets to parade around in a turban, making menacing intense eyes as Yandoo, the Indian servant who may or may not be part of a cult dedicated to retrieving the Moonstone. Davidson had been in movies for almost twenty years by the time he appeared in The Moonstone, starting his career way back in 1915 — not quite the dawn of the feature film, but awful close. His experience with silent film is most likely the reason Davidson is able to do so much with only a few lines of dialog. It’s too bad that his role is relegated to something relatively unimportant in the movie, because the Indians in the novel apparently had more to do. The most recognizable face for cult film fans is probably David Manners, best known for inhabiting the role of Jonathan Harker in Todd Browning’s 1931 production of Dracula. Manning went on to appear in Universal’s The Mummy, as well. In fact, very few members of the cast of The Moonstone could be considered inexperienced, and their adeptness at the craft is evident. Poverty Row features sometimes saddled the audiences with remarkably wooden actors, but that’s not the case here. Similarly, director Reginald Barker was an old hand, having begun his directing career in 1912. The Moonstone actually comes to us at the end of his career — just as the novel came at the end of Wilkie Collins’ career — and it’s obvious that, even if this is a B production, it’s being helmed by a man who knows what he’s doing. As with director Michael Curtiz, who made Captain Blood just one year later, and as with many of the directors working at the time, Barker’s experience with silent films translates into an effective use of things like light and shadow and the facial expressions of the actors — the tools you had to use in a film when dialog couldn’t do the talking for you. Barker’s direction and little flourishes keep the film from feeling static, even though this is a movie comprised almost entirely of people sitting around. In fact, if there’s a weak component to this film besides the rushed ending, it’s the dialog, which is bland but relatively harmless. However, in a movie in which there is almost no action at all, it needs to make up for that with cracking good dialog, and The Moonstone falters in this regard. Scriptwriter Adele Buffington wrote about seventy-five billion Poverty Row westerns, and the screenplay for The Moonstone smacks of what I would call “rushed competence.” It’s a perfectly serviceable script, but it takes the easiest route and avoids dealing with any of the complicated affairs that made the novel more engrossing. The drug references are dropped almost entirely, with the final solution coming in the guise of a medicine considerably less controversial that laudanum. Wilkie Collins was, himself, an addict, and drew on his own experiences with laudanum for the story. However, drug references would hardly fly under the new Hayes Code, so Buffington more or less drops it. He also does considerably less with the thief-turned-maid character than does the original novel, and she, like Yandoo and a number of the suspects, more or less disappears after she has her interview with Inspector Cuff. But like I said, this is “rushed competence.” Buffington has an hour to tell the story, instead of a novel. Subplots and extraneous digressions, interesting though they may have been, had to be cut. Buffington’s final product is perfectly serviceable, but one can’t help but notice that inside this good movie is a great movie that was never quite made. The Moonstone lacks the spark of the better films of the time, and even of the better Poverty Row productions. The Mister Moto films didn’t just enjoy access to the props from the Charlie Chan movies; they also benefited from snappier dialog and pacing. And when compared to other low budget thrillers, like the Bulldog Drummond films, the short-comings of The Moonstone become more obvious. Luckily, since it clocks in at about three-quarters of an hour, the movie never affords itself the chance to get dull. Still, acceptable but uninspired dialog is what prevents The Moonstone from being a must-see on entertainment terms instead of just historical importance terms. Still, The Moonstone makes for a fun, if brief, way to spend some time. Well shot, well acted, and at least adequately written. In terms of Poverty Row productions from an independent like Monogram, it represents the top of the heap, though I wouldn’t say it’s the best. But films like this are where it all began. In the conventions a movie like The Moonstone establishes, we see the bits and pieces that will become everything from horror films to giallo. Even Hitchcock did much of his best work in the same confines defined by the Moonstone novel. If you’re interested in where modern cult films come from, The Moonstone should be on your list of things to watch. Heck, even if you don’t like it as much as I did (and I liked it enough, though it’s not a film I’d run through the streets singing the merits of — I save that honor for Howling II), it took you less than an hour to watch it. Release Year: 1934 \| Country: United States \| Starring: David Manners, Phyllis Barry, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Jameson Thomas, Herbert Bunston, Charles Irwin, Elspeth Dudgeon, John Davidson, Claude King, Olaf Hytten, Evalyn Bostock, Fred Walton \| Screenplay: Adele Buffington \| Director: Reginald Barker \| Cinematographer: Robert Planck \| Music: Abe Meyer \| Producer: Paul Malvern
2205	dbpedia	0	1	https://bayflicks.net/2014/08/03/sherlock-holmes-charlie-chan-and-the-strange-case-of-the-stereotyped-detective/	en	Charlie Chan, Sherlock Holmes, and the Strange Case of the Stereotyped Detective	https://bayflicks.net/wp…/image_thumb.png	https://bayflicks.net/wp…/image_thumb.png	[ "https://bayflicks.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/bayflicks-banner-071117.jpg", "https://bayflicks.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/image_thumb.png?w=451&h=269", "https://bayflicks.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/image_thumb1.png?w=457&h=268", "https://bayflicks.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/image_thumb2.png?w=475&h=289", "https://bayflicks.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/image_thumb3.png?w=475&h=225", "https://bayflicks.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/image_thumb4.png?w=466&h=266", "https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/d61755e9b4d47579f755e2d31944dbee2237f57c7d1fd2d85a0efd8f6d26cb38?s=60&d=identicon&r=G", "https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/fff6ee08aef08b4d834c6a82fe1b5bdca39a5350059a384ba44287bed6bceb5d?s=60&d=identicon&r=G", "https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/d61755e9b4d47579f755e2d31944dbee2237f57c7d1fd2d85a0efd8f6d26cb38?s=60&d=identicon&r=G", "https://s2.wp.com/i/logo/wpcom-gray-white.png", "https://s2.wp.com/i/logo/wpcom-gray-white.png", "https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?v=noscript" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Lincoln Spector", "~ Lincoln Spector" ]	2014-08-03T00:00:00	Racism clouds old Hollywood movies. Even films intended in their time to be progressive and tolerant can look shockingly bigoted today. Consider Charlie Chan at the Opera, which the Stanford will screen Thursday and Friday. And that's just the beginning. The theater will screen Charlie Chan mysteries every Thursday and Friday through October 10, each…	en	https://s1.wp.com/i/favicon.ico	Bayflicks	https://bayflicks.net/2014/08/03/sherlock-holmes-charlie-chan-and-the-strange-case-of-the-stereotyped-detective/	Racism clouds old Hollywood movies. Even films intended in their time to be progressive and tolerant can look shockingly bigoted today. Consider Charlie Chan at the Opera, which the Stanford will screen Thursday and Friday. And that’s just the beginning. The theater will screen Charlie Chan mysteries every Thursday and Friday through October 10, each double-billed with a Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes movie. Most of these pictures were cheap B movies, running little more than an hour and intended to fill out the bottom half of a double bill. The Stanford gives the series a good start this week with The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and the aforementioned Charlie Chan at the Opera. I consider Adventures the best of the Rathbone/Bruce series. Opera–the only Charlie Chan movie I’ve yet seen–has a high reputation amongst fans of the series. I want to talk primarily about Chan, but I’ll cover Holmes at the end of this article. Charlie Chan at the Opera Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American police detective created by Earl Derr Biggers. He first appeared in novels, then made the leap to movies. Charlie Chan at the Opera’s racism can shock modern movie-goers. The title character, an Asian, is played by the Swedish-born actor Warner Oland. His yellow-face makeup looks ridiculous, and he speaks with a Chinese accent that wouldn’t fool a cow. His stilted English dialog contains such gems as “Murderer always return to scene of crime,” “Be so kind to explain,” and “Confucius say ‘Luck happy combination of foolish accident.'” And yet, I can’t condemn the film entirely. Taken in context of its time (1936), it offers a surprisingly positive view of Chinese Americans. After all, Chan is the hero. He’s not a Fu Manchu-type yellow horde villain. Nor is he a helpless victim or sidekick. He’s always the smartest, wisest, and most ethical person in the room. Chan isn’t a sidekick, but he has one–his son Lee, played by actual Asian-American Keye Luke. Luke gives Lee Chan the slightest of Chinese accents, and plays him as a fashionable American young man of his time. He speaks in the youth vernacular of the 1930s. Although Chan famously refers to Lee as “Number One Son” (although I didn’t catch that phrase in Opera), Lee calls the detective not “honorable father,” but “Pop.” Or even “Gee, Pop.” The result is a parent/child relationship that would have looked very familiar to a great many American families of the 1930s–including that of my light-skinned, blonde-haired mother. Immigrant parents struggled with the English language and kept one foot in the customs of the old country, while their American-raised kids assimilated into the surrounding culture. This is still happening now, of course, but was happening in greater numbers back then. Charlie Chan at the Opera has a Lestrade character–the bumbling detective who gets everything wrong. But two things make this conventional mystery character particularly interesting. First, he’s played by the wonderful William Demarest, who would light up so much of Preston Sturges’ work in the next decade. Second, he’s a bigot who doesn’t like taking orders from “chop suey.” With this character, the film strongly suggests that bigotry and stupidity go hand and hand. Aside from its racial undercurrent, Charlie Chan at the Opera succeeds in being exactly what it was intended to be–an unexceptional but entertaining short mystery feature. The presence of Demarest, and even more so of Boris Karloff as an escaped lunatic, raises Opera above other such movies. I’d give it a C+. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes No racial issues in this film…unless, of course, you think about the fact that everyone in it is white. But I’ve covered that issue already. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was the second of 14 Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone as the famous detective and Nigel Bruce as his sidekick, Dr. Watson. It’s the last of the series shot on a decent budget and the last one made at 20th Century-Fox. It’s also set in Victorian times, which seems obvious today but was somewhat daring back then. As far as I know, every Sherlock Holmes movie made before Adventures’ predecessor, The Hound of the Baskervilles, was updated to the present. But Fox made Hound and Adventures as period pieces. At the time, this may have felt like setting a James Bond flick in the 1950s (which would actually be pretty cool). Officially based on William Gillette’s 1899 stage play Sherlock Holmes, but very much an original story, Adventures pits Holmes and Watson against arch-villain Professor Moriarty (George Zucco). Holmes and Moriarty enjoy an interesting relationship in this film. They appear to admire and even like each other, even though they know that one of them must eventually destroy the other. The soundstage recreation of 19th-century London provides atmosphere, as do the supporting characters. And even though we’re told who the villain is from the start, it’s still a lot of fun. Besides, it has Ida Lupino. Fox decided not to continue the series. But after Pearl Harbor, Universal picked it up again, updating the stories to the present so that Holmes could track down Nazi spies–although in most of these movies he goes after conventional criminals. Universal made 12 pictures before Rathbone called it quits in 1946. These movies were quickly written and quickly shot, and suffer from huge plot holes. But they’re all reasonably fun. None of them come up to the quality of the two Fox pictures.
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"https://img.pastemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/09115159/touch-of-evil-inline.jpg", "https://img.pastemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/09115158/chinatown-inline.jpg", "https://img.pastemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/09115158/chinatown-inline.jpg", "https://img.pastemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/09115157/Double-Indemnity-inline.jpg", "https://img.pastemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/09115157/Double-Indemnity-inline.jpg", "https://img.pastemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/09115156/The-Big-Sleep-inline.jpg", "https://img.pastemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/09115156/The-Big-Sleep-inline.jpg", "https://img.pastemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/09115154/the-woman-in-the-window-inline.jpg", "https://img.pastemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/09115154/the-woman-in-the-window-inline.jpg" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Amanda Schurr" ]	2024-07-05T14:45:00+00:00	Some 70 years after the term "film noir" was first coined to describe a uniquely American phenomenon, we found the 100 best.	en	https://www.pastemagazin…ile-icon-196.png	Paste Magazine	https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/film-noir/the-best-noirs-of-all-time	Since its coining in 1946 by French critic Nino Frank, who observed from afar something dark, quite literally, going on at the American cinema, the term “film noir” has been debated and debated and debated some more. Is it a genre? A subgenre? A movement? A trend? A commentary? A style? For the purposes of this introduction, let’s call it a response. Noir was nothing if not a reaction, a reflection of a nation reeling from despicable evil overseas and revolutionary upheaval on the domestic front. It started matter-of-factly enough. The men—including the screenwriters—had gone off to fight, and as the women stepped up, into the public sector and newfound independence, studio chiefs turned to the fast-and-cheap pulp mysteries of Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and James M. Cain for their next productions. International directors like Fritz Lang, Michael Curtiz, and Robert Siodmak, who’d honed the dramatic visuals of German Expressionism, fled their war-torn homes for the plentiful opportunities in Tinseltown. But things get complicated here, and fast. See, noir didn’t play by any rules, not really. We think of noirs as urban stories, but that’s not always the case—for every L.A. and N.Y.C.-set saga, there’s a small, heartland tragedy. We think of a never-ending, rain-soaked night—sunlight replaced with neon and nocturnal reflections, the optical trickery of mirrors and shadows—but in contrast, the days of noir scorched its characters. We admire its heavily stylized approach—exaggerated camera angles, tension-crafting mise-en-scène, flashbacks, deep focus and trademark shadows—but also its neo-realist and documentary-like experiments. We talk about noir plotting and tropes, but in fact it drew liberally from the gangster pics of the Depression/Prohibition era, crime procedurals, heist movies, horror films (again, the German Expressionist influence), romantic melodrama, Gothic thrillers, tawdry B-movies, and that other quintessentially American breed, the Western. Though its blueprints were everywhere, noir forged its own language, its own playbook, its own universe. Some define noir as or by a tone, and it’s very much a mood, a sensibility. Noir is a state of mind, of subconscious, a fever dream, an existential crisis. Life had grown profoundly strange for its first-generation audience … off-balance, alienating, lonely. Think about it: As the classic period of noir, generally regarded as 1940-58, wore on, more jaded and pessimistic, shell-shocked soldiers were returning to a forever changed urban and suburban landscape. Homes they didn’t recognize, communities that had gone on in their absence, workplaces that no longer needed them, and wives who weren’t dependent on them anymore. The roles were reversed, the world was upside down. Things didn’t make sense. All that paranoia and pathos, before the second Red Scare. Enter the private detective and his antihero ilk—a scarred, brooding fella who for his considerable flaws was sympathetic. You couldn’t say the same for the ladies, what with that Madonna-whore complex running rampant through noir’s icky Freudian gender dynamics. Unless they were a good, subservient girl, women were brazen, sexual bitches, more often than not smarter, and more powerful, than the guys—at least at the outset. Extrapolated to the off-screen world, the logic was, solve the crime, solve the problem. Put the femme fatale in her place, show the girl—the world—who’s boss. Take it all back. The nightmare was made wish-fulfillment. It’s not overreaching to read all of this from the 300 or so titles generally considered the classic noir canon. Remember: The folks at the Hollywood Production Code couldn’t handle it either, mandating changes in service of propriety, i.e., social conformity. (Had Will Hays, Joseph Breen, and their censoring kind not been around, noir would’ve been an even more nihilistic realm.) In any case, the M.O. was linear: Talk it out, trace the clues, tell us about it with a voiceover. Except it wasn’t that easy. Like the ink on those yellow hard-boiled pages, film noir was a smeared affair from the start—hard to define and harder to reconcile. Its characters were dirty, displaced, disillusioned, distrustful, just plain dumb. Everyone was running some kind of scam, even the cops—especially the cops. Everyone was out for themselves, phonies subject to their basest fears and vices. The attraction was as ugly as the repulsion. When he wasn’t a truth-seeker, our protag was often a criminal, at the very least someone of ambivalent moral code or weakness, a fall-guy running out of time, and hope for redemption. The world was a cruel and perilous place, be it the crowded streets or open road, the inner city or a rural outpost. There was no escape, no forgiveness. In fact, perhaps the only clear-cut element of noir was the razor-sharp, imminently quotable dialogue, and its venomous sense of humor. And so noir cast its misfits—gun-toting, hard-drinking, lipstick and stiletto-wearing human chimneys of neuroses—into a seductive, violent postwar labyrinth, in which the terror was internal and external. Fear of the next world conflict, fear of each other, fear of never getting back to a pure time, the fear in realizing there never really was one. A study in extremes that dealt in innuendo (thanks again, censors!) as it departed from accepted cultural norms and, sometimes, basic humanity—film doesn’t get more perverse, or more unapologetic about it, than the noir environment. Was noir a conscious “response”? It’s pretty tough, given the very deliberation of filmmaking, to think noir was just a happenstance bunch of flicks that expressed the same anxieties and subverted the same sociopolitical conventions—at least after the first few years, when World War II had ended. And while by the time of 1958’s Touch of Evil noir was a shrewdly self-aware conceit, it’s worth going back to who coined the term just 12 years earlier. An outsider called it. A bystander observing a uniquely American phenomenon. And, for decades, a largely unacknowledged bystander at that. However (un)conscious a reaction, noir resonates to this day, with several neo-noir cycles beginning with the Cold War era through Gen X and the millennials. And while a healthy share of neo-noirs make our list, the classic period remains the most telling—context is critical. Then there are the sub-classifications within the subgenre: Proto-noirs, foreign noirs (like the British “Spiv” cycle), neon noirs, and, of course, neo-noirs. Maybe that’s what makes a list like this so problematic—Raging Bull has strong noir elements, as do Hardcore, Klute, To Live and Die in L.A., Reservoir Dogs, Payback, and Collateral. The first Sin City is a terrific pastiche, as is Carl Reiner’s more sincere homage, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid. The original Insomnia was a brilliant reverse noir, exchanging the claustrophobia of night for Nordic midnight sun. John Woo’s classic actioner Hard Boiled is self-explanatory. And in the tradition of Blade Runner (No. 29), modern sci-fi films from Gattaca to Ex Machina possess inarguably noir traits. So how do you draw a line in an ambiguous-by-nature whatever it is? We’ll start with the following 100 titles. Some 70 years after the term “film noir” was first uttered, take a trip through the screwed-up terrain of the mid-century psyche, with all its sex, lies, and crime scene tape. Let’s get going—don’t say we didn’t warn you.—Amanda Schurr Here are the best film noir of all time: 100. Angel HeartDirector: Alan Parker Year: 1987 Voodoo plays a prominent role in this Alan Parker noir, equal parts hard-boiled detective mystery and horror movie. As gumshoe Harry Angel in 1950s Harlem, Mickey Rourke is at his best, hired by a devilish-looking man (Robert De Niro) to track down a big band singer, only to be lured into the occult subcultures of Louisiana. As Angel’s investigation takes him south from New York City to the New Orleans neighborhood of Algiers—a change of scenery suggested to Parker by the story’s author, novelist William Hjortsberg—the color-drained, highly stylized production reflects his descent into hell. Parker wrings the humidity and torrid filth from each frame. You can practically smell the pervasive overripeness and touch Angel’s sweat-crinkled suits. The feverish mood boils to the surface, giving up bodies and body parts of assorted creatures. Lisa Bonet, as chicken-loving priestess Epiphany Proudfoot (yup), exudes a delta sensuality; the MPAA required trims of her and Rourke’s blood-bathed sex scene. Headlines aside, Angel Heart is a wanton spectacle whose extremes suit the noir genre. —A.S. 99. Hard EightDirector: Paul Thomas Anderson Year: 1996 Paul Thomas Anderson made his feature debut with this underrated, underseen crime drama, in which Philip Baker Hall’s aging gambler Sydney takes young halfwit John (John C. Reilly) under his wing, all the way to the Vegas (and then Reno) craps tables. Hall is fantastic in this nuanced character study, a methodical, stand-up gentleman whose sell to Reilly starts with the old “Give a man a fish vs. teach a man to fish” philanthropy and goes downhill swiftly thereafter. Just because he’s straightforward and direct doesn’t mean his cards aren’t held closely to his vest, at physical risk to others. In an early, against-type turn, Gwyneth Paltrow is solid as a Reno cocktail waitress-slash-prostitute whom Reilly gets mixed up with, Samuel L. Jackson is typically good as the casino’s shady security guy, and Philip Seymour Hoffman—in a reportedly ad-libbed performance—makes the most of his limited screen time. A minor marvel of atmosphere and nuance, what started from a short entitled “Cigarettes & Coffee” is no less economical as a full-length film, thanks to Anderson’s now signature unsentimentality and shrewdness of visual style—he worked deftly with Super 35 here due to budgetary constraints before switching over to the anamorphic format. —A.S. 98. A Simple PlanDirector: Sam Raimi Year: 1998 In 1998, director Sam Raimi put aside his signature frenetic stylings to make A Simple Plan, an adaptation of novelist/screenwriter Scott B. Smith’s 1993 thriller about three working-class men who end up stumbling upon a crashed plane filled with millions of dollars in cash. Seeing this as the answer to their financial woes, the men divvy up the money only to quickly find their close-knit group torn apart by greed and paranoia. While not ostensibly film noir in its construction, the story nevertheless touches upon classic noir themes—namely, the corruptive power of greed and the folly of man in attempting to control life’s chaos. Whatever its designation, the film presents an absorbing, if unmistakably devastating, modern-day morality tale. —Mark Rozeman 97. CroupierDirector: Mike Hodges Year: 1998 Get Carter director Mike Hodges’s last great film was budding star Clive Owen’s first. In fact, even now, Croupier may be the best thing Owen has ever done, playing a struggling novelist who takes a job at a casino, looking for inspiration but finding mostly trouble. Watch this film now to be reminded where the actor first prompted speculation that he’d make a great James Bond: His character Jack Manfred isn’t a super-spy, but he’s got the jet-black suaveness, lady-killing panache and dry wit we associate with 007. Croupier is a movie attracted to the sleazier side of life, and Owen’s antihero was the perfect tour guide. —Tim Grierson 96. After Dark, My SweetDirector: James Foley Year: 1990 Among James Foley’s (Glengarry Glen Ross, House of Cards) early career successes was this under-the-radar mood piece, a neo-noir adaptation of hard-boiled provocateur Jim Thompson’s 1955 novella. Jason Patric stars as soft-spoken former boxer “Collie” Collins, who escapes the loony bin only to fall under the spell of boozing widow Fay (Rachel Ward). Drifter and femme fatale are soon entangled in a doomed kidnapping plot devised by her sketchy ex-cop acquaintance “Uncle Bud” (a pitch-perfect Bruce Dern). That there winds up being a diabetic child involved offers no spoiler; we know these lost, spent souls are going to rot in the Palm Springs sun—it’s simply a matter of when. Even Fay’s mid-century mod ranch house, what should be an Architectural Digest spread, is instead an ode to emptiness and general disrepair. As is characteristic of Thompson’s work, the conflict here is largely in the mind, and Patric’s measured performance is mesmerizing. His slack-jawed, dead-eyed antihero leads with a deceptively well-mannered façade whose voiceovers reveal a quiet, terrifying nihilism. —A.S. 95. Angel FaceDirector: Otto Preminger Year: 1953 Some noirs get their hooks into you within their first few minutes and don’t let go even after the credits roll. Angel Face isn’t one of those. It’s a deliberate, considerate film, one that has a destination in mind and makes no bones about taking its time getting there. Whether you ride with it is up to you, but come on: This is Otto Preminger—lesser Otto Preminger, perhaps, certainly not one of his better celebrated films. Even lesser Preminger is worth your time, though, particularly when he’s as laser-focused as he is here. Angel Face builds. It’s a movie that constantly sets itself up and points toward its shocker of a climax. Preminger’s direction renders this story of crazy love, shared between Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons, unpredictable if slow. Don’t let the apparent languidness get in your way. The unhurried pace adds to the film’s grimmer pleasures. —Andy Crump 94. The GriftersDirector: Stephen Frears Year: 1990 British director Stephen Frears does a marvelous job of adapting one of the toughest hard-boiled nuts to crack, mid-1900s novelist Jim Thompson, in this pulpy oedipal neo-noir. John Cusack sheds the last remnants of his Say Anything teen-star sincerity as Roy Dillon, a slick but stupid young con artist. He thinks he’s smarter than chemical blonde mom Angelica Huston, an odds fixer at the track who oozes calculation with every utterance of “Los ANG-guh-LEEZ,” and hustling girlfriend Annette Bening, a newer version of dear old mum on the hunt for her own long game. The shitshow of Freudian damage and deception, penned for the screen by Donald E. Westlake, is unsettling even by Thompson standards. Frears and his core triangle of actors—restrained but revelatory, all—keep the one-upsmanship taut, the better to let Thompson’s subversive, straight-up HAM gender dynamics and festering worldview have their way. (Pat Hingle, Stephen Tobolowsky and the late, great J.T. Walsh are other casting masterstrokes.) You can almost smell the putrid yellows and browns of Roy’s apartment—with its too-obvious clown paintings—and L.A. at large. When trouble is a gut punch—or an unwanted child, pick your stomach ill—you know things aren’t gonna end well. —A.S. 93. The Naked CityDirector: Jules Dassin Year: 1948 Placed next to the rest of his filmography, Jules Dassin’s The Naked City feels somewhat rote. If you’ve ever watched a single episode of Law and Order, or if you have a distinct fondness for procedural fare at large, then you really owe a debt of thanks to Dassin’s stripped-down work here. Unlike so many other noirs, The Naked City aims for realism over stylish melodrama. That verisimilitude has kept the film from aging well, but Dassin’s commitment to authenticity lends a great deal of heft to his story of brute violence in New York City, even if the plot runs pretty much by the numbers. That’s sort of the point, of course: to showcase the way that law operates in service to justice. The results might be flat, but their influence and dedication to purity call for our acknowledgement. —A.C. 92. State of GraceDirector: Phil Joanou Year: 1990 Phil Joanou’s State of Grace had the great misfortune to hit theaters the same month as Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas. Talk about rough luck. Maybe Joanou’s work will be rediscovered someday in the future as people dig back through the ’90s to uncover hidden gems of the era; it’s certainly worthy of reevaluation. State of Grace does a lot of things well, and mostly suffers from “wrong place, wrong time” syndrome. Like Scorsese, Joanou peels back the layers of mob tropes, dissecting gang heavies in an effort to see what kind of people they are beneath the surface. Better still, he’s able to drive right at the heart of urban crime through portraits of the intercultural beefs that drive it. The cast is terrific—you can hardly go wrong with Sean Penn, Gary Oldman, Ed Harris and Robin Wright, let alone John Turturro and John C. Reilly—but it’s what Joanou does with them that makes State of Grace special. —A.C. 91. Devil in a Blue DressDirector: Carl Franklin Year: 1995 Devil in a Blue Dress perfectly casts Denzel Washington as a down-on-his-luck WWII veteran who relocates to L.A. to start a new career as a private investigator. As tends to happen with PIs in this subgenre, the man inevitably finds himself embroiled in a complicated murder investigation. Adding his own spin to the well-trodden noir plotlines, writer/director Carl Franklin uses his film’s detective story as a launching pad to explore the racial landscape of 1940s America. Philip Marlowe certainly had his share of rough encounters, but he had the benefit of never being instantly judged on the basis of his skin color. Mix in a scene-stealing turn from Don Cheadle and Devil in a Blue Dress makes for one tantalizing riff on the film noir formula. —M.R. 90. Kiss of DeathDirector: Henry Hathaway Year: 1947 Does any psychopath in film noir’s rogues gallery strike quite as much immediate, stomach-churning terror as Tommy Udo? The man’s got a leering, sunken visage only a mother could love, provided she keeps her eyes closed tightly and doesn’t give him reason to shove her down the stairs. Richard Widmark’s wolf grin might be the only thing about Kiss of Death that matters. Bereft of him, of course, Henry Hathaway’s film remains solid, but Widmark’s Oscar-nominated performance makes the entire enterprise feel vital. He’s a villain for the ages, perhaps robbed of his due by Hathaway’s need to architect a happy ending. Such is life working with production codes. —A.C. 89. The Usual SuspectsDirector: Bryan Singer Year: 1995 The movie is a cheat and a fraud. It’s as manipulative as it is dishonest, but unlike many other far lesser films worthy of the same description, all this flick’s shamelessness is on purpose. When it was released The Usual Suspects left viewers gob smacked, staring at screens with expressions matching Michael Caine and Steve Martin on the runway at the end of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: at first confused, then maybe a little angry, but then ultimately delighted by how fooled they’d just been. Perfectly paced, brilliantly scored by director Bryan Singer and editor/composer John Ottman—the film never lets the marks know they’re being conned by the irresistible ensemble or Christopher McQuarrie’s dark, mischievous script. And then like that … it’s gone… —Bennett Webber 88. Black WidowDirector: Bob Rafelson Year: 1987 Taking the femme fatale conceit to literal extremes, director Bob Rafelson, whose credits include Five Easy Pieces and the 1981 remake of The Postman Always Rings Twice, delivers a modern noir elevated by two ace lead performances. Debra Winger does Debra Winger as an FBI agent, Alex, who grows obsessed with the perpetrator of a series of unsolved marriages-then-murders. Theresa Russell matches her note for note as gold-digging vixen Catharine, who’s as good at the long con as she is a cat-and-mouse game with Winger’s humdrum suit. Then there’s the staggering amount of research involved—Catharine on the passions of her soon-to-be victims, Alex on her suspect. It’s smart, with pointed gender commentary to boot. The plain-Jane Fed plays frenemies with the glamorous chameleon while cinematography great Conrad L. Hall (Cool Hand Luke, American Beauty) mines suspense in the shadows, all the better to spotlight Russell’s steely eyes and porcelain veneer—she’s bone-chilling. Bonus points for a droll cameo from Dennis Hopper as one of Catharine’s marks, and a lecherously long-nailed Diane Ladd as one of his relatives. —A.S. 87. Dark CityDirector: Alex Proyas Year: 1998 Taking a cue from Blade Runner, Alex Proyas’ 1998 magnum opus serves up a cerebral sci-fi extravaganza as filtered through the visual tropes of film noir and German Expressionism. The result is a staggering achievement in imagination that, like Blade Runner, flopped at the box office only to be revived later as a beloved cult classic. The film casts Rufus Swell as an amnesiac who wakes up one night to discover that his city is (quite literally) being manipulated by a band of mysteriously pale men in jet-black trench coats and fedoras. Along for the ride is Kiefer Sutherland as a crazed scientist and Jennifer Connelly as our hero’s estranged wife (who, it must be noted, was born to play a noir femme fatale). —M.R. 86. GaslightDirector: George Cukor Year: 1944 Ingrid Bergman won her first Oscar for playing a vulnerable young woman slowly being driven insane by her charismatic husband in Gaslight. And while certainly well earned, Bergman’s award-winning portrayal is but one reason to catch this exceptional 1944 psychological thriller. For one, unlike other noirs, Gaslight is a period story, set in the Edwardian era, and reiterates the frightening notion that evil can emerge not just from the corrupt city setting inherent to the genre but from a domestic context, as well. As the film’s villain, Charles Boyer delivers a hypnotic, chilling performance that perfectly matches Bergman’s volatile characterization. If all that weren’t enough, Murder, She Wrote fans will be delighted at the feature film debut of an 18-year-old Angela Lansbury. —M.R. 85. ObsessionDirector: Edward Dmytryk Year: 1949 Unlike so many of its peers on this listing, Edward Dmytryk’s Obsession doesn’t lean on violence in its plotting and scheming. But the film isn’t gentle by any stretch. In fact, Obsession is one of the more gruesome classic noirs, a slow-burning bit of nastiness that could give Breaking Bad a run for its money in the body disposal department. Dmytryk rides on the strength of great work by Robert Newton, here playing a psychiatrist who determines to kill his wife’s lover, an American diplomat played by Phil Brown. (Obviously, because everybody knows that all psychiatrists secretly harbor homicidal urges.) Newton’s a creepy hoot, and Dmytryk has such a good handle on his suspense that even the tonal dissonance of unwelcome comedy doesn’t break the film’s insidious spell. —A.C. 84. Se7enDirector: David Fincher Year: 1995 It’s hard to think of a movie that did more short-term damage to the length of your fingernails in the ’90s than David Fincher’s Se7en. The film follows detectives David Mills (Brad Pitt) and almost-retired William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) on the trail of John Doe, a murderer who plans his kills around the seven deadly sins. We see Somerset teach a still-naive Mills valuable life lessons around the case, which has morally charged outcomes aimed at victims that include a gluttonous man and a greedy attorney. But with all the disturbing crime scenes considered, Se7en’s never as unpredictable or emotionally draining as when Mills and Somerset make the final discovery of “what’s in the box” after capturing their man. —Tyler Kane 83. TensionDirector: John Berry Year: 1949 One of film noir’s more under-loved minor works, Tension showcases great work by Audrey Totter while fiddling with gender roles and postwar disenchantment. There are few saps as sappy as Richard Basehart’s cuckolded Warren Quimby, and even in the realm of femme fatales, few are even half as downright mean as Claire Quimby (Phyllis Dietrichson, Lily Carver and Brigid O’Shaughnessy notwithstanding). Forget the fact she habitually cheats on poor borin’ Warren: Check the scene where he drives her to the house he scrimped and saved for, a gesture she can only respond to with contempt. Totter is such a hoot you almost forget to feel bad for Basehart, but even his gentle male ego can only endure so much abuse before he decides to remake himself in the image of Claire’s “type,” all the better to get even with her and her lover. Tension might not have the iconography of John Berry’s peers, but the film makes a worthy study of masculine American identity. —A.C. 82. King of New YorkDirector: Abel Ferrara Year: 1990 Abel Ferrara’s modern day take on Robin Hood transposes the crusader of the common man to the scum-infested streets of the Big Apple, where Christopher Walken’s formerly incarcerated drug lord Frank White returns to his old stomping ground. His strategy for social (and personal) reform: Eliminate competing kingpins and their rackets, and channel profits to the lower classes while funding a hospital in the South Bronx. A win/win, albeit a perverted one, right? Except that we know better. When the cops (David Caruso and Wesley Snipes among them) are just as morally flexible as the crooks (as Walken’s associate, “Larry” Fishburne is unhinged), none of these figures on the margins are going to wind up any closer to a fighting chance. As unapologetic judge and jury, Walken is never better, nor cooler: “I must’ve been away too long because my feelings are dead. I feel no remorse,” he states flatly. B-movie vet Ferrara (Ms .45, China Girl) revels in the extremes in textures, juxtaposing the inner city guts and grime with the blinged-out glamour of White’s penthouse lifestyle—this gangster film wound up a gangsta touchstone for ’90s hip-hop. King of New York’s standing on this list could arguably be swapped with Ferrara’s even more corrosive follow-up two years later, Bad Lieutenant, another pitch-black fable about attempts at redemption gone spectacularly awry—it’s hardly surprising that, exceptional as Harvey Keitel was in the 1992 film, the lead role was originally intended for Walken. —A.S. 81. OldboyDirector: Park Chan-wook Year: 2003 Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy makes the smart choice most genre homages don’t: The film relegates reference to the soundtrack titles, some of which crop up elsewhere on this very list. It takes more than a few hat tips to Tourneur, Hawks and Ray to make a noir, but Oldboy boasts the lion’s share of noir’s best trappings in its story of long-term revenge and dirty family secrets. The film is probably best revered for a single fight scene, one of only a handful to occur throughout its two-hour running time. Admittedly, that hallway scrap is pretty glorious, but Park boils his protagonist hard, and spoken from beneath star Choi Min-sik’s grizzled mane, the film’s dialogue crackles with beefy, unhinged ennui. Years from now when the next big international neo-noir import arrives stateside, don’t be surprised if you see Oldboy’s moniker on its OST. —A.C. 80. BoundDirector: Lilly and Lana Wachowski Year: 1996 Before The Matrix launched them into blockbuster superstardom, Lilly and Lana Wachowski announced their arrival with this sleek, sexy neo-noir. The film centers on Corky, a female ex-con who ends up falling into a sexual relationship with her next-door neighbor, Violet. The two promptly hatch a plan to run off together after stealing money from Violet’s mafia-affiliated husband. Predictably, this seemingly straightforward plan goes dangerously awry. There’s much to love about Bound—from Gina Gershon’s and Jennifer Tilly’s career-defining performances to Bill Pope’s stylish cinematography to the progressive portrayal of a lesbian relationship. In the end, however, Bound delights because, well, it’s just so darn entertaining. Its success provides all the more evidence that, in the wake of Jupiter Ascending, the Wachowskis might do well to get back to their low-budget roots. —M.R. 79. The Asphalt JungleDirector: John Huston Year: 1950 An artfully staged robbery sequence is among the highlights of John Huston’s heist classic, an obvious blueprint for films spanning Ocean’s 11 to Reservoir Dogs. What marks it firmly in the noir realm, though, is a censors-baiting taste for the bleak and merciless, a thread of self-loathing amid the double-crosses, and an urban wasteland motif that gets even more suffocating when the underworld rises. Fresh out of the clink, criminal mastermind Doc Reidenschneider (Oscar nominee Sam Jaffe) assembles a crew of irredeemable lowlifes to break into a jewelry store vault. (Fun fact: The Coen Brothers paid homage in their 2001 noir The Man Who Wasn’t There with Tony Shalhoub’s character, Freddy Riedenschneider.) Among Jaffe’s cohorts are Sterling Hayden (well more than a decade before Dr. Strangelove and 20 years before The Godfather) as small-time crook Dix, Louis Calhern as a corrupt lawyer-turned-the group’s fence Emmerich and, as the latter’s mistress, a then-fledgling and essentially unknown actress by the name of Marilyn Monroe. Huston eschewed some of the genre’s flourishes for a more naturalistic approach, keeping musical cues to a bare minimum and detailing the procedural minutia of the break. The dialogue, peppered with slang, is both crackling and realistic. Story has it that MGM chief Louis B. Mayer said, “That ‘Asphalt Pavement’ thing is full of nasty, ugly people doing nasty things. I wouldn’t walk across the room to see a thing like that.” Don’t listen to him. —A.S. 78. DriveDirector: Nicolas Winding Refn Year: 2011 Of the pivotal elevator kiss toward the end of Drive, Ryan Gosling has said it’s the moment before his nameless driver becomes the werewolf. But there are several points of no return, and genres, in Nicolas Winding Refn’s thriller, from action flick to superhero to grindhouse B-movie. Its roots are unmistakably noir, however, specifically that L.A. subset of sprawling asphalt, actors, and the false appearances and loneliness therein. Gosling’s Hollywood stuntman by day, getaway driver by night is part of an age-old tradition of antiheroes who want to do the right thing but can’t put down the monster within. It’s violent, romantic and quintessentially noir. Framed by a retro sheen of neons and ’80s synths, Drive transports the genre to the present day with a supporting cast that includes a menacing Albert Brooks, Carey Mulligan, Ron Perlman, Bryan Cranston and Christina Hendricks. —A.S. 77. The ProwlerDirector: Joseph Losey Year: 1951 Of all the films collected on this list that aren’t directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Joseph Losey’s The Prowler comes closest to feeling truly Hitchcockian. It’s morbid and nasty, the kind of feature that feels spun from the cloth of pulp comics; you can see this being a really good episode of Tales From the Crypt in an alternate timeline, though we’re probably better off here, because Losey’s movie is phenomenally macabre. What happens when obsession takes a hold of you? What happens when you slowly begin to wither and morph into the worst version of yourself, all to obtain the good things in life you arrogantly believe you deserve? In The Prowler, Van Heflin’s covetous, murderous cop is undone by his own scheming, all in the pursuit of getting what’s his. There’s a life lesson in there about greed, but you might be too caught up in the film’s sweaty, grimy sheen for it to sink in. —A.C. 76. Lady in the LakeDirector: Robert Montgomery Year: 1947 Forty years before The Blair Witch Project popularized the idea of a film being told from the camera’s perspective, actor/director Robert Montgomery gave this radical idea a spin with Lady in the Lake, his adaptation of one of Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe detective stories. Ultimately, the case proves to be minor Marlowe and the first-person gimmick does eventually wear thin over the course of the film’s runtime. Putting aside these reservations, however, the film is most certainly worth a watch if just to witness Montgomery’s sheer audacity and inventiveness. It’s the textbook example of a film being ahead of its time. —M.R. 75. MementoDirector: Christopher Nolan Year: 2000 During a brutal attack in which he believes his wife was raped and murdered, insurance-fraud investigator Leonard Shelby (played with unequivocal intensity, frustration and panic by Guy Pearce) suffers head trauma so severe it leads to his inability to retain new memories for more than a few minutes. This device allows Christopher Nolan to brilliantly deconstruct traditional cinematic storytelling, toggling between chronological black-and-white vignettes and full-color five-minute segments that unfold in reverse order while Shelby frantically searches for his wife’s killer. The film is jarring, inventive and adventurous, and the payoff is every bit worth the mind-bending descent into madness. —Steve LaBate 74. D.O.A.Director: Rudolf Maté Year: 1950 In one of the most intriguing opening scenes in film history, D.O.A. commences with a lengthy tracking shot of a man as he stumbles into the police office to make an unusual request—he wants to report his own murder. This opening image just about sums up D.O.A., a brisk yet exhilarating noir thriller with one hell of a high-concept. After being administered a deadly poison, the main character has only a few days to discover who dosed him and why. What follows is a glorious mix of high-stakes melodrama and entertaining sleaze all compacted into a concise hour-and-twenty minute running time. —M.R. 73. DetourDirector: Edgar G. Ulmer Year: 1945 A pioneering work in the film noir movement, Detour was initially conceived as little more than yet another quickie product straight from Hollywood’s poverty row. The story concerns a piano player who, while hitchhiking from New York to Hollywood, ends up getting a ride from a pill-popping bookie who later turns up dead. Thus begins a series of bad decisions that provides the template for any good noir yarn. Filmed in less than a month with a miniscule budget, the eventual theatrical cut barely clocked in over an hour. It was from these severe limitations, however, that the vocabulary of down-and-dirty noir films began to take shape. Indeed, Detour’s ragged edges and technical hiccups helped inadvertently create the kind of grimy, hard-boiled atmosphere that served as the perfect reflection of its equally gritty content. —M.R. 72. ZodiacDirector: David Fincher Year: 2007 I hate to use the word “meandering,” because it sounds like an insult, but David Fincher’s 2007 thriller is meandering in the best possible way—it’s a detective story about a hunt for a serial killer that weaves its way into and out of seemingly hundreds of different milieus, ratcheting up the tension all the while. Jake Gyllenhaal is terrific, and the story is content to release its clues slowly, leaving the viewer in ambiguity for long stretches, while still feeling like a fast-paced burner. It’s not Fincher’s most famous film, but it’s absolutely one of the most underrated thrillers since 2000. —Shane Ryan 71. Key LargoDirector: John Huston Year: 1948 The fourth and final film teaming of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall doesn’t rank with their other onscreen pairings—the real dance here is between Bogie, as a returning veteran, and Edward G. Robinson, as a gangster who has Bogie’s war buddy’s island resort in a stranglehold, just in time for a hurricane to make landfall. Adapted from Maxwell Anderson’s hit Broadway play, the resulting chamber piece swaps the Spanish Civil War for the second World War. Also exchanged are the typical noir streets for Florida’s coastal environs, every bit as claustrophobic and oppressive as the barometric pressure drops. Though only the film’s opening scenes were shot on location (the rest on the Warner Bros. lot), the exotic setting and meteorological fate render isolation to an extreme degree. Robinson is electrifying as the ex-bootlegger, whose hostages include John Barrymore as the wheelchair-bound father of Bogart’s deceased war colleague, Bacall as the soldier’s widow, and Academy-Award winner Claire Trevor as Robinson’s mistreated moll. As with Bacall here, it’s not Bogart’s finest collaboration with director John Huston, but the palpable sense of atmospheric dread and postwar disillusionment make this a trip worth taking. —A.S. 70. The Sound of FuryDirector: Cy Enfield Year: 1950 Social consciousness, a recurring theme throughout noir’s history, meets with the grisly side of mob politics in Cy Endfield’s lesser-known yarn, ripped straight from the headlines. Like The Wrong Man, The Sound of Fury purports to be based on actual events. How well the film plays that out depends on your knowledge of the case that inspired it. In Endfield’s hands, the story becomes a discomfiting exploration of American inclinations toward taking matters into one’s own hands. Unlike so many legit bad guys on this list, Frank Lovejoy’s Howard Tyler does bad things for good reasons. He’s a family man fallen on hard times. Endfield makes the case for his guilt, but through the complex worldview of noir he’s able to critique the lack of cultural empathy (alongside socially irresponsible journalism) that ushers him toward a downfall disproportionate to his crime. What the film lacks in stylishness, it makes up for in raw emotion. —A.C. 69. BrickDirector: Rian Johnson Year: 2005 High-school sleuths are popular on TV—Veronica Mars, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The Hardy Boys, to name a few. Social cliques and hormonal tensions coupled with deceptively blasé suburban backdrops tend to refresh gumshoe maneuvers, even as murderous intrigue adds zap to all the Clearasil melodrama. But Brick, director Rian Johnson’s crackling debut, shakes up a genre that’s grown a bit routine, while indulging our familiarity with it. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Brendan, the smart, loner kid whose broken heart leads him to the local teenage underworld when his ex-girlfriend (Lost’s Emilie de Ravin) goes missing. The extremely mannered dialogue evokes the clipped lingo of Philip Marlowe, cross-wired with David Mamet. Southern California kids who look like they should be in line for a Gwen Stefani show drop slang like “duck soup” (easy pickings) and “bulls” (cops) as if they were studying James Ellroy in English class. Like those punches that lunge across the screen and send Brendan reeling toward his next clue, it’s a left-field surprise. —Steve Dollar 68. Force of EvilDirector: Abraham Polonsky Year: 1948 A favorite of Martin Scorsese, Force of Evil centers on a lawyer who finds himself involved with an influential gangster looking to take over all smaller rackets in town. The problem? One of those desirable rackets is run by the lawyer’s older brother. Like T-Men, the film makes great use of shooting on location. Moreover, at times, the film’s familial themes and stylized writing help elevate the conflict to near Shakespearean levels (or Biblical levels, considering how frequently it alludes to the story of Cain and Abel). Though relatively small in scale, Force of Evil finds greatness in its aim to convey grandiose, large-scale ideas. —M.R. 67. Angels With Dirty FacesDirector: Michael Curtiz Year: 1938 Jimmy Cagney, Pat O’Brien, and Humphrey Bogart star in this early entry in the noir canon, a surprisingly restrained morality play about two childhood friends whose lives take different yet intersecting paths (natch). During their youthful delinquent days in Hell’s Kitchen, Cagney’s Rocky took the rap for a railroad car robbery after saving the life of his pal Jerry (O’Brien), who subsequently got away—he “couldn’t run as fast as I could,” Jerry laments guiltily. Years later, Rocky is out of juvey and back into crime—along with his new associate, lawyer/heavy Bogart—while Jerry has become a man of the cloth. The priest is doing his best to discourage the neighborhood’s street kids, a.k.a. the “Dead End Kids” and “Bowery Boys” of several film series, to learn from his mistakes. Instead, the fledgling hoodlums idolize Father Jerry’s former BFF, who eats up the attention. What distinguishes Angels With Dirty Faces from its earlier, clear-cut gangster peers (e.g., The Public Enemy) is an emotional, redemptive thread, along with the focus on forces, both internal and external, upon the characters’ fates. A social conscience and introspection elevate what in lesser hands than Michael Curtiz’s would be a contrived melodrama. That, and a smartly paced production led by performances from O’Brien and, particularly Cagney, whose charismatic turn—check that up-for-interpretation climactic reckoning—landed him his first Best Actor Oscar nomination. —A.S. 66. T-MenDirector: Anthony Mann Year: 1947 Prior to gaining his reputation as a premier Western filmmaker, director Anthony Mann established his name in Hollywood via several low-budget noir productions. One of his most widely celebrated is T-Men, which centers on two Treasury agents who must go undercover to infiltrate a notorious counterfeiting ring. While not boasting any big-name actors or even a particularly novel story, the film is noted for its inventive cinematography, with Mann and cinematographer John Alton deciding to shoot several scenes on location in Detroit and Los Angeles, thus necessitating some creative uses of lighting. This commitment to realism would help perfect the film noir style we all know and love. —M.R. 65. Kiss Kiss Bang BangDirector: Shane Black Year: 2005 Shane Black’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang isn’t just one of the early stops on Robert Downey Jr.’s early aughts career redemption tour: It’s arguably the strongest American neo-noir produced in postmillennial cinema. You don’t need to know the Philip Marlowes, the Billy Wilders, the Robert Siodmaks or the Sam Spades of noir canon to have a blast with this one. You only need to have a sense of humor and an appreciation of snappy dialogue, courtesy of a smirking, self-aware script that’s as snarky about its own tropes and contrivances as it is infinitely quotable. The basic foundation of the noir is all there, from the equal doses of gunplay and wordplay to the grisly whodunit driving the plot’s mounting pile of incidents forward. But Black, Downey, and a supporting cast that includes Michelle Monaghan and a rarely better Val Kilmer make the familiar structure here feel new by giving it a coat of fresh, modern vibrancy. —A.C. 64. Sweet Smell of SuccessDirector: Alexander Mackendrick Year: 1957 They don’t come much seamier than Alexander Mackendrick’s masterpiece of blind items and blind ambition. NYC gossip columnist J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster) commands fear from politicians and celebs as he holds court in the social scene. Among his subjects is suck-up Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis); he’s a hustling publicist who’ll do anything to get in Hunsecker’s good graces, even if it means setting up the musician beau of Hunsecker’s younger sister as a pot-smoking commie. Witch-hunt or blackmail, scruples be damned. It’s a round of the nastiest poison for everyone here—from the newspaper giant’s thinly veiled feelings for his sis to a cop in Hunsecker’s pocket to Falco’s pimping out of his girlfriend to advance his agenda. James Wong Howe’s stark yet lyrical cinematography, Ernest Lehman and Clifford Odets’ fast-paced dialogue (adapted from Lehman’s novella), and most explicitly, Elmer Bernstein’s iconic score exemplify what would become known as “crime jazz”—whose gritty brand of urban cool was dangerous, sexy and unforgiving. Sweet Smell of Success pops as a ruthless portrait of New York nightlife and its creatures, and an eerily prescient nod to media sensationalism more than a half century before Facebook and Twitter. Then again, maybe it’s just as canny as everything else at play here. —A.S. 63. FargoDirector: Joel and Ethan Coen Year: 1996 Having already made the more traditional neo-noir with their debut feature, Blood Simple (No. 37), the Coen Brothers opted for a more subversive take with Fargo. The story involves a mild-mannered car salesman who hires two men to kidnap his wife. His hope is that her father’s ransom money can be put toward fixing some of his cash-flow issues. Of course, the situation quickly sours and local police chief Marge Gunderson (a perfect Frances McDormand), who just happens to be heavily pregnant, is brought in to investigate. Trading in the subgenre’s traditional shadow-drenched imagery in favor of wide expanses of the snow-coated Midwest landscapes, the Coens take a conventional noir set-up (a simple plan gone horribly wrong), place it in an unorthodox setting and coat the proceedings under a layer of Midwestern politeness. The result is a devilishly clever black comedy that proved to be the Coens’ mainstream breakout, earning both them and McDormand Academy Awards for writing and acting, respectively. —M.R. 62. The LimeyDirector: Steven Soderbergh Year: 1999 Bad deeds and worse parenthood catch up to Terence Stamp’s Cockney-rhyming antihero, an Englishman in L.A. searching for answers about his daughter’s “accidental” death. Recently released from prison after a decade-long stint, Wilson (Stamp) suspects the young woman’s boyfriend, a record producer of his own age (played with nonchalant skeeze by Peter Fonda) whom he discovers has a drug business on the side. What ensues is an unsettling retread of oedipal dynamics and tragedy repeating itself, the double-crosses and retribution told via flashbacks, and made more vivid by some inspired audio manipulation. The effect calls to mind what Steven Soderbergh did in Out of Sight a year earlier, but here editor Sarah Flack tweaks the motif more (in)consistently and dramatically, excerpting both dialogue and background details at seemingly disjointed moments in the narrative’s timeline. It disorients while bringing plot points and mood into sharp focus. Ed Lachman’s cinematography is likewise inventive. Stamp is simply badass, whether he’s crashing Fonda’s cantilevered Hollywood Hills manse party or having the last word with thugs. Wilson is a righteous avenger who’s resigned to his screwups and what they’ve cost him. That Soderbergh winks at Stamp’s and Fonda’s onscreen legacies ups the psychological ante of players who know the glory days are behind them—“someplace far away, half-remembered,” as Fonda’s character puts it. The Limey is stylish and hip as all get-out, but also more than a little sad. —A.S. 61. Red Rock WestDirector: John Dahl Year: 1993 A key figure in the neo-noir renaissance of the early ’90s, John Dahl followed his promising if not-quite-there directorial debut Kill Me Again with the one-two punch of Red Rock West and, a year later, The Last Seduction (No. 55). For its part, Red Rock West is a classic pulp throwback, scripted by Dahl and his brother Rick. Nicolas Cage, all denim-and-drawl in a tailor-made role if ever there were one, plays a Marine-turned-homeless drifter who stumbles into the eponymous Wyoming town, and into a murder plot. Mistaken for a hitman by the hiring party (J.T. Walsh), he passes himself off as the assassin until he makes the acquaintance of his lovely target (Lara Flynn Boyle), and the real killer (Dennis Hopper). The list of plot twists grows long as the late-afternoon shadows, each double-cross bathed in a gorgeous wash of sun and aided by a twangy soundtrack. (Dwight Yoakam, who wrote a song for the film, shows up as a truck driver.) Red Rock West is terrific fun. It’s a confident, authentic entry in the modern canon that feels neither ironic nor like it’s trying too hard. —A.S. 60. The VerdictDirector: Don Siegel Year: 1946 Don Siegel’s debut picture, The Verdict rests between two axes: Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet. Siegel could have shot the film and styled his misé en scene any way he wanted, and none of it would have mattered so long as he kept his two leading men on the cast. The Verdict is all about them, both from the perspective of narrative and in terms of the viewing experience. Lorre has a habit of stealing our attention while hanging out at the edges of the frame, while Greenstreet uses his imposing bulk to command from the center of the camera. They make a fun pair as antiheroes trying to redeem Greenstreet’s disgraced Scotland Yard superintendent when an innocent man is sent to the gallows thanks to his botched investigation, while Siegel soaks their mission in noir’s dark-washed style and black humor. —A.C. 59. Shoot the Piano PlayerDirector: François Truffaut Year: 1960 François Truffaut’s Shoot the Piano Player feels like the tragicomic reverse of Melville’s Le Doulos (No. 53). Instead of adapting French literature through an American lens, Truffaut does the reverse, turning David Goodis’ crime yarn Down There into an altogether unpredictable story about commercialism, artistic purity, and the ways our pasts catch up with us. Shoot the Piano Player keeps its tongue firmly in cheek as Truffaut oscillates between absurd slapstick and heartbreak. A man swears to his honesty on his mother’s soul, and the camera cuts away to dear old mom as she falls down dead in her kitchen; Truffaut’s protagonist, Charlie (Charles Aznavour), plays a ditty in the dive bar where he works, haunted by the death of his wife as well as his rising career as a concert pianist. The film is a romp until it’s a downer. —A.C. 58. Gun CrazyDirector: Joseph H. Lewis Year: 1950 Of all the films on this list, Joseph H. Lewis’ deliriously lusty Gun Crazy might be the best starting place for viewers looking to brush up on their film noir. Gun Crazy gets it. More than just about any noir of any era, Gun Crazy understands on a cellular level why people watch noirs, why the criminal element has such an incongruously romantic appeal. The film is an embarrassment of naughty delights, notably the tension between John Dall and Peggy Cummins, so taut it’s fit to snap; it’s also made with high-level craftsmanship, best exemplified in a bravura bank robbery sequence shot in one jaw-dropping take. Men do all kinds of crazy stuff in the name of love. Watching Dall embark on a life of gun-toting crime with Cummins doesn’t strike one as all that far-fetched. —A.C. 57. Sexy BeastDirector: Jonathan Glazer Year: 2000 Two decades may as well be a lifetime removed from his career-defining, Oscar-winning role as Gandhi in this wicked 180 for Sir Ben Kingsley. In Jonathan Glazer’s slick directorial debut, Kingsley portrays ferocious sociopath Don Logan, who drops by his retired partner-in-crime Gal Dove’s rural Spanish villa to demand his participation in “one last job” (right), a bank heist in London. The word “no” doesn’t register in Don’s vocabulary, though a litany of scalding, Cockney-infused vitriol most certainly does. As the situation rapidly and bloodily deteriorates, the depths of Kingsley’s savagery is astonishing. Ian McShane intimidates as Logan’s underworld boss, and Ray Winstone, as the contented former safe-cracker on the receiving end of Don’s unchecked rage, provides the most obvious study in contrasts. Note the physicality of Gal’s doughy, overly tanned domesticate versus Don’s lean, mean monster, without an ounce of body fat or, it seems, humanity. (Not-so-fun fact: Kingsley based the characterization on his … grandmother.) So, too, does Glazer (Under the Skin) counter the blistering sun and craggy mountainsides with large bodies of water—both as setting and plot device, in still and torrent form. Sexy Beast is a sophisticated thriller that deals in conflict of all stripes. —A.S. 56. Clash By NightDirector: Fritz Lang Year: 1952 Fritz Lang’s soapy love triangle, adapted from the Clifford Odets play, stands apart thanks to leading lady Barbara Stanwyck. City girl Mae Doyle (Stanwyck) returns to her native Monterey, California, a salt-of-the-earth coastal community where she reconnects with her resentful younger brother and his impressionable girlfriend (played by Marilyn Monroe). Once a politician’s mistress, Mae has played fast and loose with her life choices and has nothing much to show for it, hence her words, “Home is where you’ve come to when you run out of places.” With equal measures of resignation and embitterment, Mae starts dating an uncomplicated but solid fisherman (Paul Douglas) whom she knows will take care of her. But since she can’t leave well enough, if uneventful, alone, she starts hanging around a drunken, married prick (Robert Ryan) who mirrors her cynical worldview. She marries the simpleton and has his baby but has an affair with the S.O.B., also a nasty misogynist—there’s a not-so-under current of domestic violence and S&M throughout the melodrama—until the fit hits the shan, and Odets’ signature, stylized dialogue smacks the aw-shucks out of small-town life, jarringly so. Split in two parts, separated by a year, of almost equal length, Clash By Night adds up to more than the sum of its boilerplate parts. By framing the portrait of fear and deep disappointment amid the angles of Monterey, with its docks and canneries, Lang heightens the organic consequences of bad decisions—as inevitable as the waves rolling in to shore. There’s a neo-realist tension to the usual genre themes of repression, betrayal, and forgiveness, introduced with Lang’s opening, documentary look at the local fishing industry. As Mae comes to grips with the pointlessness of it all—“Love because we’re lonely, love because we’re frightened, love because we’re bored,” she shrugs—Clash By Night offers a resounding example of the classic noir patriarchy, its femme fatale ultimately put in her place. —A.S. 55. The Last SeductionDirector: John Dahl Year: 1994 John Dahl hit his stride in this uncompromisingly vicious character study. Bridget (Linda Fiorentino) is a brazenly sexual, proudly scheming vixen who makes off with the bank she convinced her husband to sell drugs for, then snags an unsuspecting stranger in facilitating the getaway. Fiorentino is Oscar worthy as the diabolical femme fatale. Not only does she have absolutely zero compunctions whatsoever, she delights in every foul deed, whether it’s telling her spouse to screw off or screwing her next unwitting victim. Career everyman Bill Pullman has his moments as the jilted hubby out for revenge, and Peter Berg is quaintly endearing as the dummy who falls for her. But this is far and away Fiorentino’s show. With more balls, intellect and self-possession than her male counterparts could muster among themselves, her character bristles with contempt. She toys with her victims when she’s not yawning at them, or flat-out throwing them away. “How ’bout us going out on a real date sometime?” Berg’s poor sucker asks Bridget after a romantic straddle against a chain-link fence. “Why?” she asks—ain’t nobody got time for that. As with Red Rock West, The Last Seduction is self-aware but sincere. It’s sublimely dry, dark comedy that’s dead serious. We can only imagine what the female-fearing Powers That Be at the Production Code would’ve done with this cinematic middle finger. —A.S. 54. Miller’s CrossingDirector: Joel and Ethan Coen Year: 1990 Like O Brother, Where Art Thou? a decade later, Miller’s Crossing is a terrible choice for those who prefer their Coen films a little less Coen-ish. It’s highly stylized, confusing and often ridiculous. But the parts of this Barry Sonnenfeld-shot noir that do work are glorious—the blustering menace of Albert Finney’s Irish mob boss, Gabriel Byrne’s casual indolence as his right-hand man, and most of all, John Turturro’s masterful painting of the spectacularly weaselly bookie Bernie Bernbaum. “Look in your heart! ”—Michael Dunaway 53. Le DoulosDirector: Jean-Pierre Melville Year: 1962 At the start of Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Doulos, a handy dandy intertitle card kindly lets us know that the film’s name refers either to a style of hat or a police informant. Once the picture commences, we get plenty of both plus the oozing-cool style of Melville, whose tendency to play down everything in his frame makes even his use of shadow and light seem aloof. Le Doulos is the most-least French contribution to this list; it’s Melville’s adaptation of a novel by Pierre Lesou, but he blends Lesou’s words with twists on symbols and staples of American noir. A purist might argue that combining a French novel with American sensibilities is an implicit rejection of the filmmaking model he and his fellow Rive Gauche comrades established in the 1950s. In truth, that synthesis produces a celluloid slurry that’s uniquely Melville, minimalist and slick. —A.C. 52. Mulholland Dr.Director: David Lynch Year: 2001 Film noir has always been an unmistakable influence in the work of David Lynch, the patron saint of bizarrely gleeful genre experiments. With Mulholland Dr., however, Lynch took his fascination with the subgenre to a whole other level, depicting a world where a character’s interior life influences not only the film’s visual style but its narrative structure as well. In the first great performance of her illustrious career, Naomi Watts plays a wide-eyed actress newly arrived in Hollywood who stumbles upon a beautiful young woman who can’t remember who she is. That pithy logline only touches the tip of the iceberg, as the film delights in throwing numerous other subplots and mysteries at its audience only to violently pull the rug out from under them in its latter half. Mulholland Dr.’s brilliance is enough to make David Lynch’s exile from the feature film world all the more painful. —M.R. 51. The Long GoodbyeDirector: Robert Altman Year: 1973 It’s muggy in L.A. and Philip Marlowe (Elliott Gould) is shrouded in an opaque suit, a getup whose fabric one assumes barely breathes, especially with so much cigarette smoke clogging up its woolly pores. He’s a deeply square person—though it’s the early ’70s, he debatably makes smoking look cool, and though he lives in an apartment complex with a giggly group of young coeds given to shirtless shenanigans and still sweating off the hangover of Free Love, he’s a barely noticed figure. He’s a loose thread on the fallow fringes of a sophisticated city, a grown man with nothing better to do on a clear, late night than feed his cat … if he can even find it. Marlowe is a man of another time, “a born loser” as even one of his closest friends calls him. And the world into which Altman abandons him isn’t one of dark alleyways or the damp, wan glow of streetlamps—chiaroscuro be damned—it’s the bright dawn of something new and something disconcertingly shiny in America. The Long Goodbye is Altman’s stab at and devastation of film noir, pitting its beleaguered protagonist not against those stuffy, old, deeply ingrained mechanisms of institutionalized evil, but against a much younger brand of nihilism. In Altman’s noir-ish wasteland, there is nothing lurking beneath the surface—it’s all surface—and our only moral compass is a chain-smoking, asexual dweeb who isn’t so much righteous as he is just plain ignored. —Dom Sinacola 50. Le SamouraiDirector: Jean-Pierre Melville Year: 1967 Flip a coin to decide whether Le Samourai or Le Doulos is the coolest Melville film of them all; odds are, it’ll land upright, because that’s an impossible distinction to make. Melville films pulse with ineffable cool. In the case of Le Samourai, proof of Melville’s dedication to brewing substance from style lies in the film’s enormous influence: Everybody from Jim Jarmusch to Madonna recognizes Melville’s flair, and they’ve been imitating it, or mixing it with their own trademarks, for years. There are hitmen movies, and there are hitmen movies, and standing head and shoulders above most of them there’s Le Samourai, a movie that makes the lethal discipline of knocking people off into fine art. It’s as much a study of human isolation as it is a paean to the magnetic pull of a sleek aesthetic. —A.C. 49. One False MoveDirector: Carl Franklin Year: 1992 Carl Franklin’s excellent early ’90s neo-noir walks a razor-thin tightrope of suspense: You get the sense from one minute to the next that any step out of place could send the entire narrative into violent anarchy. Franklin’s film has great aspirations, delving into the complexities of modern American race relations just a few years after Spike Lee wrote the cinematic book on them with Do the Right Thing. He packages those socially aware goals alongside a tale of drugs, money, spectacularly brutal violence, and familial reconciliation. One False Move never goes quite where you expect it to, and that sense of unpredictability, combined with Franklin’s knack for speaking authentically to experiences from every angle of racial division, make it a sterling gem. —A.C. 48. Journey Into FearDirector: Orson Welles, Norman Foster Year: 1943 The story goes that Orson Welles was set to direct this spy thriller but other commitments precluded him from doing so, thus Norman Foster (Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, the Mr. Moto and Charlie Chan series, Woman on the Run) was brought on the production. And though documentary footage has Welles insisting he had no directorial hand whatsoever in the finished product, his touch is all over it—the least of which is the cast, including Mercury Theatre Players Joseph Cotten, Ruth Warrick, Agnes Moorehead and Everett Sloane. Stylistically speaking, the screen adaptation of Eric Ambler’s tail of Nazi-era espionage and double-crosses on the high seas—co-scripted by Cotten and, admittedly in this aspect, Welles, who also produced, co-starred, designed and storyboarded (really, Orson?!)—trades in Welles’ signature angles, lighting schemes, and mise en scène. The noir tells are all there, too: characters of universally suspect motives; subconscious themes and dream states; and moody flourishes like the foreboding refrain of a scratched phonograph record. Then there’s that Citizen Kane-esque pre-credits opening, which Welles did in fact cop to creating, and the climactic, ledge-top showdown (which he did not). Hacked to barely over an hour in length by RKO, Journey Into Fear is a fascinating if flawed preview of genre masterworks like Touch of Evil and The Lady from Shanghai (not to mention The Third Man) to come. —A.S. 47. Sorry, Wrong NumberDirector: Anatole Litvak Year: 1948 A story of unintended connections and one woman’s spiraling descent into paranoia and terror, Sorry, Wrong Number gets sort of a bum rap next to Double Indemnity in Barbara Stanwyck’s catalogue of awesome performances. The film alternates between flashbacks and the present, and so too does Stanwyck’s spoiled, shiftless heiress to a drug-store empire go from lethargy to hysteria. Turns out she’s the center of a murder plot, though she doesn’t quite realize it at first and must piece together the architecture of her own demise as she lies bedridden and alone in her opulent Manhattan digs. Stanwyck gives Sorry, Wrong Number a pulse, while Anatole Litvak’s direction soaks her growing terror in shadows so deep, the intruder sneaking through her house can’t help but bump into the furniture. —A.C. 46. The Blue DahliaDirector: George Marshall Year: 1946 George Marshall (Destry Rides Again, How the West Was Won) directed Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake in this Raymond Chandler labyrinth, which gained added notoriety with the real-life “Black Dahlia” murder of Elizabeth Short the year after the film’s premiere. Also of note is Chandler’s Academy Award nomination for best original screenplay; Blue Dahlia marks the only one he ever penned specifically for the screen, his other scripts having been adapted from novels of others and, oddly enough, other film adaptations of his own novels written by other screenwriters. Trivia aside, Ladd is stoic swagger as our hard-boiled protag Johnny, a recently discharged bomber pilot who, upon his return stateside to Hollywood, is accused of his cheating wife’s murder. On the lam to clear his name, he runs across a host of sketchy characters, among them his wife’s lover—the owner of the film’s namesake Sunset Strip nightclub—and, it turns out, said lover’s estranged spouse (Lake). It’s all very sordid—a little too complicated for its own good, really—but a bracing watch, typified by the genre’s tropes and slang-riddled dialogue. One more fun fact, and a minor spoiler alert: Chandler’s original (vastly more satisfying) ending had one of the Navy men as the killer, but given the film’s release came so close to the end of WWII, the U.S. military asked that a veteran not be shown in such a negative light. Thus the ending was rewritten—and with that, folks, you’ve got one of noir’s corrective conceits in a nutshell. —A.S. 45. The Strange Loves of Martha IversDirector: Lewis Milestone Year: 1946 Noir matriarch Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin and Kirk Douglas—in his film debut—star in this knotty melodrama, set in motion with the rash murder by teenaged Martha Ivers of her rich bitch of an aunt. Walter, the son of Martha’s tutor, saw it go down but doesn’t say anything, and the two blame the incident on an intruder, who is convicted and hanged (whoops). Stanwyck and Douglas assume the roles of adult Martha and Walter, the latter a drunken, corrupt D.A. who married the now miserable heiress and business mogul. His love for her is entirely one-sided, so the return of Martha’s childhood friend Sam (Heflin) to town stirs up old secrets and older feelings—of jealousy for Walter, of guilt, regret, and tellingly, fear for Martha, who believes Sam also witnessed the murder. Working from a short story by John Patrick, director Lewis Milestone (All Quiet on the Western Front, Two Arabian Nights) takes his time with the backstory and creates a well-crafted web of noir staples: blackmail and betrayal; gambling drifters and conniving dames; the psychological consequences of past sins; seedy and grandiose settings; um, lots of rain; and a morally compromised center that leaves little hope for anyone. There’s also a curiously refreshing gender play in the presence of Sam’s lady friend, Toni (Lizabeth Scott), a fellow former street kid and parolee. Yet while she wants to move on, Sam gets sucked back into Martha’s world. It’s an interesting characterization, as is Douglas’, a broken shell of a man who self-medicates under the weight of one lie upon another. It bears repeating this is his first screen role. He’s as heartbreaking as Stanwyck is heartless—and yet her performance, one in a fine cast of them, still manages sympathy at the film’s tragic end. —A.S. 44. Body HeatDirector: Lawrence Kasdan Year: 1981 Lawrence Kasdan’s directorial debut remains, to this day, one of the sexiest movies ever to grace the big screen—not to mention, the rare occasion where the phrase “erotic thriller” can be appropriately uttered without the slightest hint of a snicker. Boasting a star-making performance by Kathleen Turner, the film takes the standard Double Indemnity/The Postman Always Rings Twice premise (femme fatale hires lover to kill husband) and grafts it onto the humid nightmare that is Florida in the midst of a heat wave. Memorable sex scenes aside, however, the film is also a master class in how to build suspense and escalate tension. —M.R. 43. Taxi DriverDirector: Martin Scorsese Year: 1976 Taxi Driver was Scorsese’s breakthrough: a seething condemnation of alienation—not to mention New York’s descent in the 1970s into a crime-ridden hellscape—delivered with such clinical coldness that when Scorsese’s star (and longtime collaborator) Robert De Niro finally explodes, it’s unspeakably upsetting. If Taxi Driver now feels slightly overrated, it’s only because the movie’s DNA has crept into so many subsequent filmmakers’ efforts. Scorsese grew up loving Westerns, and Taxi Driver could just as easily be his version of The Searchers—except his man-out-of-time finds no redemption. —T.G. 42. The Hitch-HikerDirector: Ida Lupino Year: 1953 Who can say no to Ida Lupino? (Not Doc Sportello, that’s for sure.) As a woman-helmed production, The Hitch-Hiker was a rarity in its heyday, though if you didn’t know Lupino held the reins, you might not guess the film was directed with a feminine touch. The Hitch-Hiker was as much an anomaly in Hollywood as it was a change of pace for Lupino, who, after directing four features that each revolved around the struggles and victimization of women, decided to try her hand with decidedly more masculine fare. Decades later, her film is still generally considered the first noir directed by a woman, but it should really be thought of first as a slim, unsparing, suspenseful slice of true crime. She puts her foot on the gas and doesn’t let up until the very end. —A.C. 41. White HeatDirector: Raoul Walsh Year: 1949 The oedipal and criminal collide yet again with James Cagney’s psychopathic mama’s boy Arthur “Cody” Jarrett, whose deadly train-robbing exploits ultimately land him in jail. While there he befriends an undercover fed (Edmond O’Brien, whose other noirs include The Hitch-Hiker) bent on nailing him for greater crimes. After Jarrett’s plottingly protective ma (Margaret Wycherly) get killed—by his equally scheming wife (Virginia Mayo), though she convinces him his right-hand man did the deed—he stages a break, and his next heist. In one of his darkest roles, 50-year-old Cagney is at his unhinged best, a powder keg of neuroses and sadistic impulses who can feign insanity—as he does in the prison infirmary—for only so long before his delusions overtake him completely. Prone to throbbing headaches, he’s a dangerously troubled tough guy who still retreats to his mother’s lap, and declares “Made it, Ma! Top of the World!” as the bottom falls out from under him. This postwar psychic landscape is subversive as hell—and suburban too, no longer confined to metro limits. On that note, the damage is no longer rooted in his environment; Jarrett’s a disaster from the inside out, dysfunctional in his very wiring (thanks, ma!). Director Raoul Walsh, reuniting here with Cagney after The Roaring Twenties and The Strawberry Blonde, echoes the off-the-rails energy of his leading man, infusing the film with an incendiary nihilism and amorality. The bookending set pieces, shot on location in industrial California, pulse with realism. The cumulative effect represents a primal deviation—make that devolution—from social conformity and civilization. So, yeah, of course he’s gotta get blown up, noir-comeuppance style. Still, Cagney is mesmerizing to watch self-destruct. —A.S. 40. Pickup on South StreetDirector: Samuel Fuller Year: 1953 Despite receiving frequent praise from the likes of Martin Scorsese, Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmusch and Quentin Tarantino, writer/director Samuel Fuller remains an underseen and underappreciated filmmaker beyond a circle of Criterion-loving cinephiles. In a career spent challenging audiences with brutal action and controversial subject matter, Pickup on South Street actually marks one of the filmmaker’s more accessible works. Indeed, the opening set-up feels akin to the sort of “wrong man” scenarios favored by Hitchcock—a New York thief ends up pickpocketing a young woman’s wallet, only to discover it contains top-secret government intel. The man quickly realizes he has become an unwitting player in some serious Cold War-era espionage. Though undeniably dated in certain places, the film’s take on politics and sex as well as its willingness to position an unrepentant thief in its main character slot represented the kind of daring mentality that would have been celebrated years later in the New Hollywood era. —M.R. 39. Odd Man OutDirector: Carol Reed Year: 1947 Rarely has a noir more successfully depicted a misfit on the margins of society than in director Carol Reed’s existential allegory. Two years before The Third Man roamed the streets of Vienna, James Mason’s conflicted IRA cell leader Johnny is abandoned by his own—and hunted by police—in the wet cobblestone alleyways of Belfast, a bullet to the shoulder and a blow to the soul. A botched heist to fund his local organization has left him in frantic search of refuge and in deteriorating physical and psychological condition, a mental state conveyed brilliantly by cinematographer Robert Krasker’s expressionist motifs, first-person POV, and camera trickery. The environment amplifies Johnny’s anxiety and confusion: After months in a safe house, daylight and its inhabitants freak him out; prison time has weakened his constitution and dulled his senses; shifts in the weather (from overcast skies to rain to snowfall) both reflect and affect his plight. Given his overarching state of disrepair, he’s subject to increased delirium and hallucinations, not to mention a profound crisis of faith, dogma, even metaphysics. Heady stuff, sure, yet at its bones Odd Man Out is about humanity. Mason is superb as the angst-ridden antihero of few words. He’s an ordinary man in an extraordinary situation, who during the course of one fateful evening encounters similar persons, of both noble and less-than-noble actions. Johnny’s revolutionary affiliations notwithstanding, this isn’t a political commentary, it’s an intensely personally one, a meditation on what it means to be good or bad, innocent or guilty. A masterpiece of postwar British cinema. —A.S. 38. L.A. ConfidentialDirector: Curtis Hanson Year: 1997 This sumptuous adaptation of James Ellroy’s novel never visits Roman Polanski’s preferred corner of Los Angeles, but it rivals Chinatown in both quality of filmmaking and cynicism of spirit. This film not only announced Hanson as a filmmaker well beyond his previous work (The Hand That Rocks the Cradle?), but endeared Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce to American audiences by giving them their first signature roles. This tabloid version of the City of Angels celebrates all the sex, corruption and other seedy circumstances the superficial city can provide. It offers a string of unforgettable sequences, from Bud White’s Yuletide raid to Exley’s interrogations to the final shootout where the film’s utterly Ellroy perspective on police morality is (quite literally) executed with masterful precision. At the time of its release, L.A. Confidential was praised as a throwback, a smeared portrait of the 1950s embracing the spirit of crime noirs (and even westerns) of the 1970s. That was almost 20 years ago. Here’s hoping some young punk or frustrated journeyman is ready to dust off these storytelling tropes again to produce something this timeless. —B.W. 37. Blood SimpleDirectors: Joel and Ethan Coen Year: 1984 Most filmmakers spend large chunks of their careers building up to greatness. Rare is the auteur who comes out swinging with an essential debut. So that means we can just chalk up the Coen Brothers as a rarity, and qualify Blood Simple as something special. Make no mistake: This is a Coen movie through and through, unapologetically nasty and intentionally apathetic to the suffering of their characters. It’s also a remarkably telling blueprint for their careers as masters of crime gone wrong. As with so much of their future output, Blood Simple aestheticizes violence without fetishizing it. Bullet holes and knife wounds help color the film in dark brushstrokes—such is the Coens’ wont—and careful attention to shot composition ratchets the film’s morbid elements to almost intoxicating heights. You’ll want to look away, but the Coens keep your eyes glued to their somber fatalism. —A.C. 36. Nightmare AlleyDirector: Edmund Goulding Year: 1947 We typically define femme fatales as villainesses, charming, scheming women who lure unsuspecting men into the most dire circumstances possible. In Nightmare Alley, that stock character takes on the role of justiciar: It’s true that Helen Ritter’s unscrupulous psychologist leads Tyrone Power’s amoral con man to a bitter end, but do we really mind? It’s not like Stan Carlisle doesn’t deserve to have bad things happen to him, and maybe the price of his deceitful ambition is to spend his days biting off chicken heads in an alcoholic stupor for a third-rate carnival. Justice is blind, and occasionally it’s pretty ugly. Few noirs drive at that sordid reality better than Nightmare Alley. Whatever you think about Edmund Goulding’s film—it only attained its status as a noir masterpiece in recent years—you won’t soon forget it after a viewing. —A.C. 35. Murder, My Sweet Director: Edward Dmytryk Year: 1944 Edward Dmytrk’s adaption of the 1940 Raymond Chandler novel Farewell, My Lovely (whose title was used for the film’s U.K. release) cast Dick Powell in what would be the career-redefining role of P.I. Philip Marlowe, who as the movie opens is temporarily blinded and bandaged. As he narrates his story to police, we learn of his entanglement in numerous investigations—of the former girlfriend of an ex-con, a stolen jade necklace, one suspect character after another—and a couple of murders. The false leads mount in a head-spinning maze of cheeky one-upmanship. “I don’t know which side anybody’s on. I don’t even know who’s playing today,” Marlowe levels at one point, voicing viewers’ uncertainty. He’s, dare we say it, vulnerable. Dmytrk does a crafty job of arching a filmic brow at each of his players, in what is one of the most faithful and well-made Chandler adaptations (all the more so given its low budget). The caustic one-liners (John Saxton penned the screenplay) come fast and furious, the performances are uniformly excellent, from the duplicitous (Claire Trevor) to the wholesome (Anne Shirley), and the visuals are elaborate, as with a trippy, terrifying sequence during which Marlowe gets drugged. Powell so thoroughly and wryly inhabits the gumshoe’s, er, shoes, the role effectively broke him out of a decade-long pigeonhole in screen musicals. —A.S. 34. Night MovesDirector: Arthur Penn Year: 1975 A criminally underrated gem of ’70s cinema, Night Moves stars Gene Hackman as a retired football player-turned-private investigator who is hired by an aging starlet to track down her wayward daughter. Naturally, this seemingly simple assignment leads our hero down a convoluted path littered with illicit relationships and rampant corruption. Released a year after Francis Ford Coppola’s much celebrated The Conversation, Night Moves very much serves as that film’s spiritual sibling—a complex, somewhat opaque treatise on American cynicism in a post-Watergate world. —M.R. 33. Crime WaveDirector: André de Toth Year: 1954 Tough life out there for a reformed convict, huh? That’s the nugget at the core of André de Toth’s Crime Wave, a movie with a moral compass and surprising amounts of compassion for bad guys trying to go straight. Gene Nelson’s great lament resonates: “Once you do a stretch, you’re never clean again!” His plight is moving to the point of heartbreak. Thankfully, or maybe not, his character has attracted the attentions of Sterling Hayden, a tough-minded detective with a Baratheon-esque devotion to rule of law. Nelson’s in a pickle when a dying bank robber shows up on his doorstep, his partners far, but not far enough, behind him. It’s bad enough to have crooks at your door, but Hayden isn’t the sentimental type. De Toth refuses to glamorize their ordeal, or stylize his Los Angeles filming locations; he shoots with an aesthetic as frank as Hayden’s manner. —A.C. 32. Criss CrossDirector: Robert Siodmak Year: 1949 Criss Cross marks the screen debut of future movie star Tony Curtis (here billed as “James Curtis”). Fortunately, the film—which reunites Burt Lancaster with Killers director/noir auteur Robert Siodmak—works as much more than merely a footnote in Curtis’ career. Lancaster stars as an armored truck guard who hatches a plan with his ex-wife to fake a vehicle robbing so they can make off with the loot. Per the title, the plotline soon transforms into a tangled web of double- (and triple-) crosses that concludes with an ending that, even by noir standards, is pretty damn bleak. —M.R. 31. Blue VelvetDirector: David Lynch Year: 1986 Blue Velvet represents everything cinema can be: horrific, hilarious, reality heightened to inexplicable, nearly intolerable heavens. This is storytelling as symbology, traditional American genres like noir and the thriller picked apart with unsettling aplomb. For example, take the noir part of this equation: Lynch concocts an oedipal circumstance out of Kyle MacLachlan’s innocent boy and Dennis Hopper’s evil “daddy,” with Isabella Rossellini’s sexy “mommy” persona both an unobtainable feminine figure and a sweet presence that must be protected. As adorable everyman Jeffrey Beaumont (MacLachlan) is seduced ever deeper into the disgusting underground of American domesticity (represented by a series of insectoid images, the denizens of our creepy crawly underworld), his outlook is light, and psychopathic Frank Booth’s (Hopper) is dark—in fact, Frank comments on this. Of course, he’s talking literally about the illumination of the room, but he also huffs helium and calls himself Van Gogh, so every gesture, every sideways word should be taken with a grain of salt. Or fertilizer. And so, in black and white, Lynch finds blue: There is something deeply sad about the kind of normal, everyday stuff Lynch fixates upon, and in Blue Velvet that sadness is, whether we like it or not, the closest a film in the 1980s ever got to realizing the American Dream. —D.S. 30. The Set-UpDirector: Robert Wise Year: 1949 Before Robert Wise helmed The Sound of Music, before he enjoyed a briefly sustained stint on the Academy Awards’ circuit, he made movies like The Set-Up. Before he made The Set-Up, though, he edited two Orson Welles masterpieces, The Magnificent Ambersons and Citizen Kane (for which he was also nominated for an Oscar). Wise’s time with Welles shows in the crisp, clean construction of The Set-Up, a movie that hits with quick percussive impact and spares no time from one bout of action to the next. The film strikes a comparison between youthful and experienced viewpoints: James Edwards’ boxer on the rise is brimming with self-assurance, while David Clarke’s battle-scarred ring veteran speaks aloud to pugilists’ inevitable decline. Is Robert Ryan’s last attempt at glory worth suffering for? Is it worth the mental trauma it inflicts on his wife (Audrey Totter, showing off a different side of herself ahead of 1950’s Tension)? Wise answers both queries pretty definitively, but he builds drama so well that he handily earns the neatly tied-up ending. —A.C. 29. Blade RunnerDirector: Ridley Scott Year: 1982 A box-office flop on its initial run, Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (and its numerous post-theatrical re-edits) has since become one of the defining pillars of sci-fi filmmaking. Besides exploring deep, existential questions of what constitutes humanity and the repercussions that come with creating artificial life, the movie features extraordinary performances by Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer, as well as some of the most emotionally intense action set pieces ever put to film. Moreover, a good portion of the film’s appeal lies in its incorporation of film noir aesthetics—shadow-filled, rainy metropolitan exteriors, a brooding yet resourceful investigator hero, retro ’40s fashion—into its dreary, dystopian setting. At one point, the film even boasted a Philip Marlowe-esque voiceover narration that was thankfully excised from future cuts. Once regarded as a failed experiment, Blade Runner now registers as nothing short of a classic. —M.R. 28. Night and the CityDirector: Jules Dassin Year: 1950 London is cast as a waking nightmare in Jules Dassin’s charged portrait of greed, which stockpiled surpluses of pathos and anxiety early on, behind the scenes. Vilified for past Communist sympathies, Dassin was sent to Britain by 20th Century Fox studio head Darryl F. Zanuck to shoot the adaptation of Gerald Kersh’s best-selling novel (which Dassin admitted he never read). Along with his newfound status on many a Hollywood blacklist, Dassin was told by Zanuck the foreign production would also help lead actress Gene Tierney get over a breakup—she was allegedly suicidal as a result. So even before the cameras started rolling, Night and the City was steeped in despair. Factor in Richard Widmark’s turn as Harry Fabian, a small-time wheeler-dealer who attempts to infiltrate the local wrestling subculture, and Dassin’s refusal to grant his characters clemency, and Night and the City hits new depths of noir pessimism—all threat, no sentiment. It’s no stretch to draw parallels between Dassin’s displaced filmmaker and Fabian’s Yank in London, nor his vision of the noir city, quintessentially American, across the pond. Harry is, as his long-suffering friend Mary (Tierney) tells him, “an artist without an art,” a cipher left to scavenge the hellish urban underbelly, London’s architecture practically suffocated in expressionist chiaroscuro. The bottom-feeders (more Tinseltown commentary, mayhaps?) he comes across are liars of one sort or another: forgers, thieves, panhandlers, smugglers, promoters—but even they have a niche, a trade. “You could have been anything. Anything. You had brains … ambition. You worked harder than any 10 men. But the wrong things. Always the wrong things…” Mary laments. Harry’s nothing, and Dassin—hotly and brilliantly—lets the anger seethe. —A.S. 27. Mildred PierceDirector: Michael Curtiz Year: 1945 Like Double Indemnity, Michael Curtiz’ Mildred Pierce succeeds on the strength of its leading lady; in this case that’s the immortal Joan Crawford, who plays the film’s central character, not to mention all of its heart and soul. (Arguably, it’s the most definitive Crawford performance of all time, at least next to What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?.) Mildred Pierce is a strong woman driven by an inexhaustible love for her children, Veda (Ann Blyth) and Kay (Jo Ann Marlowe), but she’s also stymied by the restricting grasp of a patriarchal society. Even Veda is contemptuous of Mildred for daring to have the moxie to have it all. The film is about more than prickly mother-daughter relationships, of course, specifically the murder of Mildred’s second husband. But sandwiched in between Curtiz’ probing whodunit lies one of noir’s most sympathetic and purely humanist tales. —A.C. 26. The Postman Always Rings TwiceDirector: Tay Garnett Year: 1946 “A beautiful femme fatale saunters into an unsuspecting man’s life and entices him into committing murder for her.” This logline could be used to describe any number of classic film noirs. Most of this can be traced back to author James M. Cain, who wrote two books—Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice—that hinged on this premise. In the case of Postman, the archetypal sucker is a drifter (John Garfield) who falls into an affair with a beautiful married woman working at a diner (Lana Turner, in one of her most memorable performances). The two subsequently hatch a scheme to murder the woman’s much-older husband and seize control of his assets. Incidentally, MGM actually purchased the rights to Cain’s novel shortly after it was first published 12 years prior, but it took the success of Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity adaptation at Paramount to convince them the story and its mature themes were a viable gamble. Even before that, Cain’s book had been unofficially adapted into two foreign productions—Le Dernier Tournant in France and Luchino Visconti’s Ossessione in Italy. It would go on to be adapted several more times, including again in 1981 with Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange, but the 1946 version, with its button-pushing steaminess and stylish direction, remains the gold standard. —M.R. 25. The Wrong ManDirector: Alfred Hitchcock Year: 1956 Leave it to the master of suspense to meld docudrama realism with the melodrama of film noir. “Alfred Hitchcock’s powerful portrait of a man … drawn from life!” The Wrong Man’s original trailer proclaims. It’s to the film’s credit that Hitch doesn’t screw around here, telling in full the story of a man falsely convicted for robberies he never committed. Unsurprisingly, Hitch is every bit as interested in the effects of the outrageous miscarriage of justice that befalls Manny Balestrero as he is in the lasting trauma his detention inflicts on him and his family. The Wrong Man puts a high premium on claustrophobic camerawork—we feel like we’re as confined as poor old Manny—but the film’s greatest impression is left in its aftermath. —A.C. 24. The Big HeatDirector: Fritz Lang Year: 1953 A pot of boiling coffee to the face is among the lasting impressions that remain long after the first, and second, and tenth viewings of Fritz Lang’s seminal noir. Glenn Ford stars as Det. Sgt. Dave Bannion, the poster boy of black-and-white morality in a sea of film noir gray. He’s a man on a mission, Johnny Law out to clean up the ruinous city. You see, something about the suicide of his colleague, one of scads of cops in the back pocket of the local mob boss, doesn’t sit right with him, and Lord help anyone who gets in his way—or even in his periphery. As the potential for justice seems to slip away, so convinced does Ford’s underdog become of his holy crusade, he’s blind to the collateral damage—emotional, too—or maybe it’s just that his self-righteousness trumps everyone and everything else. Black-and-white no more, eh? Along with Ford’s relentless (anti)hero (that parenthetical, depending on how you look at him), Gloria Grahame is incredible as the moll of Lee Marvin’s (also outstanding) second-in-command gangster. Working from a Saturday Night Post serial adapted by former crime reporter Sydney Boehm, Lang is meticulous in depicting the transition from principled family man to revenge-seeking vigilante, and the below-the-surface hypocrisy of this by-the-book guy, who prefers his own gun to the police department’s, anyway. Viewers can take the thrills at face value—and there are many, and they’re glorious and gut-churning. But what we think is a rather straightforward, if brutal, takedown of systemic corruption becomes something more nuanced, and chilling. “Keep the coffee hot,” the ultimately “triumphant” detective tells a clerk. Given the bodies left in his reckless wake, that line still feels too soon, some 60 years later. —A.S. 23. The KillingDirector: Stanley Kubrick Year: 1956 Once upon a time, before Stanley Kubrick entered the pupal stages of his career and subsequently emerged as a god and master of his medium, he made movies like The Killing. Lean, mean and economical to a fault, The Killing gets lost in the shuffle of Kubrick’s career landmarks, but the man wielded impressive influence even in overlooked 80-minute heist flicks. (The Quentin Tarantino we all know and love and loathe might be a very different filmmaker today if not for The Killing.) Kubrick’s work here is no-frills and elegantly straightforward: Sterling Hayden plans one final holdup before retiring and settling down with Coleen Gray. No twists and turns, just good old-fashioned theft at the racetrack. The film revels in the gray morality of Hayden’s good intentions. Crime pays, at least until it doesn’t. —A.C. 22. In a Lonely PlaceDirector: Nicholas Ray Year: 1950 One of the great noirs of all time and one of the great feel-bad movies of all time. In a Lonely Place treats redemption as a cruel joke, a spell of relief that lasts only long enough for us to view its obsolescence. The film takes jabs at Hollywood and celebrity while telling the kind of dangerous love story E.L. James wishes she could write; Humphrey Bogart is a bad, bad man, but he’s also grossly compelling. He plays Dixon Steele, a Tinseltown screenwriter fallen on hard times whom we sympathize with in spite of ourselves. Apart from being a sad sack, he’s also an explosive lunatic with a frighteningly short fuse, which makes him dangerously alluring bait for his new neighbor, Laurel (Gloria Grahame). Theirs is an ill-fated romance, and through it, Nicholas Ray makes a hauntingly grim study of masculinity, set against the ratcheting suspense of a murder mystery yarn. —A.C. 21. Drunken AngelDirector: Akira Kurosawa Year: 1948 An act of genre deconstruction and muted political critique all in one. Akira Kurosawa plays with noir tropes more than he plays to them, deflating film noir’s inherent machismo by revealing the chief heavies of his cast as scrabbling cowards. Depending on your mood, Drunken Angel’s climactic brawl between Toshiro Mifune’s Matsunaga and Reizaburô Yamamoto’s Okada may either read as hilarious, pathetic or tragic. Aren’t mob heavies supposed to be intimidating? Like Rashomon, Drunken Angel puts male toughness on trial and makes it look ridiculous, but the study of manliness might be a smokescreen for Kurosawa’s veiled jabs at the board of censors installed by the U.S. government in post-World War II Japan. Note the Western clothing. Observe the recurring image of the bubbling muck that serves as one of the film’s central locations. The American occupation whitewashes and corrupts Japanese culture in equal measure, and Drunken Angel captures it all with deft humanism. —A.C. 20. The Lady From ShanghaiDirector: Orson Welles Year: 1947 Orson Welles could do just about anything except speak in a convincing Irish accent, but regardless of his flimsy brogue, The Lady From Shanghai is a masterpiece. Funny to think that American critics looked down their noses at the film at the time of its release. Maybe they took offense at the inescapable scent of Welles’ passion for Rita Hayworth, his wife at the time and his ex shortly after production wrapped. He captures her in close-up with a hungry, enraptured eye, the most coherent image in a film that’s built on logical incoherence. The Lady From Shanghai has enormous ambitions that belie its tight running time, the end result of odious studio interference that nonetheless fails to impede the viewing experience. Come for Hayworth and Welles, stay for the film’s dizzying hall of mirrors shootout. —A.C. 19. The KillersDirector: Robert Siodmak Year: 1946 If you’re of the impression that Quentin Tarantino invented the concept of a nonlinear crime story involving boxers and hitmen, Robert Siodmak’s adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s celebrated short story is a must-watch. The story commences with two assassins entering a small-town gas station and executing “The Swede” (Burt Lancaster), a former professional boxer. A life insurance investigator is subsequently sent to piece together the events that led to the Swede’s demise. From here, Siodmak and his screenwriters (which included future legendary directors John Huston and Richard Brooks) weave a fascinating story that, while not always the most inspired, more than picks up the slack with the help of dynamic performances and some tensely directed set pieces. According to Hemingway’s biography, The Killers marked one of the only times the author was legitimately impressed by an adaptation of his work. —M.R. 18. Thieves’ HighwayDirector: Jules Dassin Year: 1949 Jules Dassin’s impact on film noir is widely documented—if you need proof, just consider the fact a handful of his best contributions to the genre have landed on this very list—and among them, Thieves’ Highway is perhaps the most economical. At the same time, it’s superficially the least noirish: It’s a revenge movie, sure, but that revenge is sought by a good man driven to right wrongs done to his father. This is a movie built on a pure search for retribution, though of course it’s Dassin, so nothing is ever that simple, and in point of fact everything that can go wrong for Nick Garcos does. Who knew the world of fruit trucking could be so damn cutthroat? —A.C. 17. Raw DealDirector: Anthony Mann Year: 1948 After the success of 1947’s T-Men, director Anthony Mann reteamed the following year with star Dennis O’Keefe, screenwriter John C. Higgins, and cinematographer John Alton for Raw Deal. The plot revolves around a prisoner who, after taking the fall for his boss, makes a break from the slammer with the help of his girlfriend. His boss, however, isn’t looking to reward his employee’s loyalty and sets about trying to have him killed. Much like T-Men, Raw Deal boasts some truly arresting images, courtesy of Alton, that worked to crystallize the standard noir look. And though some of the film’s story now comes across a bit rote, particularly the inclusion of a love triangle, there’s enough visual splendor and hard-hitting action to make it essential noir viewing. —M.R. 16. They Live By NightDirector: Nicholas Ray Year: 1948 Nicholas Ray’s first picture boasts perhaps the dumbest wronged protagonist in film noir’s history. What kind of nitwit plots to clear his name in a wrongful conviction by committing a crime? Sure, fine, maybe knocking over a bank is less heinous than killing a man, but Farley Granger’s doomed hero, Bowie, doesn’t really connect the dots and realize that robbery is still a jailable offense. The intellectual merits of Bowie’s bright idea are irrelevant, though: They Live By Night cares deeply about the inescapable grasp of the law and the people who wind up caught in it. Some of them are genuinely scummy people, like Bowie’s fellow fugitives, One-Eye and T-Dub. Some of them are victims of the system, who lack the means to prove their uprightness. They Live By Night is a superlative example of an atypical noir domain—the film takes place largely on the road instead of in the city—but most of all, it’s a heartbreaking stunner about the decay of human innocence. —A.C. 15. Ace in the HoleDirector: Billy Wilder Year: 1951 Ladies and gentlemen, meet Chuck Tatum, the forefather of Nightcrawler’s unhinged Louis Bloom. Billy Wilder’s film is a vicious, acerbic, and above all else misanthropic satire of America’s press core, but today we might be inclined to look at it as a scathing critique of American entrepreneurialism. Tatum is one enterprising man, alright, a ladder-climbing dirtbag who sees any opportunity as a golden opportunity, and he seizes them all with deceitful gusto. There’s no situation better left unexploited, if you ask him, and Wilder captures Tatum’s reckless quest of self-aggrandizement beneath New Mexico’s blistering sun. This is an outlaw America, an apathetic postwar America where rules of propriety come a very distant third to getting one over on the other guy and feeding the rushing addiction of sleaze entertainment. It’s an ugly vision that eerily predicted the direction of contemporary pop culture more than half a century ahead of its time. —A.C. 14. Elevator to the GallowsDirector: Louis Malle Year: 1958 Prior to reinventing filmic language with their playful genre experiments, the members of France’s New Wave movement got their start as film critics. In fact, it was through their writings and discussions that the term “film noir” was first christened as a means of describing a certain breed of brooding postwar films. It’s not surprising then that Louis Malle—though not an official New Wave member—would settle on a film noir-influenced project as his first feature film. Acting both as an homage to noir as well as a subversion of its structure, Elevator to the Gallows stars Jeanne Moreau and Maurice Ronet as a pair of criminals whose plan to kill Moreau’s husband quickly falls apart when the Ronet character gets stuck in an elevator. This already absurd concept becomes all the more confounding when paired with the film’s unorthodox, experimental editing and somber, Miles Davis-performed jazz score. —M.R. 13. GildaDirector: Charles Vidor Year: 1946 Seven years before his powerhouse turn in The Big Heat, Glenn Ford played second fiddle to Rita Hayworth—how the hell could you not?—in Charles
2205	dbpedia	1	8	https://www.worlds-best-detective-crime-and-murder-mystery-books.com/charliechanfamily-movies.html	en	Charlie Chan's Family as Shown in the Movies			[]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	Charlie Chan as a family man is endearing. The movies build upon what we have rea in the books but adds insiight that we hven't seen before.			World's Best Detective, Crime, and Murder Mystery Books	https://www.worlds-best-detective-crime-and-murder-mystery-books.com/charliechanfamily-movies.html	Charlie Chan’s Family as Seen in the Movies In the early Warner Oland movies—“Charlie Chan Carries On,” “The Black Camel,” “Charlie Chan’s Chance,” “Charlie Chan’s Greatest Case,” and “Charlie Chan’s Courage”—Charlie Chan’s family accurately reflects what the novels describe. Earl Derr Biggers had stipulated that the movies (and other media including stage plays and radio dramatizations) follow his writing. At the time, the film studios lacked permission to create original stories. But when Biggers died of a heart attack, his widow—the former Eleanor Ladd—granted permission to create original stories—and, boy, are we ever grateful that she did! The first original story—"Charlie Chan in London”—shows Charlie in his hotel room reviewing a photograph showing his family: Charlie, his wife, and about eleven children are in the photograph. Then Charlie replaces this photo on the bureau and picks up a picture of the most recent addition to the Chan family, an infant. “Charlie Chan in Paris” introduces Keye Luke as Charlie’s number one son Lee: Lee (Keye Luke) doesn’t appear in the next film, “Charlie Chan in Egypt,” but Charlie refers to him when he says, “As son Lee would say, ‘You telling me?’ ” But Lee returns in the following film, “Charlie Chan in Shanghai.” When he sees Lee, Charlie says, “Joy equals astonishment at seeing offspring in Shanghai.” Lee is very active in this film, and the chemistry between Charlie (Warner Oland) and Lee (Keye Luke) is strong. Charlie praises Lee: When Lee dives down a flight of stairs to tackle an enemy, Charlie says, “Very proud of athletic offspring.” Lee doesn’t appear in the next film, “Charlie Chan’s Secret.” However, Charlie mentions him more than once. In one place, Chan says, “As son Lee would say, ‘Play hunch.’ ” Elsewhere, he says, “As son Lee would say, ‘Okey dokey.’ Let us go.” Lee is in every one of the remaining Warner Oland films, and a number of Chan’s other children are introduced to us. Children who are not his own also admire him and enjoy his company. For example, in “Charlie Chan in Shanghai” Chan is on an ocean liner. A group of children are gathered around him while he sings, “Long the journey, hard the way. But his heart was gay.” As the films continue, just as Charlie had quoted Lee in “Charlie Chan in Egypt” and “Charlie Chan’s Secret,” his children quote Charlie in many films. In “Charlie Chan at the Olympics,” Lee inattentively and carelessly walks into Betty—an Olympic athlete and teammate of his. Lee says, “As my Pop would say, ‘Man who stretch neck looking up very apt to break neck falling down,’ or something like that.” In “Charlie Chan at Treasure Island,” Jimmy says, “As Pop would put it, ‘Swelled head gives owner more trouble than indigestion.’ ” Charlie’s Number One Son But who is Charlie Chan’s number one son really? In the books and the early films he is named Henry. In the lost “Charlie Chan’s Greatest Case” he is named Oswald. And starting with “Charlie Chan in Paris” we know him as Lee. For an interesting and clever solution to this apparent contradiction, see The Charlie Chan Family Home -- The Family Room: Charlie Chan's Multitudinous Family. Other discrepancies among the films are also explored on the page I just linked to, and a more detailed and robust investigation of Chan’s family is discussed than I can give here. Inconsistencies, such as the size of the Chan family (for example, a film may show that Chan has more children in an earlier film while a later film may show that Chan seems to have fewer children) are investigated methodically. Also there are occasional identifications of who is the number two (or number three) son or daughter. We tend to overlook such discrepancies because the films are entertaining and we are absorbed in the story. Here is a short list of some of the children: Ling—identified as Chan’s number one daughter in “The Black Camel.” Iris—Charlie Chan’s number two daughter according to “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service.” Frances—Charlie’s daughter—“Black Magic” (aka “Meeting at Midnight”). Jimmy—Charlie’s number two son (“Charlie Chan in Honolulu”). Tommy (aka as “Thomas”—Chan’s number three son—“Charlie Chan in Honolulu,” “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service,” “The Chinese Cat,” and more. Eddie (aka “Edward”)—Charlie’s number four son. Willie—“Charlie Chan’s Murder Cruise.” Barry—Charlie’s youngest child—appeared in multiple episodes in the television series “The New Adventures of Charlie Chan,” starring J. Carrol Naish. Charlie, His Wife, and His Family at the Circus “Charlie Chan at the Circus” introduces Charlie’s entire family. As Charlie and his wife, led by their children, line up to enter the circus through a turnstile, a ticket taker counts each member of his family: Interactions among Charlie Chan and his children continued to appear throughout the series—not only those which featured Warner Oland but with subsequent actors Sydney Toler and Roland Winters. Examples include the following. Charlie Chan often compliments his children Obviously, Charlie Chan is proud of his offspring, as the following examples show: Chan: “Increasing wisdom of number one son give much pleasure to humble father.” (“The Sky Dragon”) Chan: “Yes. Ha! With patience and perseverance, number one son might just make detective. . . .” (“The Sky Dragon”) Chan [to his daughter Frances]: “You work lights very well. For helping me illuminate dark mystery, I now make you junior member of the Firm.” (“Meeting at Midnight”) “Meeting at Midnight” References to Charlie Disciplining His Children When They were Young “Charlie Chan at the Race Track” Charlie enters his hotel room. Lee, his back to Charlie, is bending over drying his hair with a towel. Charlie smacks Lee’s butt. Lee jumps, turns to face his father, and removes the towel: “Charlie Chan in Panama” “Charlie Chan at the Olympics” Lee says,: “Don’t worry, Pop. I learned to sprint when you used to chase me through the water with a paddle.” “Charlie Chan’s Murder Cruise” Charlie’s son Willie has gotten poor grades in school. Rather than telling his father, Willie attempts to hide the letter that the school sent to inform Willie’s parents. But, of course, Charlie has already read the letter and proposes to discipline Willie for lying. Charlie says, “Please assume proper position across parent’s knee.” Willie goes across Charlie’s knee but, fortunately for Willie, Inspector Duff of Scotland Yard enters Charlie’s office to visit him, interrupting the spanking about to be administered. Willie escapes the punishment unscathed. Charlie Sometimes Criticizes his Children Sometimes Charlie makes a comment to one of his children that seems condescending, such as when they are puzzling through clues. He seems critical of their fledgling, as-yet-amateurish attempts to offer a solution to a case. Chan’s criticisms may reflect his personal sense of humor as well as his frustration at their well-intentioned interference. Charlie is a patient man, but there are times that try one’s patience, such as in scenes like the following. “Meeting at Midnight” Charlie’s daughter Frances says, “You know, Pop. I got an idea about this Bonner case.” Chan responds, “Water on brain now leaking, huh?” “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service” Charlie responds to son Tommy’s offer to help: “The Chinese Cat” Chan says to Tommy, “Your assistance about as welcome as water in a leaking ship.” Sometimes Chan gives disparaging, meant-to-be witty remarks to his children, such as when he refers to them as feeble minded or stupid. This sometimes occurs when introducing them to a third party. Again, this may be a sign of Chan’s sense of humor. But it may also reflect a sense of his frustration when the children are overeager to follow a false lead too hastily. “The Scarlet Clue” Chan says, “This is number three son, Tommy. And this one is second assistant, Birmingham Brown. Both at times often feebleminded.” (“The Scarlet Clue”) “Docks of New Orleans” “The Jade Mask” Chan says, “My boy, if silence is golden, you are bankrupt.” Expensive College Education versus Playing Hooky Charlie is particularly annoyed when he is paying for his college-age children to be educated but they play hooky. “Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum” A larger-than-life “mechanical man” (i.e., a robot) was sometimes a featured attraction at arcades. These may tell your fortune or challenge you to play chess or checkers. As depicted in this film, the robot was activated by a human who would climb into the device. When Jimmy experiments by disappearing into the robot, his father discovers him and says, “Will please explain presence of one dummy inside another dummy.” “Dark Alibi” Tommy says, “Pop, we have been thinking.” Chan replies, “Most impossible.” “Murder Over New York” Chan: “Number two son promising detective. Promise very much; deliver very little.” “Dark Alibi” Chan: “Son Tommy is noisy woodpecker on family tree.” “The Shanghai Cobra” Tommy says, “Pop. I want to talk to you as man to man.” Chan responds, “I am ready but you still have few years to go.” “The Red Dragon” Tommy: “You know what I think, Pop?” Chan: “Number three son is thinking. Uh, most unusual, but does not assist police.” “Charlie Chan’s Murder Cruise” Jimmy says, “But I tell you, Pop. . . ” Chan responds, “Correction, please. Pop tell you. Offspring return to footwork. Parent take care of headwork.” “Expensive American Education” A common frustration that Charlie has with his kids is that they often skip school to help him investigate cases. Chan articulates this in scenes including the following: “Charlie Chan at Treasure Island” “Charlie Chan in Panama” Chan’s children (some of whom have become college age) occasionally embarrass Charlie when they use slang. Charlie’s son Jimmy reacts to a convoluted theory when he says, “Sounds awfully screwy to me.” Chan remarks, “Son’s grammar result of expensive American education.” “Charlie Chan in Rio” “The Chinese Cat” “The Chinese Cat” displays another example of Charlie’s frustration: “The Jade Mask” When Charlie’s Number Four son Edward enters a scene with Birmingham Brown, Edward says, “Greetings, Father.” Chan says, “I am right. It is mistake. Intruder is number four son Edward, who stop becoming college student to become social problem. Also, his assistant, Birmingham Brown.” “The Chinese Cat” Charlie refers to Tommy when he says to Leah, “This Mr. Chan is number three son, Tommy, who should be at University of California but who, for some strange reason, now out on parole.” Chan Speaks Lovingly of His Wife “Charlie Chan at the Opera” Charlie’s son Lee asks for his allowance money because he wants to buy flowers for a young woman he likes. Charlie says, “Puppy love very expensive pastime.” Lee says, “Aw, gee, Pop. We’re leaving tonight. And this is, well, sort of a farewell present. She’s a lovely girl — she’s —” Chan completes Lee’s sentence: “Graceful as bamboo shoot; beautiful as blossom of water lily.” “Yeah! That’s her,” says Lee. “When did you meet her?” Chan: “Never. But long time ago use same description for honorable mother.” “Dead Men Tell” When Chan intends to interview a woman, Jimmy asks, “Why, Pop! Have you got a girlfriend waiting for you upstairs?” Chan replies, “Only girlfriend is honorable wife in Honolulu.” Slang Used by Chan’s Children “Charlie Chan in Rio” The use of slang by Charlie’s children frustrates him and shows the generation gap between them. “Charlie Chan in Rio” includes the following comic scene: “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service” “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service” includes another comic scene that shows several of his children using slang: By this time in the series we have been introduced to Charlie Chan’s number one son, Lee, Number Two son, Jimmy, and Number Three son, Tommy, as well as other children of his. In “The Jade Mask,” we are introduced to Charlie’s Number Four son, Edward (who Charlie calls “Eddie”). Chan’s “Number Four son,” Edward is the intellectual member of the Chan family. When Charlie is trying to close a suitcase that is overfull, he sits on it in an attempt to latch it—unsuccessfully. Calling “Eddie” to help: “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service” One of the most endearing features of the Charlie Chan movies is the relationship Charlie has with his family. This makes the films memorable. We enjoy them so much that we tend to overlook minor discrepancies or inconsistencies, such as the number of children in the family from one film to another, if a later movie shows fewer children than a previous movie did, or whether a child is introduced as “number two [or three]” son or daughter inconsistently among the films. Charlie Chan is a devoted father and an honorable family man. And we love him for that. For more information about Charlie Chan, click on the links below to read articles. The Novels by Earl Derr Biggers: The House Without a Key The Chinese Parrot Behind That Curtain The Black Camel Charlie Chan Carries On Keeper of the Keys Charlie Chan Movies The Early Charlie Chan Films Enter Warner Oland: "Charlie Chan Carries On" and "Eran Trece" "The Black Camel" and Three Lost Charlie Chan Movies Charlie Chan's Aphorisms and Sayings Charlie Chan's Family as Described in the Books Charlie Chan's Family as Seen in the Movies Charlie Chan's Travels Charlie Chan Pastiches Death, I Said by John L. Swann Charlie Chan \| Home
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during the darkest part of the year in Barrow, Alaska ...a time when the sun doesn't rise for a full 30 days. Residents of Barrow are about to feel something much colder and dangerous than their locale. Release Date: October 19, 2007 Director: David Slade Cast: Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Danny Huston The horror movie 30 Days of Night was released in the United States in 2007 and was adapted from the comic book miniseries of the same name. Josh Hartnett and Melissa George star in the movie, which was directed by David Slade and was directed by David Slade. The plot centers on an Alaskan hamlet that is plagued by vampires just as it is about to undergo a polar night that will last for 30 days. The idea behind 30 Days of Night was initially offered as a comic, then later as a film, but both attempts were unsuccessful. Years later, Steve Niles presented the concept to IDW Publishing, and the company ran with it. The movie had a production budget of $30 million, and it earned more than $75 million at the box office throughout its run, which began on October 19, 2007, and lasted for six weeks. Critic reviews were mixed . Since its release, the movie has garnered a cult following. Dark Days, a sequel to the first film, was made available for purchase on home video for the first time on October 5, 2010. Blood Trails, a prequel web serial, was made available on FEARnet.com and FEARnet On Demand in 2007. Dust to Dust, another prequel miniseries, was broadcast in 2008 and took place before the events of Dark Days. Synopsis: Keanu Reeves makes an explosive return to action-adventure in 47 Ronin. After a treacherous warlord kills their master and banishes their kind, 47 leaderless samurai vow to seek vengeance and restore honor to their people. Driven from their homes and dispersed across the land, this band of Ronin must seek the help of Kai (Reeves)—a half-breed they once rejected—as they fight their way across a savage world of mythic beasts, shape-shifting witchcraft and wondrous terrors. As this exiled, enslaved outcast becomes their most deadly weapon, he will transform into the hero who inspires this band of outnumbered rebels to seize eternity. Release Date: December 25th, 2013 Director: Carl Rinsch Cast: Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, Rinko Kikuchi, Ko Shibasaki Aquaman (Arthur Curry) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo comic book series. During the late 1950s and 1960s superhero-revival period known as the Silver Age, he was a founding member of the Justice League. In the 1990s Modern Age, writers interpreted Aquaman's character more seriously, with storylines depicting the weight of his role as king of Atlantis. Aquaman has been featured in several adaptations, first appearing in animated form in the 1967 The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and then in the related Super Friends program. Since then he has appeared in various animated productions, including prominent roles in the 2000s series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, as well as several DC Universe Animated Original Movies. Actor Alan Ritchson portrayed the character in the live-action television show Smallville. In the DC Extended Universe, actor Jason Momoa portrays the character in the films Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, Aquaman, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Aquaman Movie Details Release Date: December 21, 2018 Director: James Wan Cast: Jason Momoa (Arthur Curry/Aquaman), Patrick Wilson (King Orm/Ocean Master), Amber Heard (Mera), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (David Kane/Black Manta) Marvel's The Avengers (titled Marvel Avengers Assemble in the United Kingdom and Ireland), or simply The Avengers, is a 2012 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it was the sixth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was written and directed by Joss Whedon and features an ensemble cast that includes Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Jeremy Renner as the Avengers, alongside Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgård, and Samuel L. Jackson. In the film, Nick Fury and the spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. recruit Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, and Thor to form a team capable of stopping Thor's brother Loki from subjugating Earth. After the success of the film Iron Man in May 2008, Marvel announced that The Avengers would be released in July 2011 and would bring together Tony Stark (Downey), Steve Rogers (Evans), Bruce Banner (Ruffalo), and Thor (Hemsworth) from Marvel's previous films. With the signing of Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff in March 2009, the film was pushed back to a 2012 release. Whedon was brought on board in April 2010 and rewrote the original screenplay that was penned by Zak Penn. Production began in April 2011 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before moving to Cleveland, Ohio, in August and New York City in September. The film features more than 2,200 visual effects shots. The Avengers premiered at Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre on April 11, 2012, and was released in the United States on May 4, as the last film of Phase One of the MCU. It received praise for Whedon's direction and screenplay, visual effects, action sequences, acting, and musical score, and garnered numerous awards and nominations including Academy Award and BAFTA nominations for achievements in visual effects. The film grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide, setting numerous box office records and becoming the third-highest-grossing film of all time as well as the highest-grossing film of 2012. It is the first Marvel production to generate $1 billion in ticket sales. In 2017, The Avengers was featured as one of the 100 greatest films of all time in an Empire magazine poll. Three sequels have been released; Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015, Avengers: Infinity War in 2018, and Avengers: Endgame in 2019. Synopsis: Batman was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of DC Comics Detective Comics on March 30, 1939. Batman is the superhero alias of billionaire Bruce Wayne, an American playboy, philanthropist, and industrialist who resides in Gotham City. Batman's origin story features him swearing vengeance against criminals after witnessing the murder of his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne. He trains and pushes himself to the limit both physically and intellectually and creates a bat-inspired persona to monitor the streets of Gotham at night. Kane, Finger, and other creators accompanied Batman with supporting characters, including his sidekick Robin; allies Alfred Pennyworth, James Gordon, and Catwoman; and foes such as the Penguin, the Riddler, Two-Face, and his archenemy, the Joker. One of the most iconic characters in popular culture, Batman has been listed among the greatest comic book superheroes and fictional characters ever created. He is one of the most commercially successful superheroes, and his likeness has been licensed and featured in various media and merchandise sold around the world including toy lines such as Lego Batman and video games like the Batman: Arkham series. Batman has been adapted into live-action and animated incarnations, including the 1960s Batman television series played by Adam West and in films by Michael Keaton in Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), and The Flash (2022), Christian Bale in The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005–2012), Ben Affleck in the DC Extended Universe films Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League (2016–present), and Robert Pattinson in The Batman (2022). Kevin Conroy, Jason O'Mara, and Will Arnett, among others, have also lent their voice to the character. Check out our dedicated Batman site - Batman-Movies.com! Synopsis: In Blue Beetle, a Mexican-American boy named Jaime Reyes discovers a strange robotic beetle that fuses with his spine and grants him the ability to call out a potent suit of armor. Although at first glance this would seem like a good thing, Jaime rapidly learns that the beetle has its own mind and occasionally has the power to dominate him instead of the other way around. Release Date: August 18, 2023 Director: Angel Manuel Soto Cast: Xolo Maridueña, Susan Sarandon, Harvey Guillén, Raoul Max Trujillo, Elpidia Carrillo, George Lopez, Damián Alcázar, Bruna Marquezine, Adriana Barraza, and Belissa Escobedo 2023 will mark the first live-action appearance of the popular DC Comics character as it sees the release of Blue Beetle. The movie stars Xolo Maridueña of Cobra Kai, and tells the origin story of Jaime Reyes, a Latino youngster who forms a link with a symbiotic scarab that endows him with superpowers and transforms him into Blue Beetle. Synopsis: A Tibetan monk becomes a mentor to a teenage street punk and tries to educate him how to protect the scroll of ultimate power from a covert Nazi group bent on gaining control of the globe. The story is based on the highly underground comic book of the same name. Release Date: April 16, 2003 Director: Paul Hunter Cast: Chow Yun-fat, Seann William Scott, Jaime King, Karel Roden, Victoria Smurfit Bulletproof Monk is a 2003 action film starring Chow Yun-fat, Seann William Scott and Jaime King. The film was directed by Paul Hunter and is loosely based on the comic book by Michael Avon Oeming. The storyline opens in the year 1943, wherein a Tibetan monk, is entrusted by his master with the protection of a Scroll which contains knowledge by which the reader becomes the most powerful of living things. Enter the Nazis who try to take possession of the scroll. Action ensues. Synopsis: A lone cowboy in the Old West leads an insurrection against an alien threat. 1873. a portion of the United States now known as New Mexico. Absolution is a harsh desert village where a stranger arrives with no knowledge of his history. The strange handcuff on his wrist is the only clue to his past. He learns that the residents of Absolution are unfriendly to outsiders and that the only time anyone moves around in the city is when they are given an order by Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). In this community, people constantly worry about being attacked. Release Date: July 29, 2011 Director: Jon Favreau Cast: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Adam Beach, Paul Dano, Noah Ringer, Keith Carradine, Clancy Brown, Ana de la Reguera, Abigail Spencer DC Studios is an American film, television, and animation company that was originally known as DC Films. It is a branch of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Studios was formerly known as DC Films. It is devoted to the production of films, shows, and animations based on characters from DC Comics. The DC Extended Universe is one of their most successful franchises, and it is a part of this production company. On November 1, 2022, James Gunn and Peter Safran took control of the corporation they had been working for. Prior to his leave in October 2022, Walter Hamada served as president of DC Films from 2018 until the time of his departure. Synopsis: In this comic book film spin-off of the blockbuster Daredevil movie, Alias star Jennifer Garner stars as Elektra Natchios, a beautiful and deadly assassin who finds herself at odds with "The Hand," the clan of mystical ninjas who trained - and then abandoned her. At the request of the villain Kirigi, she is assigned to target a Harbor Island man named Mark Miller because, she is told, of an act his grandfather had performed. A widower, Miller is a likeable man with a charming 13-year-old daughter Abby. After falling for him, Elektra becomes his protector and has to fend off four ninja assassins dispatched by Kirigi. But there is more to Mark Miller than Elektra knows, as he has aligned himself with "Stick," Elektra's former mentor, and both Miller and his daughter are quite able to defend themselves. In the end, Elektra must face off with Kirigi himself. Release Date: January 14, 2005 Director: Rob Bowman Cast: Jennifer Garner, Goran Visnjic, Will Yun Lee, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Terence Stamp Synopsis: When an experimental space voyage goes awry, four people are changed by cosmic rays into the superheroes known as The Fantastic Four. Reed Richards, brilliant scientist, is transformed into the elastic Mr. Fantastic. His wife, Sue Storm, can now bend light and and produce force fields as The Invisible Woman. Sue's little brother Johnny Storm now has powers that match his fiery personality as The Human Torch. Pilot Benjamin Grimm, never much to look at, but now he is a monstrous Thing --completely covered by a rocky orange hide which makes him invunerable to harm and super-strong. Together, they become the Fantastic Four. Release Date: July 8, 2005 Director: Tim Story Cast: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon, Kerry Washington A little known B-Movie by Roger Corman was produced in 1994 and went straight to video. Then, Fox made the best attempt at the big screen in 2005, with Ioan Gruffud, Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis and Chris Evans, to be followed by a sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer in 2007. And then another reboot in 2015. Green Arrow is a superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. His secret identity is Oliver Queen, billionaire and former mayor of fictional Star City. Dressed like Robin Hood, Green Arrow is an extraordinary archer who invents trick arrows with various special functions to trip up foes. Throughout his first twenty-five years, Green Arrow was not a significant hero. However, he gained popularity in the 70's when he was paired with the more law-and-order-oriented hero Green Lantern in a groundbreaking, socially conscious comic book series. The character was not initially a well-known character outside of comic book fans until he appeared in Justice League Unlimited in the 2000s and season six of popular live-action series Smallville (played by Justin Hartley). David S. Goyer also attempted to get Green Arrow: Escape from Super Max into production as a film in the late 2000s. Green Arrow made his debut on television as a guest star in an episode of the original Super Friends. He was portrayed by Norman Alden in the 1973 episode "Gulliver's Gigantic Goof." He was described as a "staunch Justice League of America member" (JLA). Synopsis: In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, a small but powerful force has existed for centuries. Protectors of peace and justice, they are called the Green Lantern Corps. A brotherhood of warriors sworn to keep intergalactic order, each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him superpowers. But when a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of their newest recruit, the first human ever selected: Hal Jordan. Hal is a gifted and cocky test pilot, but the Green Lanterns have little respect for humans, who have never harnessed the infinite powers of the ring before. But Hal is clearly the missing piece to the puzzle, and along with his determination and willpower, he has one thing no member of the Corps has ever had: humanity. With the encouragement of fellow pilot and childhood sweetheart Carol Ferris (Blake Lively), if Hal can quickly master his new powers and find the courage to overcome his fears, he may prove to be not only the key to defeating Parallax... he will become the greatest Green Lantern of all. Release Date: June 17th, 2011 Director: Martin Campbell Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett, Tim Robbins Synopsis: Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits–Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Peter discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand - with the galaxy’s fate in the balance. Release Date: August 1, 2014 Director: James Gunn Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper Synopsis: There are heroes... there are superheroes... and then there's Hancock (Will Smith). With great power comes great responsibility--everyone knows that--everyone, that is, but Hancock. Edgy, conflicted, sarcastic, and misunderstood, Hancock's well-intentioned heroics might get the job done and save countless lives, but always seem to leave jaw-dropping damage in their wake. The public has finally had enough--as grateful as they are to have their local hero, the good citizens of Los Angeles are wondering what they ever did to deserve this guy. Hancock isn't the kind of man who cares what other people think--until the day that he saves the life of a PR executive Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), and the sardonic superhero begins to realize that he may have a vulnerable side after all. Facing that will be Hancock's greatest challenge yet--and a task that may prove impossible as Ray's wife, Mary (Charlize Theron), insists that he's a lost cause. Release Date: July 2nd, 2008 Director: Peter Berg Cast: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman, Eddie Marsan He-Man is a fictional heroic character featured in the Masters of the Universe media franchise of action figures, comic books, animated cartoons and movie (1987). In most variations, he is the alter ego of Prince Adam. He-Man and his friends defend the realm of Eternia and the secrets of Castle Grayskull from the evil forces of Skeletor. Cannon Films produced a live-action film "Masters of the Universe," which featured Dolph Lundgren in the role of He-Man; it was a commercial failure. In this film Prince Adam was not seen at all; only He-Man was shown. This He-Man was much more aggressive than his 1980s TV-series counterpart, attacking with lasers, his sword and bare fists several times throughout the film. The film ended with a spectacular and violent clash with Skeletor, in which Skeletor was flung deep beneath Castle Grayskull into a pit filled with steaming liquid. The film ended with a post-credit scene in which Skeletor emerged from the liquid and proclaimed, "I'll be back!". Synopsis: Adapted from Mark Millar's hyper-violent comic book of the same name, director Matthew Vaughn's (Layer Cake) vigilante superhero film tells the tale of an average New York teenager who decides to don a costume and fight crime. Comic book geek Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) may not have good coordination or special powers, but that doesn't mean he isn't a fully capable crime fighter. After purchasing a flashy wet suit on the Internet, Dave starts busting up baddies with nothing but brute force. He calls himself Kick-Ass, and he can take a beating as good as he can dish one out. Before long, Kick-Ass has become a local sensation, and others are following his lead. Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and Hit-Girl (Chloe Moretz) are a father-daughter crime-fighting duo who have set their sights on local mob heavy Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong). They're doing a decent job of dismantling Frank's sizable underworld empire when Kick-Ass gets drawn into the fray. But Frank's men play rough, and his son, Chris (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), is about to become Kick-Ass' very first arch nemesis. When Chris assumes the persona of Red Mist, the stage is set for a superhero showdown. Release Date: 16 April 2010 Director: Matthew Vaughn Cast: Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloë Grace Moretz, Mark Strong, Nicolas Cage Lobo is a fictional character that appears in the comic books published by DC Comics. An alien, Lobo works as an interstellar mercenary and bounty hunter. The character enjoyed a short run as one of DC’s most popular characters throughout the 1990s. This version of Lobo was intended to be an over-the-top parody of Marvel Comics superhero Wolverine. In September 2009, Warner Bros. announced that Guy Ritchie would direct a live-action adaptation featuring the comic book character. Variety described the premise: "Lobo is a seven-foot tall, blue-skinned, indestructible and heavily muscled anti-hero who drives a pimped out motorcycle, and lands on Earth in search of four fugitives who are bent on wreaking havoc. Lobo teams with a small town teenage girl to stop the creatures." Ritchie was scheduled to begin production of Lobo in early 2010 and bring an "irreverent, gruff tone" to the film as he did with previous films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. The studio was aiming for a PG-13 rating from the Motion Picture Association of America. In early 2010 it was reported that Ritchie had left the project in order to pursue working on a sequel to his hit film Sherlock Holmes instead. The future of the Lobo feature film project is currently undetermined. Synopsis: Billy Batson is an abandoned boy who is annoying Child Services and law enforcement by being obstinate in his search for his missing mother. Billy meets Freddy at his most recent foster home, though, and the Wizard Shazam chooses him to be his new champion. Whenever Billy speaks the wizard's name, he is struck by a magic lightning bolt that transforms him into an adult superhero empowered with the abilities of six legendary figures. The Shazam! name is an acronym for six gods and heroes of the ancient world: the wisdom of Solomon, strength of Hercules, stamina of Atlas, power of Zeus, courage of Achilles and speed of Mercury.. Billy quickly discovers, however, that he has a powerful foe in Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, who was previously turned down by the wizard and has chosen to use the power of the Seven Deadly Sins in its place. Billy must accept the obligations of his calling while discovering the power of a unique magic with his true family that Sivana can never comprehend. He is now being hunted by this crazy scientist for his own power as well. Release Date: April 5, 2019 Director: David F Sandberg Cast: Zachary Levi, Mark Strong, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Djimon Hounsou The Silver Surfer is a Marvel Comics superhero created by Jack Kirby. The character first appears in Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966), the first of a three-issue arc that fans call "The Galactus Trilogy". Originally, Norrin Radd, a young astronomer of the planet Zenn-La, made a bargain with the cosmic entity Galactus, pledging to serve as his herald in order to save his homeworld from destruction. Imbued in return with a tiny portion of Galactus' Power Cosmic, Radd acquired great powers, a near indestructible body designed for the rigors of space travel, and a surf-board like conveyance that could carry him at speeds beyond that of light. Known from then on as the Silver Surfer, Radd began to roam the cosmos searching for new planets for Galactus to consume. When his travels finally took him to Earth, the Surfer came face-to-face with the Fantastic Four, a team of powerful superheroes that helped him to rediscover his nobility of spirit. Betraying Galactus, the Surfer saved Earth but was punished in return by being exiled there. The 13-episode animated television series Silver Surfer, also known as Silver Surfer: The Animated Series, is based on the Stan Lee and Jack Kirby-created Marvel Comics superhero Silver Surfer. On the Fox Kids Network in 1998, the show ran for one season. Sin City is the title for a series of neo-noir comics by Frank Miller. The first story originally appeared in "Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special" (April, 1991), and continued in Dark Horse Presents #51–62 from May 1991 to June 1992, under the title of Sin City, serialized in thirteen parts. Several other stories of variable lengths have followed. All stories take place in Basin City, with frequent recurring characters and intertwining stories. Synopsis: A man fed up with Sin City's corrupt law enforcement takes the law into his own hands after a terrible mistake. A police officer risks his life to protect a girl from a deformed pedophile, and a hitman looking to make a little money are the subjects of four crime stories adapted from Frank Miller's popular comics. They center around a muscular brute who's searching for the person responsible for the death of his beloved Goldie (Jaime King), a man fed up A planned sequel was announced soon after, but has since been delayed indefinitely. Synopsis: Spawn is a fictional comic book superhero created in 1992 by Todd McFarlane at fledgling publisher (at the time) Image Comics. The character was covert ops mercenary who was killed in action and sent to hell because of his life as an assassin. Making a deal with a devil, Simmons agrees to become a Hellspawn and serve Malebolgia if he is allowed to see his wife, Wanda, one last time. Spawn was adapted into a 1997 feature film, an HBO animated series lasting from 1997 until 1999, and a series of action figures whose high level of detail made McFarlane Toys known in the toy industry. Release Date: August 1, 1997 Director: Mark A.Z. Dippé Cast: John Leguizamo, Michael Jai White, Martin Sheen, Theresa Randle, Nicol Williamson, D. B. Sweeney The first big screen Spider-Man movie was released in May 2002 by Sony/Columbia. Helmed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Since the original, there have been two sequels, and just as the 4th movie was gaining steam, the studio announced a reboot with an all new cast and crew. Orphaned at an early age, Peter Parker lived in Queens, New York with his beloved Aunt May and Uncle Ben. Peter leads the life of a normal high school student while working as a photographer at the Daily Bugle, but after being bitten by a genetically altered/radioactive spider, Peter Parker's life becomes complicated. Able to cling to any surface, shoot webbing from his wrists, and the with the proportional strength of a spider, Peter devotes himself to fighting crime as Spider-Man--his guiding principle, "With great power, comes great responsibility." The Suicide Squad, also known as Task Force X, is a name for two fictional organizations in the DC Comics Universe. The first version debuted in The Brave and the Bold (vol. 1) #25 (1959), and the second in Legends #3 (1987). An "original" Suicide Squad was retconned into existence in Secret Origins (vol. 2) #14, in order to form a connection between the two Squads. The current Suicide Squad (created by John Ostrander in the aforementioned Legends #3) is an anti-hero team of incarcerated supervillains who act as deniable assets for the United States government, undertaking high-risk black ops missions in exchange for commuted prison sentences. The group operates out of Belle Reve Penitentiary, under the command of government agent Amanda Waller. Suicide Squad (2016 Movie) Synopsis: Some of the most deadly super-villains in prison are enlisted by a covert government organization to establish a task force for defense. Their first task was to prevent the end of the world. Release Date: August 5, 2016 Director: David Ayer Cast: Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ike Barinholtz, Scott Eastwood, Cara Delevingne Synopsis: Tank Girl is a British comic created by Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin. The eponymous character Tank Girl drives a tank, which is also her home. She undertakes a series of missions for a nebulous organization before making a serious mistake and being declared an outlaw for her sexual inclinations and her substance abuse. The comic centres on her misadventures with her boyfriend, Booga, a mutant kangaroo. The comic's style was heavily influenced by punk visual art, and strips were frequently deeply disorganized, anarchic, absurdist, and psychedelic. The comic was also adapted into a critically and financially unsuccessful film, albeit with a considerable cult following. Martin and Hewlett are known for speaking poorly of the experience, with Martin calling it "a bit of a sore point" for them. Despite its critics, the film did however undeniably broaden the comics' fanbase from a relatively modest cult following to an international audience. Release Date: March 31, 1995 Director: Rachel Talalay Cast: Lori Petty, Ice-T, Naomi Watts, Malcolm McDowell Synopsis: The Crow is a 1994 American action film based on the 1989 comic book of the same name by James O'Barr. The film was written by David J. Schow and John Shirley, and directed by Alex Proyas. The Crow stars Brandon Lee, in his final film, as Eric Draven, a rock musician who is revived from the dead to avenge his own murder, as well as that of his fiancée. While filming during the last weeks of production, Lee was mortally wounded when a dummy bullet, which had become lodged in one of the prop guns, was shot into his abdomen by a blank cartridge. The film was a critical and commercial success after its release, opening at the top of the box office. Release Date: May 15, 1994 Director: Alex Proyas Cast: Brandon Lee, Ernie Hudson, Michael Wincott The Flash (or simply Flash) is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in Flash Comics #1 (cover date January 1940/release month November 1939). Nicknamed the "Scarlet Speedster", all incarnations of the Flash possess "super speed", which includes the ability to run, move, and think extremely fast, use superhuman reflexes, and seemingly violate certain laws of physics. A staple of the comic book DC Universe, the Flash has been adapted to numerous DC films, video games, animated series, and live-action television shows. In live-action, Barry Allen has been portrayed by Rod Haase for the 1979 television special Legends of the Superheroes, John Wesley Shipp in the 1990 The Flash series and Grant Gustin in the 2014 The Flash series. Shipp also portrays a version of Jay Garrick in the 2014 The Flash series. Ezra Miller is the latest actor to portray the Flash on screen as part of DC's Extended Universe series of films, beginning with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Justice League (2017) and Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021). The various incarnations of the Flash have also been featured in animated series such as Superman: The Animated Series, Justice League, Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Young Justice, as well as the DC Universe Animated Original Movies series. The Flash Movie Details Synopsis: The Flash travels back in time in an attempt to prevent the murder of his mother, a heroic act which disrupts time and alters the universe as he knows it. Release Date: June 16, 2023 Director: Andy Muschietti Cast: Ezra Miller, Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton, and Sasha Calle The Greatest American Hero is an comedy-drama television series that aired for three seasons from 1981 to 1983 on ABC. Created by producer Stephen J. Cannell, it premiered as a two-hour movie pilot on March 18, 1981. The series stars William Katt as teacher Ralph Hinkley, Robert Culp as FBI Agent Bill Maxwell, and Connie Sellecca as lawyer Pam Davidson. The show chronicles Ralph's adventures after a group of aliens gives him a red suit that gives him superhuman abilities. Unfortunately, Ralph, who hates wearing the suit, immediately loses its instruction booklet, and thus has to learn how to use his powers by trial and error, often with comical results. The series was made into an on going comic book series published by Arcana. In the not-too-distant future as a final response to terrorism and crime, the U.S. government plans in secret to broadcast a signal making it impossible for anyone to knowingly commit unlawful acts. To keep this from the public, the government creates a distraction, installing a new currency system using digital charge cards. Enter: Graham Brick. A career criminal never quite able to hit the big score, Graham intends to steal one of the charging stations, skip the country and live off unlimited funds for the rest of his life. But the media has leaked news of the anti-crime signal one week before it was to go live... and now Graham and his team have just a few days to turn the crime of the century into the last crime in American history. The Phantom is an adventure comic strip created by Lee Falk, also creator of Mandrake the Magician. A popular feature adapted into many media, including television, film and video games, it stars a costumed crimefighter operating from the fictional African country Bengalla. The Phantom is the 21st in a line of crimefighters that originated in 1536, when the father of British sailor Christopher Walker was killed during a pirate attack. Swearing an oath to fight evil on the skull of his father's murderer, Christopher started the legacy of the Phantom that would be passed from father to son, leaving people to give the mysterious figure nicknames such as "The Ghost Who Walks", The Man Who Cannot Die and Guardian of the Eastern Dark, believing him to be immortal. Synopsis: Thor is a superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 (Aug. 1962) and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby. Debuting in the Silver Age of Comic Books, the character is based on the Thor of Norse mythology. He has starred in several ongoing series and limited series, and has been a perennial member of the superhero team the Avengers, appearing in each of the four volumes. The character has also appeared in associated Marvel merchandise including animated television series, clothing, toys, trading cards and video games. The film Thor, based on the character and comic, was released in 2011, with Kenneth Branagh as director and Chris Hemsworth starring as Thor. Hemsworth will reappear as Thor in the film The Avengers, released in 2012 and Thor 2 in 2013. ThunderCats is an animated television series debuting in 1984 that was produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. Based on the characters created by Tobin "Ted" Wolf. The series follows the adventures of a group of cat-like humanoid aliens. There were also several comic book series produced: Marvel Comics' version (currently owned by Warner Bros. rival Disney), 1984 to 1988; and five series by Wildstorm, an imprint of DC Comics (Warner Bros.' corporate sibling), beginning in 2003. It was announced on June 5, 2007, that Aurelio Jaro is making a CGI-animated feature film of ThunderCats, based on a script written by Paul Sopocy with Jerry O'Flaherty directing, but it has since been reported that the movie is on hold. Concept art for the film has also been leaked online. In June 2010, a press release revealed that a new animated series by Warner Bros. Animation was in production for Cartoon Network with animation provided by Studio 4°C. Synopsis: The Adventures of Tintin (Les Aventures de Tintin) is a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist Georges Remi. The series is one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century, with translations published in more than 50 languages and more than 200 million copies of the books sold to date. Set during the 20th century, the hero of the series is Tintin, a young Belgian reporter. He is aided in his adventures by his faithful fox terrier dog Snowy. The property has been seen across all media, including several movies the most recent of which The Adventures of Tintin (2011) – Steven Spielberg directed a motion capture 3D film based on three stories published in the 1940s, The Crab with the Golden Claws (1941), The Secret of the Unicorn (1943), and Red Rackham's Treasure (1944). Peter Jackson's company Weta Digital provided the animation and special effects. Jackson and Spielberg will co-direct the second movie of the trilogy, an adaptation of The Seven Crystal Balls (1948) and Prisoners of the Sun (1949). Release Date: 21 December 2011 Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Nick Frost, Simon Pegg Synopsis: Venom is a fictional extraterrestrial life form appearing in Marvel Comics. The creature is a sentient alien Symbiote, with a gooey, almost liquid-like form, and requires a host to bond with for its survival. In return the Venom creature gives its host enhanced powers the most obvious of which are modelled after its first host (Spider-Man). Venom's first appearance in a motion picture was originally planned for a titular film written by David S. Goyer and produced by New Line Cinema, in which Venom would have been portrayed as an antihero and Carnage as the antagonist. Goyer said in an interview the film rights to Venom ultimately reverted to Sony. Venom appears as one of the main antagonists in the 2007 feature film Spider-Man 3, played by Topher Grace. In July 2007, Avi Arad revealed a spin-off was in the works. In September 2008, Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese signed on to write, while Gary Ross will direct. Variety reported that Venom will become an anti-hero, and Marvel Entertainment will produce the film. With the aquisition of Marvel by Disney and the decision to reboot the Spider-Man franchise, plans for Venom have been on hold. Release Date: October 5, 2018 Director: Ruben Fleischer Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Scott Haze, Reid Scott Synopsis: Whiteout is a comic book limited series by writer Greg Rucka and artist Steve Lieber. It was originally released in four issues during 1998, by Oni Press and then collected into a trade paperback. The story follows Carrie Stetko, a Deputy U.S. Marshal working at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, and her investigation of a murder that takes place there. The story moves through many Antarctic stations, as Stetko chases down suspects and finds more murders. Early in the story, Stetko is attacked by the killer and left for dead in a storm. She saves herself but loses two fingers due to severe cold-related injuries. Release Date: September 11, 2009 Director: Dominic Sena Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Macht, Columbus Short, Tom Skerritt Synopsis: Witchblade is a comic book series published by Top Cow. The series was created by Marc Silvestri and David Wohl, writers Brian Haberlin and Christina Z, and artist Michael Turner. It follows Sara Pezzini, a tough-as-nails NYPD homicide detective who comes into possession of the Witchblade, a supernatural, sentient artifact with immense destructive and protective powers. Witchblade was adapted into a moderately successful television series in 2001–2002, starring Yancy Butler as Sara Pezzini. The title was also adapted into an anime and an unrelated manga series in 2006. A feature film, currently titled The Witchblade, was scheduled for a 2009 release, but is now set for 2013. Release Date: August 27, 2000 Director: Ralph Hemecker Cast: Yancy Butler, Anthony Cistaro, Conrad Dunn, David Chokachi, Kenneth Welsh, Will Yun Lee, Eric Etebari Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941) and has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986. Wonder Woman is a warrior Princess of the Amazons (based on the Amazons of Greek mythology) and was created as a "distinctly feminist role model whose mission was to bring the Amazon ideals of love, peace, and sexual equality to a world torn by the hatred of men." In addition to the comics, the character has appeared in other media; most notably, the 1975–1979 Wonder Woman TV series starring Lynda Carter, as well as animated series such as the Super Friends and Justice League. Although a number of attempts have been made to adapt the character to live-action film, none have yet emerged from development hell. An animated film was released in 2009, with Keri Russell voicing the title role. In 2011, Adrianne Palicki starred in a failed pilot for a would-be series about the character. Release Date: June 2, 2017 Director: Patty Jenkins Cast: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Connie Nielsen, Elena Anaya Youngblood is a superhero team that starred in their self-titled comic book, created by writer/artist Rob Liefeld and published by Image Comics. Youngblood was a high-profile superteam sanctioned and overseen by the United States government. A half-hour Youngblood animated series was planned for the 1995-96 season on Fox as part of an hour block with a proposed Cyberforce series and a clip was created but the series was never produced. The clip aired in commercials for Youngblood action figures. In February 2009, Reliance Big Entertainment had acquired the feature film rights to the comic book, reportedly for a mid-six figures, and has attached Brett Ratner to direct. No cast or release date has yet been announced. The film is currently being written by J.P. Lavin and Chad Damiani.
2205	dbpedia	0	10	https://nestedegg.wordpress.com/category/mystery-characters/lily-wu/	en	In Search of Lily Wu	https://s0.wp.com/i/blank.jpg	https://s0.wp.com/i/blank.jpg	[ "https://nestedegg.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/cropped-1928_chinwmclbtea_hsa.jpg", "https://nestedegg.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/li-ling-ai-e1266620711433.jpg?w=200", "https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/c22148340307721e9f3e47e9ff58cf600f01af92335deb686ab6bc4f09d9ec22?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/5b74962312c432dd8d944448a4f8512fcaef02adca1dadae05134c9ec3c3b6b7?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/f4c6fa3e02aa4fb643b35a673fe98498b9c8f1f67b1e7f9583b374a26920b1f0?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1ecbf18ff45ed0eec1da31362e5f864963d862f1ac466f64326759b3aa172989?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/c22148340307721e9f3e47e9ff58cf600f01af92335deb686ab6bc4f09d9ec22?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://s2.wp.com/i/logo/wpcom-gray-white.png", "https://s2.wp.com/i/logo/wpcom-gray-white.png", "https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?v=noscript" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	Posts about Lily Wu written by nestedegg	en	https://s1.wp.com/i/favicon.ico	In Search of Lily Wu	https://nestedegg.wordpress.com/category/mystery-characters/lily-wu/	I am currently struggling to edit a fundraising trailer for my new documentary FINDING KUKAN. As my mind gets muddled with soundbites and competing shots and scenes, it’s helpful to remind myself what drew me into the story to begin … Continue reading → EARL DERR BIGGERS’S 1928 TRIP TO HAWAII Just what was Charlie Chan’s creator doing in Hawaii in 1928? He was meeting Chang Apana for the first time — the Chinese police detective that many (including most Honoluluans of the time) … Continue reading → Ship records can provide fascinating information about someone from the past. Examining passenger lists can also give you interesting information about your subject’s traveling companions — who was single and who was married, if they were traveling with spouses … Continue reading → Juanita Sheridan, author of the Lily Wu mystery series attributed her inclination to writing about murder to “ancestral genes,” claiming that her grandfather was murdered by Pancho Villa and her father was also probably murdered by a political rival. This … Continue reading → What do all three have in common? No, not the letters AN. It’s JUANITA SHERIDAN! Angie Tudor is the Chinese female lead in Sheridan’s first novel WHAT DARK SECRET co-written in Hawaii with the Michigan transplant dentist Dorothy Dudley. In … Continue reading → How do you track down the real life inspirations for a fictional character from a book written over 60 years ago? I decided to start by finding out more about Lily Wu’s creator Juanita Sheridan. If I knew more about … Continue reading → What’s the big deal about a Chinese woman in a mystery novel anyway? Growing up in 1960s Hawaii I was one of those avid readers who would borrow my limit from the library every week and read books under the … Continue reading → Tom and Enid Schantz are the heroic couple who formed Rue Morgue Press and brought Juanita Sheridan’s books (and Lily Wu) back to life. According to the back jacket copy of the reissued paperback version of THE CHINESE CHOP, Sheridan’s … Continue reading → Juanita Sheridan circa 1950 (courtesy Ross Hart) My first introduction to Lily Wu was through my friend Clarissa Tartar the vintage mystery maven. She gave me a copy of THE CHINESE CHOP by Juanita Sheridan (the author pictured above). After … Continue reading →
2205	dbpedia	2	3	https://charliechan.org/the-films/	en	The Charlie Chan Family Home	https://charliechan.org/…09/image-814.png	https://charliechan.org/…09/image-814.png	[ "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-814.png?resize=415%2C198&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-854.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-832.png?resize=415%2C196&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-842.png?resize=415%2C196&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-1111.png?resize=415%2C196&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-41.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-871.png?resize=415%2C195&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-879.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-889.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-898.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-907.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-923.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-936.png?resize=415%2C195&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-974.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-986.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-993.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-1001.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-1012.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-1043.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-1055.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-1077.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-1082.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-1088.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-1109.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-7.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-12.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-25.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-36.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-47.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-55.png?resize=415%2C196&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-57.png?resize=415%2C200&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-66.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-77.png?resize=415%2C198&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-94.png?resize=396%2C185&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-113.png?resize=415%2C194&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-135.png?resize=415%2C185&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-151.png?resize=415%2C195&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-156.png?resize=415%2C191&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-163.png?resize=415%2C185&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-166.png?resize=415%2C196&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-172.png?resize=415%2C195&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-174.png?resize=415%2C195&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-177.png?resize=415%2C200&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-183.png?resize=415%2C196&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/CCFlinkLOGO.png?resize=135%2C97&ssl=1" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2022-11-03T15:31:15+00:00	The Films of Charlie Chan Warner Oland was the first actor to portray Charlie Chan – as we know him – in sixteen films produced at Fox studios (later Twentieth Century-Fox) from 1931 until his death in 1938. Beginning in 1938, Sidney Toler carried on the role, taking the famous detective through eleven more adventures at Twentieth Century-Fox and anContinue reading "Films"	en	https://s0.wp.com/i/webclip.png	The Charlie Chan Family Home	https://charliechan.org/the-films/	The Films of Charlie Chan Warner Oland was the first actor to portray Charlie Chan – as we know him – in sixteen films produced at Fox studios (later Twentieth Century-Fox) from 1931 until his death in 1938. Beginning in 1938, Sidney Toler carried on the role, taking the famous detective through eleven more adventures at Twentieth Century-Fox and an additional eleven films at Monogram Pictures until his passing in 1947. Roland Winters took Charlie Chan through his final six cases at Monogram, until the series finally ended in 1949 after a run of nearly two decades. What follows is a chronological listing of all forty-four films that comprise the Charlie Chan series. The title card for each film as well as the link below each brief synopsis will take you to much more information about each film, including full film credits, an in-depth synopsis (with a “conclusion” spoiler), and much more. Yes, there have been various “other” Charlie Chan films made throughout the decades and up to recent years. To view information regarding those movies, please visit our section devoted to the Other Charlie Chan Films. Fox Film Corporation (1931) Starring Warner Oland Directed by Hamilton MacFadden Inspector Duff, a Scotland Yard detective, and a friend of Charlie Chan, is pursuing a murderer who is a part of an around-the-world tour group. While his ship is docked in Honolulu, the detective is shot and wounded by the killer. With Duff in critical condition, Charlie Chan carries on the pursuit in place of his fallen friend. For detailed information on this film, please go to Charlie Chan Carries On. As this is a “lost” film, you may experience it by reading through our Illustrated Script-based Reconstruction: Charlie Chan Carries On Illustrated Script. Fox Film Corporation (1931) Starring Warner Oland Directed by Hamilton MacFadden Hollywood star Shelah Fane, who is in Hawaii shooting a film on location, is murdered in her beach house in Waikiki. Detective Charlie Chan of the Honolulu Police Department is called on to investigate. “Death is a black camel that kneels unbidden at every gate. Tonight black camel has knelt here,” Chan tells the assembled suspects. For detailed information on this film, please go to The Black Camel. Fox Film Corporation (1932) Starring Warner Oland Directed by John Blystone Charlie Chan of the Honolulu Police, and Inspector Fife of Scotland Yard tour the offices of the New York Police Department with Inspector Flannery, in order to study the methods used by that department. Sir Lionel Grey, former chief of Scotland Yard is found dead, apparently of natural causes, in the penthouse apartment office of Barry Kirk in Wall Street. Noting a dead cat in the same room, Chan surmises that Grey’s death was not natural, stating, “Cat is like rich man’s heir – never dies out of sympathy.” For detailed information on this film, please go to Charlie Chan’s Chance. As this is a “lost” film, you may experience it by reading through our Illustrated Script-based Reconstruction: Charlie Chan’s Chance Illustrated Script. Fox Film Corporation (1933) Starring Warner Oland Directed by Hamilton MacFadden In Honolulu, two brothers, Dan and Amos Winterslip have had a decades-long feud which worsens when Dan announces his engagement to a scandalous, younger woman. When Dan is found murdered in his beachside home, Charlie Chan is called on to investigate. As the list of suspects grows, the case becomes increasingly dangerous for both Charlie Chan and Dan’s nephew, John Quincy, who seeks to find his uncle’s killer. For detailed information on this film, please go to Charlie Chan’s Greatest Case. As this is a “lost” film, you may experience it by reading through our Illustrated Script-based Reconstruction: Charlie Chan’s Greatest Case Illustrated Script. Fox Film Corporation (1934) Starring Warner Oland Directed by George Hadden Hired to deliver a valuable necklace for Sally Jordon, a wealthy Honolulu resident for whom Charlie Chan had worked as a houseboy decades earlier, the detective shows up at the desert ranch estate of P.J. Madden, posing as a servant. In his servant guise, Charlie monitors the comings and goings of a number of suspects as it becomes apparent that a murder has taken place at the Madden estate. For detailed information on this film, please go to Charlie Chan’s Courage. As this is a “lost” film, you may experience it by reading through our Illustrated Script-based Reconstruction: Charlie Chan’s Courage Illustrated Script. Fox Film Corporation (1934) Starring Warner Oland Directed by Eugene Forde When a young Englishman, Paul Gray, is convicted of murder and sentenced to hang, his sister, convinced of his innocence, asks Charlie Chan, who is visiting London, to investigate and find the real murderer. To that end, Chan visits a large country manor house in England where the killing occurred. There are a number of suspects among the large group of fox hunters who are staying at the manor, and it soon becomes clear that the killer is still actively trying to avoid capture. Charlie Chan must work fast to discover the real murderer’s identity and save Paul Gray from the gallows. For detailed information on this film, please go to Charlie Chan in London. Fox Film Corporation (1935) Starring Warner Oland Directed by Lewis Seiler Charlie Chan is hired by British investors to investigate a bond-forgery racket involving a Parisian bank. Upon his arrival in Paris, Chan, who pretends to be on vacation, is made harshly aware through a warning note that the true nature of his visit is known. Later, his agent, a nightclub dancer named Nardi is killed before she can tell give the detective any information. Surprised by the appearance of his Number One Son, Lee, father, and son work as a team on a dangerous case that is complicated by a false murder accusation against the banker’s daughter Yvette. For detailed information on this film, please go to Charlie Chan in Paris. Fox Film Corporation (1935) Starring Warner Oland Directed by Louis King Charlie Chan travels to Egypt on behalf of the French Archeological Society to investigate Professor Arnold’s excavation of Ahmeti’s tomb, as artifacts from the tomb have been found in other museums, contrary to the agreement that Arnold had made with the Society. When the archaeologist disappears during the excavation of other ancient art treasures, Chan must sort out the stories of the archaeological team to find out why priceless treasures are ending up in the hands of private collectors, while confronting a series of seemingly supernatural events. For detailed information on this film, please go to Charlie Chan in Egypt. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1935) Starring Warner Oland Directed by James Tinling Charlie Chan travels to his ancestral homeland, China, at the request of Sir Stanley Woodland, a prominent official in Shanghai, to help break up an opium-smuggling organization. When Chan is honored at a Shanghai banquet, Sir Stanley informs the detective that he has discovered some sinister activities. Before Sir Stanley can share this information he is silenced by a booby-trapped box. With Number One Son, Lee, at his side, Chan seeks to discover the secrets of the smuggling activities in Shanghai as well as the identity of Sir Stanley’s killer. For detailed information on this film, please go to Charlie Chan in Shanghai. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1936) Starring Warner Oland Directed by Gordon Wiles An ocean liner sinks near Hawaii and Allen Colby, the heir to the family fortune, is presumed dead. However, as he is the only body unaccounted for, Charlie Chan, who is seeking proof of Colby’s demise, is not so sure. The detective, working for Henrietta Lowell, the sister of Allen’s father flies to San Francisco to investigate further. The missing Colby appears at Colby House ahead of him but is knifed by a hidden killer in the back before seeing anyone. Further events revolve around spiritualist Mrs. Lowell, her family of suspicious characters, and the spooky Colby House, where the body of Allen Colby dramatically turns up during a séance with Chan in attendance. For detailed information on this film, please go to Charlie Chan’s Secret. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1936) Starring Warner Oland Directed by Harry Lachman Charlie Chan brings his wife and twelve children, who are currently sightseeing on the mainland, to a circus owned by kindly John Gaines and his unscrupulous partner, Joe Kinney. Kinney had sent Chan free passes to bring him to the circus, and he tells the detective that he has been receiving threatening letters. Kinney, who is widely disliked by his co-workers and employees, is murdered, and virtually anyone might have killed him. Convinced to assist the investigation by circus performer Lady Tiny, Chan and Number One Son, Lee, travel with the circus seeking to unmask the killer. For detailed information on this film, please go to Charlie Chan at the Circus. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1936) Starring Warner Oland Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone Following the suspicious disqualification of his horse, Avalanche, in the Melbourne Cup, Major Kent, a friend of Charlie Chan, returning to the United States with the thoroughbred via steamship, is found kicked to death in the horse’s stall. Chan investigates when the liner stops off in Honolulu. He discovers evidence of foul play, and when the detective uncovers fraud involving another race in Los Angeles, he, along with Number One Son, Lee, seeks to expose an international gambling ring as well as the murderer. For detailed information on this film, please go to Charlie Chan at the Race Track. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1936) Starring Warner Oland Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone Gravelle, a former baritone believed dead after an opera house fire seven years before, has been confined in a mental institution, suffering from amnesia. His memory, rekindled when sees a news story about his former wife’s current appearance in an opera in Los Angeles, escapes and seeks revenge for the failed attempt on his life years earlier. When those involved in the crime are found stabbed to death, Charlie Chan and his son Lee try to find out if the fugitive Gravelle is the one responsible. For detailed information on this film, please go to Charlie Chan at the Opera. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1937) Starring Warner Oland Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone During flight tests over Honolulu, an experimental airplane is hijacked and its pilot murdered. When the missing plane is chanced upon by Charlie Chan and his son Charlie, Jr., it is discovered that the new guidance device, designed to allow military planes to fly unmanned, is missing. The detective traces the strategically important invention to the summer Olympic Games in Berlin, where spies, enemy agents, and other criminals are trying to obtain it, intent on selling it to another government. Chan’s son, Lee, a member of the U.S. Olympic swim team, is on hand to help his father recover the device and solve the mystery. For detailed information on this film, please go to Charlie Chan at the Olympics. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1937) Starring Warner Oland Directed by Eugene Forde Billie Bronson, having left the country hurriedly a year earlier when sought as an important witness in a political scandal, has returned to New York City to “blow the lid off the town.” Later, Billie is mysteriously murdered and Charlie Chan is summoned from a police banquet in his honor. While seeking a motive for her murder, a second killing is discovered in the hotel room of Chan and his son Lee. A package is missing from the detective’s trunk and it is realized that it must have contained Billie Bronson’s inflammatory diary. Chan must piece together a string of clues in order to find the killer. For detailed information on this film, please go to Charlie Chan on Broadway. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1937) Starring Warner Oland Directed by Eugene Forde Charlie Chan and number one son Lee are passing through Monte Carlo on their way to Paris for an art show in which Lee has a painting. They meet Inspector Jules Joubert, chief of police of Monte Carlo with whom they work to solve the murder of the courier of a wealthy financier, Victor Karnoff, who was carrying a fortune in bonds. Among the many suspects are Savarin, a bitter financial rival of Karnoff, Evelyn Gray, a beautiful blonde without visible means of support, and Al Rogers, a shady bartender who is blackmailing Mrs. Karnoff. For detailed information on this film, please go to Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1939) Starring Sidney Toler Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone A murder is committed on the passenger freighter Susan B Jennings, as it reaches Honolulu. After a circuitous route to the docked ship, Charlie Chan learns that the murdered man’s identity is a mystery and that secretary Judy Hayes is the only eyewitness to the fatal shooting. The rest of the freighter’s passengers include animal keeper Al Hogan, Mrs. Carol Wayne, psychiatrist Dr. Cardigan, criminal Johnny McCoy, and police detective Joe Arnold, who is taking McCoy back to the U.S. from Shanghai. Another person is murdered and $300,000 has gone missing. For detailed information on this film, please go to Charlie Chan in Honolulu. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1939) Starring Sidney Toler Directed by Norman Foster Mary Whitman has gone to Reno seeking a divorce from her husband, Curtis. While there, she is arrested on suspicion of murdering a fellow guest at her hotel, an establishment that specializes in accommodating individuals who are awaiting finalized divorces. There are many others at the hotel who harbor strong feelings against the victim. At the request of Mary’s estranged husband who is a friend of Charlie Chan, the detective travels from his home in Honolulu to solve the murder. For detailed information on this film, please go to Charlie Chan in Reno. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1939) Starring Sidney Toler Directed by Norman Foster On a flight from Honolulu to San Francisco, Paul Essex, a novelist friend of Charlie Chan, appears to have committed suicide. At the Golden Gate International Exposition, held on San Francisco Bay’s Treasure Island, Chan, with Number Two Son, Jimmy, at his side, investigates a strange mystic called Dr. Zodiac who, the detective learns, blackmails clients. For detailed information on this film, please go to Charlie Chan at Treasure Island. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1939) Starring Sidney Toler Directed by Herbert I. Leeds Charlie Chan is in Paris attending the twentieth-anniversary gathering of members of the Intelligence Service, who have come together in that city to mark the occasion. There, as the City of Light is darkened by the gathering clouds of impending war, he investigates the murder of a munitions manufacturer who was supplying arms to the enemy. For detailed information on this film, please go to Charlie Chan in City in Darkness. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1940) Starring Sidney Toler Directed by Norman Foster Charlie Chan, working with the U.S. government, poses as a maker of Panama hats. Amidst a backdrop of suspicion, espionage, and murder, Chan seeks to thwart a plot that would destroy part of the Panama Canal, thus trapping the Navy fleet on its way to the Pacific. For detailed information on this film, please go to Charlie Chan in Panama. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1940) Starring Sidney Toler Directed by Eugene Forde Charlie Chan, continuing for a murdered colleague, and assisted by Number Two Son, Jimmy, seeks to uncover the identity of a strangler who strikes multiple times on an around-the-world cruise ship bound from Honolulu to San Francisco. For detailed information on this film, please go to Charlie Chan’s Murder Cruise. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1940) Starring Sidney Toler Directed by Lynn Shores Escaped killer Steve McBirney vows to get even with Charlie Chan whose testimony was key in his conviction. Recovering from plastic surgery at an eerie wax museum run by Dr. Cream, the killer lies in wait. Chan is lured to the museum through an offer to participate in a live radio broadcast there. Fortuitously escaping a death trap, Chan, along with Number Two Son, Jimmy, investigates the murder of one of the other participants who is connected to a crime that occurred a decade before. For detailed information on this film, please go to Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1940) Starring Sidney Toler Directed by Harry Lachman Charlie Chan arrives in New York City for a policeman’s convention, only to find that Number Two Son Jimmy, in that city to visit the World’s Fair, is there to greet him! Following the convention, Chan’s old friend, Inspector Hugh Drake, a British intelligence officer, is found dead. The killing is tied in with a gang of enemy saboteurs who are responsible for the crash of an experimental bomber. Chan must proceed through a complex web of suspects in order to capture the killer and break up the saboteur ring before another bomber and its crew meet the same fate as the first. For detailed information on this film, please go to Murder Over New York. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1941) Starring Sidney Toler Directed by Harry Lachman The lure of millions of dollars in lost pirate treasure brings together an unusual and diverse group of fortune hunters aboard an old sailing ship, including Jimmy Chan, who sneaks aboard. Patience Nodbury, who holds the treasure map, torn in four pieces, dies suddenly, the apparent victim of the ghost of a long-dead pirate. Charlie Chan, on board the docked ship to locate his wayward son now finds himself in the midst of a case of what he believes to be murder. For detailed information on this film, please go to Dead Men Tell. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1941) Starring Sidney Toler Directed by Harry Lachman Charlie Chan and son Jimmy visit the exotic city of Rio de Janeiro in order to arrest nightclub singer Lola Dean for a murder committed a year earlier in Honolulu. Later, they find the singer has been stabbed to death in her home. Her jewels have been stolen and a number of clues have been seemingly planted at the crime scene. The suspects are numerous, and Chan must sift through the evidence to unmask the killer. For detailed information on this film, please go to Charlie Chan in Rio. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1942) Starring Sidney Toler Directed by Harry Lachman A guest is murdered at Manderley Castle, a medieval reconstruction located in the middle of the Mojave Desert, which is owned by wealthy historian Paul Manderley and his wife, Lucy, who is a descendant of the notorious Borgia family. Charlie Chan, who was summoned to the castle earlier, and Number Two Son, Jimmy, away on leave from the U.S. Army, quickly get to work trying to unravel the mystery. For detailed information on this film, please go to Castle in the Desert. Monogram Pictures Corporation (1944) Starring Sidney Toler Directed by Phil Rosen Scientist George Melton is working on an important new invention that will protect Allied shipping from German U-boat attacks. Although he has been assigned Secret Service security protection he is murdered in his Washington, D.C. home. Charlie Chan, now working for the Secret Service in Washington, is assigned to the case. Chan is soon joined by two of his children, Number Three Son, Tommy, and second daughter, Iris, as well as Birmingham Brown, the chauffeur of one of the guests. When the autopsy reveals that Melton was electrocuted, Chan must determine who among the numerous suspects is the guilty party. For detailed information on this film, please go to Charlie Chan in the Secret Service. Monogram Pictures Corporation (1944) Starring Sidney Toler Directed by Phil Rosen Leah Manning enlists Charlie Chan’s help in solving the murder of her stepfather, Thomas, who was found slain in his study. With no concrete leads, the police have given up and only Chan’s deducing can refute a scandalous book that blames Mrs. Manning, Leah’s mother, for the crime. Number Three Son, Tommy, and Birmingham Brown, assist the detective as the trail to the identity of Manning’s killer leads to a ruthless diamond smuggling gang. For detailed information on this film, please go to The Chinese Cat. Monogram Pictures Corporation (1944) Starring Sidney Toler Directed by Phil Rosen A murder occurs during a séance conducted by a fraudulent medium. Birmingham Brown, who happens to be on the premises when the killing occurs as is Charlie Chan’s daughter, Frances. Chan finds himself entangled in a dangerous web as he follows the killer’s trail of death in a case that has its origins a decade in the past. For detailed information on this film, please go to Black Magic/Meeting at Midnight. Monogram Pictures Corporation (1944) Starring Sidney Toler Directed by Phil Rosen Charlie Chan is assigned by the government to investigate the murder of Harper, an eccentric scientist who had been experimenting with a formula that could turn wood into a substance as hard as steel. Chan, with Number Four Son, Edward, and Birmingham Brown in tow, finds himself in a strange mansion that is teeming with an odd assortment of suspects, virtually all having a possible motive to do away with Harper. Several additional murders occur as the detective closes in on his quarry. For detailed information on this film, please go to The Jade Mask. Monogram Pictures Corporation (1945) Starring Sidney Toler Directed by Phil Rosen Charlie Chan of the Secret Service is searching for the killer of an enemy agent. The trail leads to a radio and television broadcast center, where Number Three Son, Tommy, and assistant Birmingham Brown, accompany the detective as he winds his way through a host of suspects and hidden dangers. For detailed information on this film, please go to The Scarlet Clue. Monogram Pictures Corporation (1945) Starring Sidney Toler Directed by Phil Karlson Charlie Chan is sent by the government to investigate several murders connected with a bank where a vital store of radium is kept. A number of employees of the bank have been killed by an injection of cobra venom. Chan remembers a similar case back in Shanghai in 1937, but the suspect in those murders, his face disfigured in an explosion, escaped. Number Three Son, Tommy, and assistant Birmingham Brown help the detective as the trio places themselves in mortal danger as they track down the illusive “Cobra Killer.” For detailed information on this film, please go to The Shanghai Cobra. Monogram Pictures Corporation (1945) Starring Sidney Toler Directed by Phil Rosen In Mexico City, an attempt is made to steal the papers of the mysterious Alfred Wyans. His secretary, Walter Dorn, is working undercover for the U.S. government. At the U.S. embassy, he begs that they send for Charlie Chan. The next day, Dorn is mysteriously shot during a luncheon party at Wyans’ home. Chan arrives in Mexico City, accompanied by Number Three Son Tommy and his chauffeur and assistant Chattanooga Brown. Chan reveals that Wyans’ papers relate to the discovery of a new, 95th element that could be used to make a bomb much more powerful than an atomic bomb. The detective suspects one of the party guests, setting out to find which one is responsible for Dorn’s death. For detailed information on this film, please go to The Red Dragon. Monogram Pictures Corporation (1946) Starring Sidney Toler Directed by Phil Karlson Ex-convict Thomas Harley is arrested for robbing a bank and killing a bank guard. He claims that he was summoned to a theatrical warehouse by a note that was sent to him by a former cellmate named James Wyatt and was subsequently locked inside at the time the robbery and killing took place. The police do not believe his alibi because Wyatt has been dead for eight years. Fingerprints belonging to Harley are found at the crime scene, and he is put on trial, found guilty, and condemned to death. Desperate to prove her father innocent, Harley’s daughter, June asks Charlie Chan to help her and her father. For detailed information on this film, please go to Dark Alibi. Monogram Pictures Corporation (1946) Starring Sidney Toler Directed by Terry Morse Charlie Chan, Number Two Son, Jimmy, and assistant, Birmingham Brown, are all on a bus heading south to San Francisco to investigate a murder case involving an unidentified armless, legless, headless torso. Chan learns that an elderly woman, Mrs. Conover, is traveling to San Francisco to search for her missing granddaughter, Mary. He tells the concerned woman that he will do what he can to help her find her missing loved one. For detailed information on this film, please go to Shadows Over Chinatown. Monogram Pictures Corporation (1946) Starring Sidney Toler Directed by Terry Morse Aboard a passenger ship in the South Seas, undercover agent Scott Pearson tells Charlie Chan that he is being sent to Samoa to investigate the sudden appearance of money and artworks stolen from Philippine banks during the Japanese invasion. Later, while the passengers gather in the salon for a ceremony to celebrate the crossing of the equator, Pearson is stabbed in the back and killed. Chan, along with Number Two Son, Jimmy, and assistant Chattanooga Brown, works to find the killer who lurks among the passengers. For detailed information on this film, please go to Dangerous Money. Monogram Pictures Corporation (1947) Starring Sidney Toler Directed by Howard Bretherton The members of Cole King’s variety troupe occupy a Malibu, California beach house. One of the showgirls disappears, and her body is discovered by San Toy, a Chinese member of the troupe. Because Lois has been strangled, a murder technique said to be favored by the Chinese and the French, both San Toy and Adelaide, who is French, are under immediate suspicion. San Toy, who is a friend of Jimmy Chan, asks his father to investigate. For detailed information on this film, please go to The Trap. Monogram Pictures Corporation (1947) Starring Roland Winters Directed by William Beaudine Mei Ling, a Chinese princess, arrives in San Francisco aboard the boat Shanghai Maid, and, several weeks later, visits Charlie Chan at his home. She gives Chan’s butler and assistant, Birmingham Brown, an ancient Chinese ring, and while she is momentarily alone, an assailant kills her by shooting a poison dart through the window. As she is dying, the princess is able to write “Capt. K” on a piece of paper but is unable to finish the full name. Chan, with the help of Number Two Son, Tommy, and Birmingham, soon finds himself in the midst of international intrigue and danger as he seeks to discover the identity of the mysterious Captain K and the murderer of Princess Mei Ling. For detailed information on this film, please go to The Chinese Ring. Monogram Pictures Corporation (1948) Starring Roland Winters Directed by Derwin Abrahams Simon Lafontanne, head of a chemical company, goes to consult Charlie Chan who is staying in New Orleans along with his number two son, Tommy, and his chauffeur and assistant, Birmingham Brown. Lafontanne suspects that he has an enemy who is having him followed everywhere he goes. Chan agrees to investigate further just before Lafontanne is nearly kidnapped in front of the detective’s residence. The next morning, a pair of Lafontanne’s business partners pressure him to sign a clause that has been added to their business agreement whereby, in the event of the death of any of the principals, his share of the profits will go to the remaining partners. A short time later, Lafontanne is found dead in his office, apparently of a heart attack, but Charlie Chan believes otherwise. For detailed information on this film, please go to Docks of New Orleans. Monogram Pictures Corporation (1948) Starring Roland Winters Directed by William Beaudine In San Francisco, Judge Wesley Armstrong is stabbed to death in his study by an intruder, and Victor, the judge’s nephew, who has come to see him, is attacked and rendered unconscious. As the police arrive at the Armstrong home, they discover Victor recovering consciousness and holding the murder knife in his hand. This, plus other incriminating evidence, makes him the prime suspect in the murder. When Charlie Chan comes to see the district attorney to apologize about a misadventure with his number two son Tommy and assistant Birmingham Brown, the word is received that two sets of fingerprints were found on the knife – Victor’s and those of a criminal who was executed six months earlier. Lieutenant Mike Ruark asks for Chan’s help with the case. For detailed information on this film, please go to Shanghai Chest. Monogram Pictures Corporation (1948) Starring Roland Winters Directed by William Beaudine In San Francisco’s Chinatown, an Arizona mine owner named Manning visits a curio shop seeking help from Charlie Chan because he believes that someone is out to kill him. While in the shop, Manning is shot at by an unseen assailant. Later, Chan agrees to help Manning. Posing as a dealer in oriental curios, Chan travels to the Manning home where he finds that Manning has been gravely injured in a mysterious accident in his mine. Very suspicious of the situation, Chan, along with his number two son Tommy and assistant Birmingham Brown proceed with what proves to be a very dangerous investigation. For detailed information on this film, please go to The Golden Eye. Monogram Pictures Corporation (1948) Starring Roland Winters Directed by William Beaudine In San Pablo, Mexico, an expedition prepares to look for two missing archeologists, Professors Scott and Farnsworth, who had been searching for the lost Aztec Temple of the Sun. The two men have now been missing for two months. Charlie Chan, who is on his way to Mexico City for a vacation with two of his sons, Number One Son, Lee and Number Two Son, Tommy plus chauffeur and associate, Birmingham Brown, finds Professor Scott delirious as he collapses in a field near the road to San Pablo. Later, in San Pablo, Scott explains that after he and Farnsworth had found the temple, they were held as hostages and were forced to unearth a fortune in Aztec jade and gold. However, before Scott can name his captor, the lights go out and he is murdered with a knife. A search party, including Chan, his sons, and Birmingham, is organized to look for Farnsworth and the lost temple. For detailed information on this film, please go to The Feathered Serpent. Monogram Pictures Corporation (1949) Starring Roland Winters Directed by Lesley Selander Charlie Chan and Number One Son, Lee, are passengers aboard a commercial airliner. There are also two insurance couriers who are carrying a shipment of $250,000. Minutes after drinking the coffee that was served, everyone on board the plane falls asleep, including the crew. Lee is the first to awaken and he notices a limp hand protruding from the cockpit door. Upon closer inspection, discovers that one of the couriers has been stabbed to death and that the insurance money has been stolen. For detailed information on this film, please go to The Sky Dragon.
2205	dbpedia	3	13	https://www.worlds-best-detective-crime-and-murder-mystery-books.com/the-black-camel.html	en	The Black Camel and Three "Lost" Charlie Chan Films			[]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	Possibly "the best" Charlie Chan movie of all time because it is so faithful to the story as told in the book.			World's Best Detective, Crime, and Murder Mystery Books	https://www.worlds-best-detective-crime-and-murder-mystery-books.com/the-black-camel.html	“The Black Camel” and Three Lost Charlie Chan Movies “The Black Camel” (Film) (1931) Warner Oland’s second appearance as Charlie Chan, “The Black Camel,” is the earliest extant Chan film in which Oland played the detective. (Oland played film versions of five of the six novels by Earl Derr Biggers; unfortunately, this is the only one of these to survive. However, Oland continued as Chan in a number of films that were based on original stories.) The series maintained excellent production and story values, and Oland became the favorite actor of many fans (myself included) to portray the Great Detective. “The Black Camel” was faithful to the novel by Biggers and is satisfying to watch. The scenario is that actors came to Hawaii to film a movie. (In the book, they filmed in Tahiti, then stopped in Hawaii for a week of rest and relaxation on their way back to Hollywood.) Famous actress Shelah Fane is murdered, and Chan investigates. A mystic named Tarnaverro, played by Bela Lugosi, had come to Hawaii from the mainland to counsel Ms. Fane, and becomes one of a number of suspects in her murder. Chan addresses the suspects as a group: Chan’s inept assistant Kashimo provides some comic relief. Kashimo had appeared in the book but Biggers used him only in The Black Camel. Kashimo often bungles and impedes the investigation. Eventually, Chan tells Kashimo, “Do me a favor. . . . Spend more time looking for nothing to do.” More comic relief comes from Chan’s interaction with his children. When his son brings his report card, the following exchange takes place: At dinner, the children ask Chan how the investigation is going: “The Black Camel” is well worth watching and we are fortunate that it is accessible to us. The film that precedes it—“Charlie Chan Carries On”—and the three films that follow it (“Charlie Chan’s Chance,” “Charlie Chan’s Greatest Case,” and “Charlie Chan’s Courage”) were all based on Chan novels by Earl Derr Biggers and are lost. However, the scripts for these are accessible at the Charlie Chan Family website. “Charlie Chan’s Chance” (1932) Based on the third Charlie Chan novel, Behind That Curtain. "Charlie Chan's Chance" is the second film version. While the first version is faithful to the story itself, this version was faithful to the structure of the book; however, names of principal characters were changed. I don’t know why Eve Durand became Shirley Marlowe in the film, Colonel John Beetham became John R. Douglas, or Eric Durand became Alan Raleigh. Other names, including Li Gung, Barry Kirk, and Gloria Garland, were retained intact from the book. Charlie’s involvement and participation in the investigation follows the novel more closely than in the earlier film version, which focused on the backstory, and Charlie entered very late in that film version. That film is faithful to the story and I like it. This version, however, has Chan participating in the investigation throughout as he had in the book. In the novel, Chan has booked passage on a boat so he can return from San Francisco to Honolulu in time to see his eleventh child born. But a murder case conflicts with his plans and he stays to aid the investigation. The movie handles it as follows: There is also a delightful scene taken from the book that wasn’t included in the earlier film. Leading up to this scene, Charlie has gotten a lead and wants to interview Li Gung, who lives in Chinatown. Charlie has trouble gaining entrance to the apartment building because he is unknown by the occupants. So Chan feigns spraining his ankle. A young boy in a Boy Scout uniform helps Charlie get into the building, where Chan is able to interview his contact; meanwhile, the boy scout fetches a doctor. When the doctor arrives, Chan has interviewed his contact and gotten the information he seeks. But now the doctor examines Chan’s ankle and blurts out, “There’s nothing wrong with this ankle!” Charlie’s cover is blown and he apologizes and tries to explain what he was about. This scene alone would be worth the price of admission for me! The book and the first movie version were set in San Francisco. This movie changed the location to New York. While I don’t understand the reason for these subtle changes during a time when Earl Derr Biggers stipulated that the films follow his writing, each film has its merits. I wish this lost film was available, but we are lucky to have the screenplay. And we are fortunate, indeed, to have as many Charlie Chan movies accessible as we do. “Charlie Chan’s Greatest Case” Based on The House Without a Key, which was the first Charlie Chan novel, “Charlie Chan’s Greatest Case” is faithful to the book. Since this film is lost, it is a great pleasure to read the screenplay. Of the six Charlie Chan films that are currently lost, “Charlie Chan’s Greatest Case,” “Charlie Chan’s Courage,” and “Charlie Chan Carries On” are films that I very much hope will be discovered and made accessible in my lifetime! Some scenes continue to develop the theme of earlier films (and the books), which show Chan’s relationship with his family, and carry forward dialogue that illustrates the “generation gap.” Later, when Chan’s sons help him catch a person of interest, Oswald says, “Okay, Pop.” Chan replies, “Extremely Jake. Thank you so much.” “Charlie Chan’s Courage” “Charlie Chan’s Courage” (1934)—based on The Chinese Parrot (the second Charlie Chan novel)—is lost. But by our very good fortune to have the screenplay is accessible to us. I happen to like this screenplay more than I enjoy the novel. In my opinion, The Chinese Parrot is the weakest of the Charlie Chan novels by Earl Derr Biggers. Biggers had a knack for making implausible situations and scenarios plausible enough for us fans to suspend our disbelief. This book, however, dragged a bit, especially in the beginning. Although I like the story and its concepts very much, the book took a while for me to get into. This screenplay, however, is way more succinct and quick moving. And it is very faithful to the book, which is, personally, my highest criterion in judging an adaptation of a book to the screen. Up to this time, all of the films had been based on the writings of Earl Derr Biggers. Biggers published his final novel—Keeper of the Keys—and suffered a heart attack and died. Keeper of the Keys never made it to the screen (although, as we’ll see later in these articles, there was a stage production and, later, a dramatic series on radio of thirty-nine episodes). These will be discussed in future articles on this website. For more information about Charlie Chan, click on the links below to read articles. The Novels by Earl Derr Biggers: The House Without a Key The Chinese Parrot Behind That Curtain The Black Camel Charlie Chan Carries On Keeper of the Keys Charlie Chan Movies The Early Charlie Chan Films Enter Warner Oland: "Charlie Chan Carries On" and "Eran Trece" "The Black Camel" and Three Lost Charlie Chan Movies Charlie Chan's Aphorisms and Sayings Charlie Chan's Family as Described in the Books Charlie Chan's Family as Seen in the Movies Charlie Chan's Travels Charlie Chan Pastiches Death, I Said by John L. Swann
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(1934) 6.5/10 The Black Camel (1931) 6/10 Charlie Chan in Paris (1935) 6/10 Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936) 6/10 Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937) 6/10 Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937) 3/10 LOST FILMS (speculative scores based on available materials) Charlie Chan's Chance (1932) 6.5/10 Charlie Chan's Courage (1934) 6.5/10 Charlie Chan Carries On (1931) 5.5/10 Charlie Chan's Greatest Case (1933) 5/10 SIDNEY TOLER AT FOX Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939) 9.5/10 Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940) 9/10 Dead Men Tell (1941) 8.5/10 Charlie Chan in Panama (1940) 8.5/10 Charlie Chan in Reno (1939) 8/10 Castle in the Desert (1942) 8/10 Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise (1940) 7/10 Charlie Chan in Rio (1941) 6/10 Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938) 5/10 Murder Over New York (1940) 4.5/10 City in Darkness (1939) 3.5/10 SIDNEY TOLER AT MONOGRAM The Shanghai Cobra (1945) 6.5/10 The Scarlet Clue (1945) 6.5/10 Dark Alibi (1946) 6/10 The Chinese Cat (1944) 5.5/10 The Trap (1946) 5.5/10 Dangerous Money (1946) 5.5/10 The Jade Mask (1945) 5.5/10 Black Magic (1944) 5/10 Shadows Over Chinatown (1946) 5/10 Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944) 4/10 The Red Dragon (1945) 3/10 ROLAND WINTERS The Shanghai Chest (1948) 6/10 The Chinese Ring (1947) 6/10 The Sky Dragon (1949) 5.5/10 The Golden Eye (1948) 5/10 Docks of New Orleans (1948) 4/10 The Feathered Serpent (1948) 3.5/10 OTHER FILMS The Return of Charlie Chan (1972) 5.5/10 They Were Thirteen (1931) 5/10 Behind That Curtain (1929) 1.5/10 Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981) 1/10 TV SHOWS The New Adventures of Charlie Chan (1957-58) 5.5/10 The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan (1972) 4/10 ALL EXTANT FILMS RANKED 01 - Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939) 9.5/10 02 - Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936) 9/10 03 - Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940) 9/10 04 - Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937) 8.5/10 05 - Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936) 8.5/10 06 - Dead Men Tell (1941) 8.5/10 07 - Charlie Chan in Panama (1940) 8.5/10 08 - Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935) 8/10 09 - Charlie Chan in Reno (1939) 8/10 10 - Castle in the Desert (1942) 8/10 11 - Charlie Chan's Secret (1936) 7.5/10 12 - Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935) 7/10 13 - Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise (1940) 7/10 14 - Charlie Chan in London (1934) 6.5/10 15 - The Shanghai Cobra (1945) 6.5/10 16 - The Scarlet Clue (1945) 6.5/10 17 - The Black Camel (1931) 6/10 18 - Charlie Chan in Paris (1935) 6/10 19 - Dark Alibi (1946) 6/10 20 - Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936) 6/10 21 - Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937) 6/10 22 - Charlie Chan in Rio (1941) 6/10 23 - The Shanghai Chest (1948) 6/10 24 - The Chinese Ring (1947) 6/10 25 - The Return of Charlie Chan (1972) 5.5 26 - The Chinese Cat (1944) 5.5/10 27 - The Trap (1946) 5.5/10 28 - The Sky Dragon (1949) 5.5/10 29 - Dangerous Money (1946) 5.5/10 30 - The Jade Mask (1945) 5.5/10 31 - They Were Thirteen (1931) 5/10 32 - Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938) 5/10 33 - Black Magic (1944) 5/10 34 - The Golden Eye (1948) 5/10 35 - Shadows Over Chinatown (1946) 5/10 36 - Murder Over New York (1940) 4.5/10 37 - Docks of New Orleans (1948) 4/10 38 - Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944) 4/10 39 - The Feathered Serpent (1948) 3.5/10 40 - City in Darkness (1939) 3.5/10 41 - The Red Dragon (1945) 3/10 42 - Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937) 3/10 43 - Behind That Curtain (1929) 1.5/10 44 - Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981) 1/10	en	https://m.media-amazon.c…B1582158068_.png	IMDb	https://www.imdb.com/list/ls539978222/	"Behind That Curtain" confidently strides into every early talkie pitfall there is. For one, the acting is stagey to almost parodic levels. Everyone talks... very... very... slowly... indeed, enunciating every syllable separately, leaving long, whopping pauses between each sentence careful not to speak over his fellow actor's line. I am convinced that if everyone spoke normally the film would be over in half the time. The blocking is stilted even for 1920s standards. There are no camera movements and all the actors are positioned in flat, unimaginative tableaux, delivering their lines towards the camera without moving. They don't stand as much as pose. They don't walk as much as strut. The pace, consequently, is languid and each scene seems to run on for far longer than it should. The acting is of variable quality. Warner Baxter and Lois Moran are fine if not particularly memorable romantic leads and Gilbert Emery makes for a convincing authority figure. On the other end of the spectrum is Philip Strange whose portrayal of the snide villain is anything but subtle and whose delivery is an insult to wood. Boris Karloff makes his talkie-debut here in an inconsequential part that could easily go unnoticed. With the sinister looks he keeps giving the camera you'd think he was playing the villain instead of a lowly Arabic servant. The problem, however, is that everyone seems ill at ease on screen. Forced to act at such a languid pace and making an uncomfortable transition from silent movies, everyone seems self-conscious and discombobulated. In several long shots, the actors even seem to forget how to walk and seem to stagger in and out of rooms like toddlers. But no one will be watching "Behind That Curtain" for its cinematic qualities. The film is best known as the oldest surviving cinematic outing of Charlie Chan, the brilliant Chinese detective who would go on to appear in further 4? films for Fox. While the film is based on Earl Derr Biggers' novel it is no mystery. Instead, it is a distinctly torrid melodrama, one to rival even the most over-the-top Indian soap operas. The story revolves around a love triangle between Eve (Lois Moran), her husband Eric (Philip Strange), and her childhood friend, the explorer Colonel Beetham (Warner Baxter). After Eve learns that Eric is a cheater and a murderer she escapes into the Arabic desert with Beetham pursued by a dogged Scotland Yard inspector Sir Frederick (Gilbert Emery). Chan is relegated to a tiny part as Sir Frederick's honourable colleague. He appears in only a single, unimportant scene and is amateurishly played by E.L. Park. "Behind That Curtain" offers some interest but not due to its objective qualities. It is a lot of fun to watch as a kind of trashy 1920s soap opera with all the trappings of the genre. The over-the-top performances, overcooked emotions, explosive bust-ups and hilariously portentous dialogue delivered in voices shivering with emotion. But if we look at it as a serious movie, "Behind That Curtain" is a bust. Besides some eye-catching desert photography and nice musical passages, the film is entirely without merit. With its stilted performances, stagy direction and languid pace, it is frequently a chore to get through its needlessly elongated 90-minute runtime. 1.5/10 Of all the lost Charlie Chan films, "Charlie Chan Carries On" is the one that's easiest to get a good idea of. For one, its theatrical trailer still survives with a decent if brief glimpse at a few scenes from the film. Furthermore, a full shooting script is available for reading on the excellent Charlie Chan Family Home website. Last but not least, the Spanish-language remake, "They Were Thirteen", made on the same sets and with the same script, still exists and is available on home video. That makes the task of mentally reconstructing "Charlie Chan Carries On" far easier than getting even a passing glimpse at what, say, "Charlie Chan's Greatest Case" would have been like. So, what does this mental reconstruction amount to? Well, I would say that "Charlie Chan Carries On" would not have been a million miles away from "The Black Camel", Charlie Chan's second cinematic outing which was also directed by Hamilton MacFadden, made in 1931, and which still survives. It is a stagy, dated effort, clearly displaying the awkwardness of the early talkie era. But it is also an undeniably enjoyable and atmospheric picture. The story of "Charlie Chan Carries On", based on the same-named novel by Earl Derr Biggers, is a lot more engaging and original than the one featured in "The Black Camel". It revolves around a group of American tourists on a trip around the world which takes them from New York to France, Italy, Greece, Egypt, India, Singapore, and finally Honolulu. But what the travellers don't know is that among them is a dangerous killer, a ruthless diamond smuggler named Jim Everhard (an apt surname by all accounts). While in London, Everhard murders one of the tourists, a kindly old man which sets the determined Inspector Duff (Peter Gawthorne) on his case. When a bullet puts Duff out of commission, his old friend, the brilliant Chinese detective Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) carries on the investigation. He boards the ship taking the tourists from Honolulu to New York and endeavours to find out which of the tourists is Jim Everhard before they reach their final destination. The set-up is absolutely terrific but its execution in the screenplay by Barry Conners and Philip Klein is not as dynamic as the plot summary might suggest. Instead of beginning with Charlie Chan boarding the ship, it has a leaden 40-minute prologue in which we follow Inspector Duff's investigation and a bevvy of humorous but ultimately meaningless subplots about the tourists' personal lives. I have no way of knowing how this prologue would have ultimately played on screen but I can say that I found it a rather dull affair in "They Were Thirteen" and that the script does not read any better. When the novel was adapted again in 1940 under the title "Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise", the writers smartly introduced Charlie Chan right at the beginning. Leaving him out of the story for so long is, in my opinion, a major misstep. Looking at the cast list of "Charlie Chan Carries On", I see some familiar and likeable names. I would have particularly loved to have seen Marjorie White, a terrific comedic actress, in the film. She has some of the script's best lines and her Spanish counterpart Blanca de Castejon absolutely stole every scene she was in. The brief glimpses in the trailer, however, are less kind towards Warren Hymer and John T. Murray whose performances come across as overly broad and stiff. Maybe they would have played better when viewed in the context of the whole picture but I have my doubts. Even with all its flaws, I do think the script for "Charlie Chan Carries On" could have worked relatively well had it been played with the kind of paciness and dynamicity that later Chan films had. However, this was a 1931 film and if "The Black Camel" is anything to go by, I think that such attributes are wishful thinking. Even with Hamilton MacFadden's inventive, atmospheric direction, I fear that "Charlie Chan Carries On" was a stagy, stiff affair. There is no doubt it is a massive shame that the first Warner Oland Charlie Chan film is missing but I am not going to claim we're short of a masterpiece. Having now read the script and seen both the trailer and the Spanish-language remake, I think that "Charlie Chan Carries On" would not have scored higher than a 6 in a best-case scenario. I like the premise and the cast and a lot of the comedic dialogue is snappy and clever but it is hard to get around the fact that the story dilly-dallies for 40 minutes before Charlie Chan is finally introduced. We also should not ignore the technical limitations and awkwardness of early talkies which would have certainly marred this particular production. The realist in me will give "Charlie Chan Carries On" a speculative score of 5.5. First a little history lesson! In the early 1930s, the days of the awkward transition between silent films and talkies, major Hollywood studios started making the same film twice. This is not a smart-aleck way of criticising Hollywood's lack of imagination, I mean that literally. In order to sell their talkies worldwide, they'd make the English-language version of the film first and then shoot an alternative Spanish-language version on the same sets afterwards. This bizarre and costly practice didn't have a terribly long life. It ended pretty much as soon as it began, once the studios discovered the magic of dubbing but it produced at least two significant alternatives. One is George Melford's "Dracula", a surprisingly improved alternative to the Tod Browning classic. The other is "They Were Thirteen", the Spanish-language remake of "Charlie Chan Carries On", the first of sixteen Charlie Chan films to star Warner Oland and the first of forty-two films that form the long-running series of movies about the eponymous Chinese detective. The reason "They Were Thirteen" is significant is because, sadly, "Charlie Chan Carries On" is a lost movie. Thankfully, this Spanish-language version survives and offers an intriguing glimpse into what the progenitor of the Charlie Chan film series might have looked like. "They Were Thirteen" falls for a lot of early talkie trappings. Its direction is stagy and stilted, the performances broad and declarative, and the pacing is occasionally quite leaden. Still, I must admit I enjoyed this movie mostly for its engrossing mystery. Based on an Earl Derr Biggers novel, the film begins with the murder of an old man in a London hotel. It transpires that he was part of a thirteen-person tourist group on a trip which will take them from America to France, Italy, Greece, Egypt, India, Singapore, and finally Honolulu. The indefatigable Scotland Yard Inspector Duff (Rafael Calvo) does not manage to solve the case before the group's departure from London but he does get in touch with his old friend Charlie Chan (Manuel Arbo), the marvel of the Honolulu police force, who joins the tourists in Honolulu. Will he manage to identify the killer among the remaining twelve before the ship reaches New York? You can bet your honourable behind that he will. The film is a globe-trotting mystery and yet it never manages to shake off that claustrophobic stagy atmosphere that a lot of these early talkies have. I blame that failure on director David Howard whose work is competent but distinctly flat. If his work on the subsequent Charlie Chan mysteries is anything to go on, I'm certain that the English-language director Hamilton MacFadden found some interesting ways to make the film more visually dynamic. Howard, sadly, lacks MacFadden's imaginative touch. His camerawork is stiff and plain and is not at all helped by Sidney Wagner's flat and unatmospheric cinematography. "They Were Thirteen" has one other significant issue and that is pacing. Despite a solid, intriguing opening, the film seems to spin its wheels for the first half of its runtime. It takes 41 minutes for Charlie Chan to first appear and he doesn't board the ship until 50 minutes of this 80-minute movie have passed. Once the investigation gets going, however, there is far too little time to develop the story, so the final third feels horridly rushed and fairly muddled. I'm still not sure who some of the suspects are! This problem was fixed when the novel was adapted again in 1940 with Sidney Toler in the lead role under the title of "Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise". Speaking of Charlie Chan, he's played here by Manuel Arbo who does an acceptable if unremarkable job imitating Warner Oland's interpretation of the character. He overdoes the whole "humble detective" act, for my liking, and lacks Oland's charisma and commanding presence. In the end, he comes across more like the film's comic relief than a serious detective protagonist. The rest of the cast is uneven but mostly likeable with especially good performances coming from Rafael Calvo, Raul Roulien, and Blanca de Castejon. I enjoyed the little subplots going on in the background such as a rivalry between two young people which turns into a love affair. I especially enjoyed the brief but very entertaining scenes between Max Minchin (Raul Roulien), a tough-guy Chicago gangster and his moll Peggy (Blanca de Castejon) who nags him relentlessly and buys every souvenir in sight much to her husband's dismay. In a particularly funny scene, she ends up buying a massive reading lamp from a street vendor. "Maybe now that she has a lamp, she'll buy a book," quips Max. "They Were Thirteen" is a stiff movie which definitely bears the marks of its age but it is bolstered by an interesting mystery (with, what must be said, a rather unsatisfying conclusion) and a consistently entertaining cast. I enjoyed it despite its leaden pace and unremarkable direction both as a diverting entry into the Charlie Chan film series and as a fascinating peek into what the lost "Charlie Chan Carries On" might have looked like. 5/10 Since "Charlie Chan Carries On" is a lost film, "The Black Camel" remains the earliest surviving film starring Warner Oland as the great Chinese detective Charlie Chan, the marvel of the Hawaiian police force who hides his sparkling intelligence behind the mask of geniality. Oland would go on to memorably essay the part in sixteen entertaining and atmospheric films. There is something of the Columbo method of detecting to his Chan here. He has the tendency to appear in the unlikeliest of places at the most inopportune of moments. He deliberately makes himself appear bumbling and harmless in order to weasel his way into a suspect's confidence. Oland is just wonderful here, mixing humour and a commanding, scene-stealing presence with the precision of a seasoned performer. Also wonderful is the film's big guest star - Bela Lugosi who had already solidified his name in film history with "Dracula" earlier the same year. Here he plays Tarneverro, a manipulative and slyly charming mentalist who holds a Hollywood actress by the name of Shelah Fane (Dorothy Revler) in the palm of his hand. Lugosi is superb at seeming both sinister and amicable at the same time. That is the quality that made him a defining Count Dracula and that very same quality makes him irresistible in "The Black Camel". There is a genuine allure of mystery around Lugosi whose scenes with Oland are absolutely electric. The verbal sparring and bizarre camaraderie that develops between these two polar opposite men is the most entertaining and interesting aspect of the movie. The plot begins, of course, once Shelah Fane is found dead in the bedroom of her Honolulu house. She came to the island to make a movie and returned home in a coffin. As Charlie Chan memorably puts it, death is a black camel that kneels unbidden at every gate. Chan's implacable boss (Robert Homans) is convinced that Tarnaverro is the killer but Chan is not so sure. He suspects that the motive for the murder of Shelah Fane is connected to a similar killing that took place three years before. "The Black Camel" was made in 1931, smack in the middle of the awkward transition phase between silent movies and talkies. The earliest sound films suffered greatly from this rushed and stumbling transition, and "The Black Camel" bears many of the symptoms such as stagy mise-en-scene, stilted camera work, and stiff performances. Surprisingly, however, "The Black Camel" is one of the more watchable early talkies, in my opinion. Director Hamilton MacFadden makes very good use of some terrific location work in beautiful Hawaii and his cinematographers Joseph August and Daniel Clark give us some truly atmospheric and downright creepy imagery. Look, for instance, at the wonderful seance scene in which Tarneverro and Shelah Fane are lit only by the eery light of the medium's crystal ball. Notice, as well, some really first-rate close-ups such as the one in which Charlie Chan, bathed in shadows and lit from beneath, delivers the memorable quote which gave the film its title. McFadden's camerawork is also worth commending since he employs a lot more movement and innovation than is usual for early talkies. I wouldn't say that "The Black Camel" is quite as dynamic as the silent films that preceded it or for that matter the later talkies that followed but it is a lot less stagey than you might expect. Also very good is the dialogue credited to Barry Conners and Philip Klein which is full of witticisms and barbs. A starlet offended by Chan's insistent questioning informs him that if she were a dose of poison, she'd give herself to him. Chan, later on, observes that whenever conscience tries to speak, the telephone goes out of order. Earlier on in the film, he tells Tarnaverro that like a shadow, his fame has followed him from Hollywood. When the elusive medium refuses to tell Chan whom he suspects of the murder Chan complains that he is trying to quench the fire of his curiosity with a handful of straw. Sadly, the story, based on a novel by Earl Derr Biggers, is far less memorable than the dialogue. Once the novelty of a murder on a film set wears off, there's really little left to hold our attention. Chan's investigation is fairly straightforward, the murder itself is rather mundane and lacks any particular innovation, and the murderer, once revealed, could well have been anyone in the cast. Their identity feels more like it was plucked out of a hat than like it's been truly well thought out. Also, I must note that as wonderful as Oland and Lugosi are, the rest of the cast fare a lot less well. Especially bad is the performance given by Dorothy Revier whose acting is very physically demonstrative and feels like it very much belongs in the silent era. Her line readings are notably over-rehearsed and sound false. Similarly over-the-top are the performances of William Post Jr. as Shelah Fane's unlucky fiancee and Dwight Fry who plays Ms Fane's butler with the same kind of overstated lunacy he had when he played Renfield in "Dracula". The most out-of-place turn, however, comes from Otto Yamaoka as Chan's bumbling sidekick Kashimo. Charlie Chan is almost always paired with a comic relief sidekick, but unlike some of the best ones like Keye Luke, Yamaoka's performance very much feels like it belongs in a very broad slapstick comedy. He also lacks any kind of chemistry with Oland who mostly seems to be bemused by his co-star's antics and rather reluctant to participate. On the other hand, I quite enjoyed Murray Kinnell as a beach bum who also happens to be a painter, C. Henry Gordon as one of Shelah Fane's Hollywood cronies, and Marjorie White who absolutely steals the show with her brief but very entertaining turn as a witty starlet. "The Black Camel" does bear the mark of its age. It's occasionally stagy and stilted, full of over-the-top performances and dodgy line readings, but the scenes between Oland and Lugosi alone are worth the price of admission (or rather the price of the DVD). Furthermore, I found the film an atmospheric and entertaining thriller whose only major failing is a less-than-engaging mystery. It's not top-tier Charlie Chan but it delivers the goods. 6/10 In 2006, when the Charlie Chan films were released on DVD in five beautiful, extras-laden box sets, Fox saw fit to produce two reconstructions of the early lost Chan films "Charlie Chan's Chance" and "Charlie Chan's Courage". These reconstructions were audio plays based on the surviving scripts illustrated by production stills and photoshopped collages. The acting in them is pretty ropey (especially, unfortunately, from the man playing Charlie Chan) but they are currently the best way to get an idea of what these lost films might have been like. Another terrific resource is The Charlie Chan Family Home website where you can read the surviving screenplays for these two films as well as the two that sadly weren't reconstructed for the DVDs. Having both seen the reconstruction and read the script I can safely claim that the loss of "Charlie Chan's Chance" is an unfortunate one. The engaging and clever story based on a novel by Earl Derr Biggers has Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) investigating the murder of a policeman who had been investigating a cold case. He was, in fact, on the tail of Alan Raleigh, a dangerous English murderer who had escaped capture several years ago and is now hiding in New York. The dynamic script takes Charlie all across town in pursuit of this dangerous man. The film begins with the discovery of the policeman's body in a Wall Street penthouse and continues with pacy, atmospheric scenes in nightclubs, New York's poor neighbourhoods, and even the Hudson River which Charlie and his colleagues NYPD's Inspector Flannery (James Kirkwood) and Scotland Yard's Inspector Fife (H.B. Warner) cross in a police boat. This film was released a year after "The Black Camel" and feels a lot livelier. For one, it is less drowned in dialogue relying a fair bit on visual storytelling. The shooting script reveals a lot about director John G. Blystone's style. There are plenty of mentions of sinister shadows and outlines of mysterious men stalking our heroes. In an interesting sound montage sequence, we follow a telephone signal as it bounces around from telephone pole to telephone pole all the way from New York to London. There is even an exciting scene in which a man driving a car is gassed to death and has a crash on a busy street. Furthermore, reading the shooting script indications, one gets an idea that the overall editing pace was much faster and the mise-en-scene less stagy. A particular scene I am sorry we cannot see is very suspenseful even to read. It involves an almost James Bond situation in which a bad guy rigs up a gun to shoot at a particular chair at a particular moment. Seated in the chair is Charlie Chan, oblivious to the danger. The intercutting between Chan's dialogue with the bad guy and the gun about to go off is positively Hitchcockian. The production stills also show off a well-designed movie. The art-deco sets by Gordon Wiles look slick and appropriately lush for a film set among the New York jet set. I wonder if Joseph August's cinematography would have been as shadowy and atmospheric as the script suggests, however. On the subject of the script, it is much better, storytelling-wise, than "The Black Camel". For one, Charlie Chan is immediately involved and positioned clearly as the protagonist and the man in charge of the investigation. Second, the story is told more clearly and dynamically. Third, the suspects are much better profiled and are more memorable so that when the killer is revealed we don't have to rewind the film to figure out who they are. Less ingratiating, however, are some of the script's racial insensitivities. A lot has already been written about the problem of racism in Charlie Chan films. I don't intend to go into it and instead suggest Yunte Huang's terrific book which examines the matter with intelligence and calm not usually exhibited with such hotly-debated topics. However, one thing is for certain, in all the films Charlie Chan is presented squarely as a positive character, a role model, and a person who dispels all negative prejudices held by his contemporaries. In "Charlie Chan's Chance", however, we have, for the only time that I know of, examples of uncontested racist statements. Passing showgirls refer to Charlie as "chop suey" and quip that they have "no laundry today". Uncharacteristically, Charlie merely stands back and takes the insults. Also uncharacteristic of the series is the presence of a very cliched Asian villain in the form of Li Gung (Edward Peil, Sr.), the kind of devious and untrustworthy foreigner stereotype that Charlie Chan was expressly created to oppose. Furthermore, some distinctly 1930s cringeworthy dialogue seeps into the script. Asked about his family full of boys Charlie says that he has been lucky. Pointing to his daughters he quips "Out of eleven opportunities, I've been unfortunate three times". How strange to hear such derogatory statements about his family from Charlie himself. "Charlie Chan's Chance" is certainly a film of its time but if we put that aside we are still left with what promises to have been a very fine picture indeed. Livelier and more engaging than "The Black Camel" and better plotted than "Charlie Chan in London". I suspect that if we had the good fortune to see it, I'd end up rating it a 6.5. Unlike the two films flanking it, "Charlie Chan's Greatest Case" was not reconstructed for the DVD box set. This is a strange decision seeing how its script is easily the most suitable to being turned into an audio play with its heavy reliance on dialogue. The shooting script (available for reading on the excellent Charlie Chan Family Home website) indeed reads like a stageplay. The scenes are long and talky and begin with characters walking into a room and don't end until everyone has left. There is little evidence of the dynamics present in "Charlie Chan's Chance" and because of that "Charlie Chan's Greatest Case" feels like a significant step back. Despite its title, the story, based on Earl Derr Biggers' novel, is not really all that great. It is a very straightforward and simplistic parlour mystery which revolves around the murder of Dan Winterslip (Robert Warwick), a rich layabout who wiles away his days in his fancy Hawaiian mansion. There are few twists in this tale, especially when compared to the much more engaging mysteries of the preceding four films. Furthermore, here we encounter the most thoroughly unlikeable supporting cast of any Charlie Chan film consisting of Puritans, racists, and entitled rich people none of whom are in the least bit fleshed out or even clearly defined. The dialogue written for them is equally to blame for just how fake and thin these characters seem. They incessantly describe themselves and explain their actions in bursts of declarative exposition. The funniest moment in the entire script is when a gangster walks into a scene and immediately announces that he's sick of Hawaii and that he has to "get back to New York and the mob". If that isn't stereotypical enough production stills reveal that he is dressed in a pin-stripe suit and that he sports a snarl on his face at all times. On the other hand, the production stills and the few bits of surviving footage also reveal a handsomely photographed film. The director of photography was Ernest Palmer who also photographed the atmospheric "Charlie Chan in Paris". The director, meanwhile, was Hamilton MacFadden who also helmed the stagy but picturesque "The Black Camel" which similarly featured a hacky script but was turned into a decent film largely due to MacFadden's solid work. The camera directions in the shooting script, however, reveal a less visually enticing film. A lot of the scenes are played in long, static shots which the actors walk in and out of like players on a theatrical stage. MacFadden seems to have embraced the idea that you should only cut when you absolutely cannot pan and that if you don't even have to pan all the better! The script for "Charlie Chan's Greatest Case" is fairly forgettable and bland but I don't want to give the impression that it is entirely meritless. For one, it is a rare Charlie Chan film that actually takes place in Honolulu and the script actually does a good job of showing Charlie working on his home turf. There are a few terrific scenes showing the Chan family life. I especially love the one in which Charlie's numerous family help him get ready in the morning when he is unexpectedly woken up by a telephone call. The final scene in which the entire Chan Clan is packed into a single car must have also been a scream. I also found the portrayal of the life of ex-pats living in Hawaii quite interesting if not sufficiently fleshed out. Still, there's no escaping that I had no interest in the story whatsoever. Couple that with a smaller amount of screen time for Warner Oland and a supporting cast full of shrill, unlikeable characters, I doubt that "Charlie Chan's Greatest Case" was anywhere close to his greatest film. I think this one would be rated somewhere around a 5. There was clearly a fear from the Fox producers in the 1930s that Charlie Chan, a Chinese detective, could not carry a picture on his own. That must be why the first five Chan films, all based on Earl Derr Biggers novels, always have a white protagonist accompanying Chan and sometimes even doing most of the detecting. All that would change with "Charlie Chan in London" but for now let's focus on "Charlie Chan's Courage", the last lost Chan film. Much like "Charlie Chan in London", this is a take on the old manor house mystery trope. Here the manor in question is a lavish house in the Californian desert belonging to the thuggish financier J.P. Madden (Paul Harvey), nicknamed "the Wall Street plunger". The mystery at the centre of "Charlie Chan's Courage", however, is better than the one Charlie had to solve in London. It is, in fact, one of the more intriguing of the whole series as the question is not only whodunnit but also who was it done to? Let me try to explain the complicated setup. Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) is asked by a jeweller (Reginald Mason) to deliver a priceless necklace to Madden's house. Chan, however, smells a rat and has the jeweller's son Bob (Donald Woods) go to Madden's house first. On arrival, Bob finds Madden absent from the house and a conspicuous bullet hole in the big man's bedroom. The next twist comes the following morning when Madden in all of his brash glory shows up alive and well. Who was murdered then? Maybe the more prudent question is who will be murdered next? But where is our hero? The indefatigable Charlie Chan of the Honolulu police. Well, in the kitchen. You see, he disguises himself as an itinerant Chinese worker and secures himself a job as Madden's cook. This could be an interesting premise for a detective film (indeed "Murder, She Said" did it to perfection some 30 years later) but I'm not entirely convinced "Charlie Chan's Courage" pulled it off as well. For one, most of the screen time is devoted to Bob and his flirtation with Paula (Drue Leyton), a woman he meets on the train and immediately falls in love with. Meanwhile, Chan skulks in the background observing and "narrowing his eyes" which is about as much action as the script gives him before the big finale. There is a lot of mysterious goings-on in the Madden household. Interesting scenes all of which seem to end with Charlie being revealed in the background "giving a smile and a nod". Not quite what I hope to get out of a Charlie Chan picture. He also spends most of the film affecting the sing-songy, "me no likey dlinky" accent he so derisively dismissed as a racist stereotype in "Charlie Chan in Paris". This too might be unfortunate. But the story is so damn good that I'm willing to believe the film could have been a real corker. The mystery constantly twists and turns and whenever you think you know what's going on new characters show up to blow your theory to smithereens. The solution is quite ridiculous, of course, but it has that old-school golden age of mystery charm to it. Unfortunately, the closest we can get to seeing this film is by watching the reconstruction done for the DVD box set. Like the reconstruction of "Charlie Chan's Chance", it's an audio performance of the original screenplay illustrated with production photos and photoshopped composites. The acting in this one is better than in the first one but there are a lot more liberties taken with the script and several glaring mistakes. A character who should be arriving "from Chicago" instead goes "to Chicago". More egregiously, a parrot who used to live in a "barroom" is described as formerly occupying a "bedroom". Still, the mystery is so engaging and fun that I was willing to forget the reconstruction's errors and go along with it. Of the three lost films, this one has the tightest, most entertaining script and based on that I think the film could have gotten a 6.5 from me despite the egregious lack of Charlie Chan. The brilliant Chinese detective Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) is in London receiving an award for his work on a previous case when he is visited by a young lady in distress. Seeing how Chan is a perfect gentleman, he is unable to refuse her tearful pleadings for help and soon finds himself investigating a murder involving German spies, the RAF, and top-secret military plans. Set in a lavish countryside mansion during the hunting season, "Charlie Chan in London" has more than a whiff of Agatha Christie about it. In fact, it is rather reminiscent of her story "The Incredible Theft" which was first published some three years later. The young lady who came to Chan for help is one Pamela Gray (Drue Leyton), the sister of a man accused of murdering his employer, RAF Captain Hamilton, and awaiting execution despite maintaining his innocence. Chan, in his usual shrewd manner, ingratiates himself among England's societal elite by pretending to be nothing more than a "humble Chinese detective". "Charlie Chan in London" is the sixth Charlie Chan film starring Warner Oland but unfortunately only the second still in existence. Comparing it to "The Black Camel", you can see that the film series has evolved somewhat and become a lot more confident both in its tone and its leading character. This sixth instalment strikes a much better mix of humour and mystery. The story, from an original script by Philip MacDonald, is stronger than the one in "The Black Camel". It is an early Charlie Chan take on the old manor house mystery (done a lot better in some later instalments such as "Castle in the Desert") and MacDonald uses the tropes to his advantage. The story is familiar and the villain predictable but it is a lot of fun to watch. I especially appreciated the variation of the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime. On the technical side, most of the kinks of the early talkies have been ironed out by 1934. The camera work is smoother, the mise-en-scene is a lot less stagy, and the performances have been toned down with the exception of the comic relief characters who often feel like they've stepped down directly off a music hall stage. Having said that, the one major advantage "The Black Camel" has over "Charlie Chan in London" is its inventive director Hamilton MacFadden. This instalment, meanwhile, was directed by Eugene Ford whose work is distinctly more workmanlike and less dynamic. Consequently, the film lacks the sinister, mysterious atmosphere that made "The Black Camel" such an enjoyable watch. I must also confess that I preferred Warner Oland's performance in the earlier film as well. He is still a very charming and likeable protagonist but he has lost some of his commanding presence. This film plays up the whole "humble detective" schtick making Chan a lot less intimidating and interesting character than before. Still, "Charlie Chan in London" is a very entertaining entry in the series mostly due to its engaging mystery and solid supporting cast (including a very young Ray Milland). It is a less distinctive and significantly less atmospheric movie than "The Black Camel" but the story is a lot better, the pace less leaden, and the production is moving away from the awkwardness of the early talkies. 6.5/10 The seventh Charlie Chan film, "Charlie Chan in Paris" finally completes the formula by introducing Charlie's number one son Lee (Keye Luke) into the equation. Even though Lee would eventually be supplanted by the even more incompetent Jimmy, a comic relief sidekick became a staple of the series as much as Charlie's Confucian sayings. The character of the bumbling sidekick clearly takes root from the hapless Kashimo, a Honolulu PD rookie who assists Chan in the original Earl Derr Biggers novels and in the film adaptation of "The Black Camel" where he was played by Otto Yamaoka. But Lee Chan is a considerable improvement over his progenitor in pretty much every way. For one, Keye Luke plays him not as a mindless idiot but as an enthusiastic young man whose mistakes and goofs can be excused by his lack of experience. He is a much more believable character than the cartoonish Kashimo whom Charlie himself found as annoying as I did. The other reason is the loving relationship between Charlie and Lee which Oland and Luke play beautifully and which adds an unexpected dollop of warmth to what is otherwise a pretty rote mystery movie. The story sees Charlie (Warner Oland) arriving in Paris to investigate a series of forged bonds being spread around Europe from a Parisian branch of the venerable Lamartine Bank. As soon as he lands, however, he is greeted by a threatening letter and a sinister blind beggar who seems to appear wherever Charlie goes. The film moves at a decent enough pace but the story by Philip MacDonald simply didn't grab me as much as that of "Charlie Chan in London". Banknote forgery is not a terribly exciting crime and seeing Charlie Chan go up against organized bandits is less interesting to me than seeing him face a more human killer. Furthermore, even though the first murder occurs as early as 12 minutes into the picture it is not until the second murder some 40 minutes in that there's any sense of momentum or plot progression. The film devotes a lot of time to its supporting cast which would be commendable if any of them were well-developed or even clearly delineated characters but since all of these bankers and Haute société minglers look, talk, and dress the same I had the devil of a time keeping stock of who was who. Once the investigation gets fully on track, there's a lot of fun to be had with "Charlie Chan in Paris". I enjoyed seeing Charlie breaking into a victim's apartment and hiding from the police. I loved all the scenes with Charlie and Lee. I especially enjoyed the final 10 minutes in which Charlie finally faces the sinister beggar in the sewers of Paris. However, it's not a terribly good sign that once the killer was unmasked I couldn't actually remember who the character was. Compared to its immediate predecessor, "Charlie Chan in London", this Parisian adventure is less engrossing but better made. The film was directed by Lewis Seiler whose direction is a lot more atmospheric and dynamic. I also really enjoyed Warner Oland's performance here. After a somewhat buffoonish turn in the previous film, he is back to being the cunning, fearsome Chan we know and love. There's a particularly good moment in one of the earlier scenes in which one character assumes that because Charlie is Chinese he does not speak good English. Chan's takedown of the borderline-racist man is both hilariously polite and brutally cutting at the same time. Like most of these early Chan films, "Charlie Chan in Paris" is not a top-tier Chan film but it is an enjoyable one and since by 1935 all the awkwardness of the early talkies has been overcome I don't feel the need to qualify that assessment. It has a nice atmosphere, a few truly entertaining scenes, and wonderful chemistry between Oland and Luke. If only the mystery was more engaging. 6/10 As someone who is a massive fan of mysteries set in exotic locales, supernatural events which are then revealed to be clever ploys, and films revolving around archaeology, "Charlie Chan in Egypt" was almost destined to be a favourite. In fact, it reminded me a lot of one of my favourite Agatha Christie short stories, "The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb" in which, similarly, a group of archaeologists are picked off by a mysterious killer hiding his identity behind an ancient curse. The script written by Robert Ellis and Helen Logan is not as inventive nor as airtight as Christie's story but it has a fantastically engaging mystery at its heart, an air of exoticism, and a rather ingenious method of murder employed by a very devious killer indeed. The story is set in an archaeological camp led by Professor Arnold (George Irving), an indefatigable bloodhound on the trail of Ancient Egyptian treasures. One day, Professor Arnold leaves the camp never to return and his body is eventually found inside a sealed sarcophagus wrapped like a mummy. Charlie Chan (Warner Oland), the great Chinese detective, who is in Egypt on the trail of some priceless missing artefacts investigates. With such a terrific location and a good, spooky story what could possibly go wrong? Well, a few things. The first is the rickety direction of Louis King, a rather unimaginative hired hand whose flat, sometimes stagy visuals do somewhat undermine the terrific story. He robs the picture of any atmosphere or eeriness it should have had. Another problem is the character of Snowshoes, a bumbling camp servant, played by Stepin Fetchit. Fetchit was the most popular black comedian in the 1930s who specialized in playing crudely stereotypical comic relief characters. Now, if you can believe it, Snowshoes is actually one of his least racially insensitive caricatures but that does not make him any less annoying. His incomprehensible stuttery muttering schtick gets old very quickly and by the end of the film, I would wince whenever he'd show up. His presence is especially grating because the comic relief in this film rightfully should have been the terrific Keye Luke who had been introduced in the series as Charlie Chan's son in the previous instalment. The rest of the film, however, is pretty good and I found it to be the most entertaining and intriguing of the Charlie Chan films so far. The story is solid, the solution clever (if predictable), the supporting cast up to the task, and Warner Oland absolutely magnificent. Charlie Chan is at his best when he's not played for jokes. Another excellent aspect of the film worth mentioning is the sets. Even though they were probably pilfered from higher-budgeted productions, they do a terrific job of suggesting the warm, sandy atmosphere of an Egyptian archaeological site. 7/10 It is a massive shame that despite its Chinese setting "Charlie Chan in Shanghai" does not have a single credited Chinese character besides the Chans themselves. All of the suspects are ex-pats, foreign policemen, and spies. Combined with some distinctly European-looking sets, this robs the film of any atmosphere of its exotic locale which was so wonderfully evoked in "Charlie Chan in Egypt". This is the only major kink in what is otherwise a top-notch Charlie Chan film, a really entertaining and engaging little thriller in which the brilliant Chinese detective (Warner Oland) hunts for opium dealers in the deliciously grimy Shanghai underground. The gangsters are led by a shadowy Russian spy Ivan Marloff (Frederik Vogeding) who, we suspect, may have grander plans in sight than mere opium smuggling. Note the two men who co-wrote this film: Edward T. Lowe Jr. and Gerard Fairlie. Fairlie is best known as one of the writers of the highly popular Bulldog Drummond novel series the title character of which is a WWI veteran travelling the world looking for excitement. There is a real taste of a Bulldog Drummond adventure in "Charlie Chan in Shanghai". There is an inordinate amount of peril. Charlie is shot at twice, kidnapped, and even engages in a fistfight! The villains are also Drummondian - mysterious spies, opium smugglers, filthy bandits, and gun-toting baddies. Edward T. Lowe Jr., meanwhile, was an itinerant screenwriter best known to Chan fans as the man who co-wrote "Charlie Chan in Paris". Even a cursory glance at the synopsis of "Charlie Chan in Shanghai" can tell you that it is clearly a reworking of Lowe's previous scripts. Both films see Chan go up against an organized gang - the only difference is that in the previous film, the gang forged banknotes. Thankfully, "Charlie Chan in Shanghai" is a resounding improvement over "Charlie Chan in Paris" in every way. The suspects are more clearly defined, the pace is faster, there is a much more tangible sense of urgency, and there is a bigger role for Lee Chan (Keye Luke), Charlie's honourable offspring whose unbound enthusiasm and clumsiness keep landing him in trouble. The chemistry between Oland and Luke is again the highlight of the film. There is such genuine warmth, chemistry, and precise comic timing between them that their scenes together are an absolute joy to watch. Especially witty are the scenes in their shared hotel room where we simply observe a relationship between a traditional Chinese father and his thoroughly Americanised son. These scenes, unburdened of any actual plot importance, are an unfortunate rarity in thrillers. As can be seen here, however, they go a very long way in establishing the protagonists and making us care for them. The film was directed by James Tinling whose work is decidedly workmanlike but more than acceptable. His visuals are uninventive and there is a distinct lack of atmosphere to the film, but he keeps the plot moving at a fittingly fast pace and there is a constant feeling of tension throughout. "Charlie Chan in Shanghai" is a real early gem in the Charlie Chan series and a million miles away from the stagy, stodgy instalments of only a year ago. It is a dynamic, engaging, endlessly entertaining thriller that should be a delight even for those who've never even heard of Charlie Chan before. Not only is there a taut intrigue at its heart, but there are also a liberal dollop of humour and even a clever little locked-room mystery. Its solution is rudimentary but its presence is a welcome surprise. Speaking of mystery, however, "Charlie Chan in Shanghai" is rather light on that particular ingredient. Most of the villains are known pretty much from the start as are their motivations. This is, however, perfectly in line with the Bulldog Drummond influence. Just like the Drummond novels/pictures, this film is more about the thrill of the hunt than the breed of the prey and that too is a rarity for Charlie Chan. 8/10 "Mysterious shadows of the night cling to the old house like moss on a tombstone," says Charlie Chan (Warner Oland), the great Chinese detective, in his usual loquacious way as he approaches the eery Colby Manor where a dark and mysterious game is afoot. The heir to the massive family fortune, long thought dead, has resurrected and returned home only to be murdered mere minutes after his surprise arrival. His ghost, however, appears at a seance held at the request of his eccentric aunt and Chan's old friend Henrietta (Henrietta Crosman). This spooky and intriguing mystery written by Robert Ellis, Helen Logan, and Joseph Hoffman is the second and far more successful attempt at an old-fashioned manor house mystery after "Charlie Chan in London". Fittingly, there is more than a tinge of Agatha Christie present here as well. The terrific finale seems to have been at least inspired by "The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor" in which Poirot pulls off a very similar trick as Charlie Chan. But more than Christie, I was reminded of Nancy Drew, the fabulous girl detective who similarly investigated mysterious hauntings which turned out to have been accomplished by devious crooks with the help of secret passageways, mirrors, and hidden UV lamps. This is a delicious mystery indeed! Most of the runtime is devoted to Charlie's explanations of the various supernatural goings-on at the Colby manor. Even though the solutions don't quite reach the cleverness of John Dickson Carr or even "Charlie Chan in Egypt", they are a lot of fun and Oland delivers them with grace and zest. The final solution, however, - that of the killer's identity - is disappointingly predictable. The writers use the old trick of giving the killer the least runtime hoping that the audience will simply overlook them but that doesn't work anymore. "Charlie Chan's Secret" is only the second film directed by Gordon Wiles, who didn't have a particularly notable career and died young in 1950. I am not surprised to find out he was also an art director as he seems more interested in showing off the sets than the actors' faces. Seriously, I have never seen such wide interior shots in my life. Frequently, we'll see shots of actors in the Colby manor living room, for instance, where the camera is pulled so far back that they appear minuscule in comparison to the looming walls around them. We also get a very good look at the ceilings of the house, a technique which Orson Welles would get a lot of praise for five years later. Wiles is not a terribly good director. His shots are very stagy, his camera movements are stiff, and his pace leaden. Most of the dialogue scenes are awkwardly filmed in side-on wide shots in which the characters exit and enter like actors on a theatrical stage. Wiles inadvertently achieves a sort of cinematic proscenium, an impression that we're seated before a set and not observing a three-dimensional space. He is also not a good director of actors. Besides Oland who gives a characteristically shrewd and well-considered performance, the entire supporting cast pitches their performances at absolutely melodramatic levels. Especially annoying is Herbert Mundin as a grating comic relief butler whose performance belongs in a very different movie indeed. Thankfully, the rest of the visuals in "Charlie Chan's Secret" are superlative. The sets designed by Duncan Cramer and Albert Hogsett are especially good. The Colby manor is designed almost like an expressionist nightmare with its crooked windows, high arches, and no straight lines. Cinematographer Rudolph Mate lights the sets especially atmospherically making them some of the most effective in the entire Charlie Chan series. They are a delight to watch! "Charlie Chan's Secret" is a strange film. It has an engaging mystery and some of the best visuals in the whole series but is directed in such an artificial and stodgy manner that it almost turns into a self-parody of 1930s movies. It is stiff and occasionally plodding but delightfully atmospheric and entertaining. Had it been directed by a more dynamic and skilled director it would have no doubt been the highlight of the Charlie Chan film series. As it stands, it's a creeky but effective curio that occasionally dips quite ably into horror territory. 7.5/10 In the 1930s, everybody got to go to the circus. Charlie Chaplin went in his wonderful film "The Circus", as did Laurel and Hardy in "The Chimp". The Marx Brothers followed suit in 1939 as did W.C. Fields in the largely forgotten but worthy "You Can't Cheat an Honest Man". Charlie Chan's turn at the circus came in 1936 with "Charlie Chan at the Circus", one of the more roundly entertaining and enjoyable of the Chan films starring Warner Oland. This is the first Charlie Chan film I ever saw, one afternoon on TV when I was 9, and it's absolutely no surprise that I immediately fell in love with the great Chinese detective. Put in the appropriate verbiage - this film is an absolute gas! The story, written by the now very experienced duo of Robert Ellis and Helen Logan, sees Charlie and his number one son Lee (Keye Luke) join the circus in pursuit of a dangerous murderer who is using the circus animals to do his evil bidding. No one is safe from him, not even Charlie who has a wonderfully suspenseful encounter with a venomous snake in his bed. But the story is not what really counts here. "Charlie Chan at the Circus" very much swings the tonal pendulum towards comedy. It is a film full of wonderful, perfectly executed gags and running jokes. The star of the show is, without a doubt, Keye Luke who proves once again that Lee Chan is the finest comic relief character the series has. Not only is he charming and instantly loveable as the over-eager and trouble-prone number-one son, but he is also adept at physical comedy which sees him go from one slapstick situation to the next. My favourite running joke of the film, however, is Lee's fruitless pursuit of the circus contortionist Su Toy (Toshia Mori). In a bid to get close to her, he tries to turn himself into a human pretzel, much to the amusement of his father who quips that his attitude proves Darwin's theory correct. Indeed, circus performers are extraordinarily well used in "Charlie Chan at the Circus" not merely as sideshow attractions but as likeable characters in their own right. The best in the show are George and Olive Brasno, a couple of little people whose comedic timing and patter make them resemble stars from screwball comedies. The film devotes a lot of time to them, rightfully trusting their abilities to light up the screen. The film is well directed by Harry Lachman who would go on to helm a number of Chan films. His direction is not flashy or artsy nor does it call attention to itself, but it is dynamic, technically adept, and occasionally even quite atmospheric. That is why I would say that this is the best directed Chan film so far. Unassuming but wonderfully effective. The mystery itself is not one of the best in the series. Coming on the heels of the much more intriguing "Charlie Chan's Secret", it even appears somewhat pedestrian. The solution itself is silly, while the killer's identity is impossible to figure out due to a lack of clues and careful preparation. But the sheer joy and good humour of "Charlie Chan at the Circus" overrides the weak story. It is a fun, often hilarious romp, perfectly paced and continuously entertaining. It even offers the rare pleasure of seeing the entire Chan clan together in the memorable opening scene in which all fourteen walk into the circus together like a marching band. 8.5/10 The murder of a horse-owner friend sends the great Chinese detective Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) into Dick Francis territory. Maybe the fact that I never much cared for Francis' equestrian thrillers explains why I found "Charlie Chan at the Race Track" such hard going or maybe it just isn't all that engaging a movie. The story revolves around a dastardly scheme to cheat at the Melbourne Cup. The villains' plot is explained several times but I found my attention drifting. Lots of horse talk will do that to me. I generally don't care much for sports or betting and this film did nothing to pique my curiosity. The horse owner discovered the plot and was murdered on the ship bound for Melbourne. Charlie Chan boards the ship in Honolulu and begins an investigation of those present. There are plenty of suspects in this film - family members, trainers, jockeys, and businessmen - but there's surprisingly little mystery. Of the two bad guys involved in the murder, one is revealed right at the beginning of the film and the other is so obvious that you could identify him merely by glancing at the photos of the cast. You just couldn't imagine that actor playing anyone but a villain. The script by Robert Ellis, Helen Logan, and Edward T. Lowe Jr. does not keep us in suspense. Mysterious events are introduced and then immediately explained away. The villains' plot is clear as day from the moment it's hinted at and Charlie explains exactly how they'll pull it off before the race even begins. There is some interesting business involving the technology of the time - cameras that are meant to capture the finish of the race - and some early forensics, but beyond those, there's very little sleuthing going on in this film. Also lacking is the humour. Keye Luke is, as usual, wonderful as the overenthusiastic number one son Lee but the material he's given is not as varied nor as witty as before. The running joke of him being undercover as a ship steward quickly grows thin and beyond that, there's little for him to do. Of course, his interactions with Warner Oland are still the high point of the film. However, compared with his antics from "Charlie Chan at the Circus" where he was not only in pursuit of a murderer while dressed up as a nanny but also in pursuit of a beautiful contortionist, the repetitive stuff he has to do here seems awfully underwhelming. Also present as comic relief is John Henry Allen, a second-rate Stepin Fetchit impersonator who does Fetchit's already annoying mumbling routine with even less charm. The less said about his performance the better except to note that he is roundly outacted by his pet monkey who looks damn cute in his little sailor outfit. I don't want to rag on this picture too much because it's not really a bad film. It's a handsomely mounted production, well-designed, and well-directed by H. Bruce Humberstone who exhibits the kind of unassuming professionalism I like in Charlie Chan films. However, I also found "Charlie Chan at the Race Track" to be a distinctly unengaging film which poorly reproduces a lot of the schtick from its better predecessors and then infuses it into an overly complicated story full of bland, forgettable suspects and lacking any real sense of mystery or threat. One gets the idea that Charlie enjoyed his cruise but a nice holiday does not make a thrilling detective movie and I personally hope not to have to take this journey again. 6/10 "Warner Oland vs. Boris Karloff," proudly proclaim the opening credits of "Charlie Chan at the Opera", a most ambitious and unusual Chan film, a delightful mixture of horror and mystery, of the operatic and the cinematic. The opening sequence wastes no time establishing the film's grandiose gothic tone. We open on a dark and stormy night. A Dutch-angle close-up shows the sign of the Rockland State Sanitarium awash with rain and lit by a single gas lamp. The gloomy building is guarded by a pair of spooked guards hiding under the eaves from the torrential storm. Their voices are muffled by the raging wind but a sound cuts right through its midnight howl. It is the sound of singing emanating from the room of an amnesiac patient (Boris Karloff). It is a masterful opening straight out of one of those Universal horror films or a Val Lewton chiller. Of course, by the end of it, Karloff has escaped his confinement, his flight motivated by a newspaper article announcing the opening night of an opera starring Mme. Lili Rochelle (Margaret Irving). The entire police force is up in arms chasing the escaped madman but the one place where they aren't looking is the city's opera house, the very place the man is headed to. So where does Charlie Chan fit in this gothic horror film? Well, he is on holiday in the States with his overenthusiastic number one son Lee (Keye Luke) when he is invited to the premiere by Mme. Lili herself. The great prima donna has been receiving threatening messages and she begs Charlie and his good friend Inspector Regan (Guy Usher) to find out who has been sending them. The two plots converge during the opening night and by the end of the first act there are two dead bodies in the theatre. The police come down upon the opera house like rain in the opening sequence looking for Karloff but Charlie has other ideas in mind. Will he be able to find the true killer by the end of the third act? You know the answer... Set largely over the course of three or so hours inside the opera house, "Charlie Chan at the Opera" is quite simply one of the tautest and most exciting of the Warner Oland Chan films. Written by Scott Darling, Charles Belden, and Bess Meredyth, the script does a wonderful job of emulating the plot of an opera with its lost daughters, love triangles, and crimes from the past coming back to haunt their perpetrators. The innate theatricality of the Chan films suits this script extremely well. The mystery itself is also one of the best with a convincing and memorable cast of suspects and one hell of a red herring in the form of Boris Karloff. His performance is a tad too broad for my taste but his presence is tremendous and his sinister silkiness perfect for the role of the mysterious amnesiac. The revelation is definitely too rushed to be clearly understood but by that point, we're so enraptured with the whole premise we don't really care for all the details. Warner Oland, however, has definitely brought his A-game for this cinematic clash. This is easily his finest performance as Charlie Chan, quietly commanding, mellifluous, charming yet enigmatic. He never lets his mask of perfect politeness slip and yet he is consistently doubtlessly in charge of the investigation. The Chan we see here is a far more serious figure than he has been in the past few films. He is a lot closer to the way he was portrayed in "The Black Camel", for instance, where he let others play the comedy while he was deadly serious. There is a lot less comedy in "Charlie Chan at the Opera" in general. The role of the comic relief is split between the wonderful Keye Luke and a newcomer, Sgt. Kelly (William Demarest), the kind of two-fisted dumb cop that's been the but of jokes in detective films from Sherlock Holmes to Philip Marlowe and beyond. Also very funny is the wiry, neurotic stage manager Mr Arnold (Maurice Cass). Anyone who's ever been behind the scenes of a theatre can vouch that his character is 100% authentic. They all do a good job of keeping the spirits up but the film really shines in its more sinister, mysterious scenes. Director H. Bruce Humberstone keeps the proceedings moving at a fast tempo. His direction is slick and smooth without ever being flashy or distracting. He is a skilled professional who delivers an entertaining, engaging, and atmospheric thriller. I was also fascinated by all the little technical details Humberstone manages to squeeze into the film. There is a terrific shot in which we see the opera being performed while stagehands run around in the background making the magic happen on stage. Another very interesting scene involves a newspaperman (Selmer Jackson) explaining how photos are sent by wire from one city to the next. Fascinating stuff and cleverly integrated into a taut, tense mystery picture. "Charlie Chan at the Opera" is frequently named the best Chan film of all time. I'm not sure I agree entirely with that statement (some of the Toler films are definitely even slicker and smarter) but its reputation is not entirely overblown. It is by far the best of the Oland films and just about as good as a B-movie could be in 1936. With its wonderful sets (designed by Duncan Cramer and Lewis Creber) and some atmospheric, moody cinematography from Lucien N. Andriot, it is also a most pleasing film to look at which can't be said for all the early Chans. Special mention, of course, must be made of "Carnival", the opera performed in the film and composed specially for the occasion by Oscar Levant. It is a tad repetitive but the fact that I've been humming it ever since I first saw the film around the age of 10 is by far the highest praise I can give it and the best indicator of its haunting qualities. 9/10 After defeating murderers, counterfeiters, opium dealers, and horse-race fixers, the great Chinese detective Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) finally comes face to face with foreign spies in "Charlie Chan at the Olympics", a lean, furiously fast romp which will doubtlessly entertain Chan fans and casual viewers alike. The film also functions as a historical curio with its 1936 Berlin Olympics setting. No mentions of Nazism are made and great care is taken to blot out even the slightest hint of a swastika but through some terrific use of archival footage director H. Bruce Humberstone evokes the exciting atmosphere of the last international sporting event before the outbreak of war. The film also has the edgy, nervous atmosphere of these pre-war years when the conflict seemed to be at once inevitable and delayed. There is a real air of paranoia permeating the picture. Wherever Charlie turns he runs into a foreign spy and even the helpful Berlin policemen (who are most definitely not portrayed as Nazis) seem to know more than they are telling. There is definitely a sinister undercurrent beneath the standard good-humoured antics of Charlie and his hilariously overenthusiastic number-one son Lee (Keye Luke). The story begins with the dramatic theft of a device which allows planes in the air to be radio-controlled by men on the ground. "Would be great blessing if all war fought with machinery instead of human beings," comments Charlie. Since the theft took place during the device's testing in Hawaii, the case falls under the purview of Charlie Chan who immediately finds the thief albeit dead in his hotel room. He correctly deduces that the device has changed hands and that the real villain must have left Honolulu in a haste. Soon enough, Charlie zeroes in on three possible suspects all of whom are on board a ship bound for Berlin. Also on the ship is Lee, an amateur detective and swimmer on the US Olympic team. The script, written by Robert Ellis, Helen Logan, and Paul Burger, moves at a furious pace from one set piece to the next, changing locations with every reel. The final showdown happens in Berlin but not before Charlie follows clues from Honolulu to the ship to the Olympics themselves. This is an astoundingly dynamic Charlie Chan film never letting up its considerable tension or running out of steam. There are enemies lurking in every shadow and Charlie has to keep on his toes to outwit them time after time. This is one of those spy yarns where even twists have twists within them. It's a very well-constructed and conceived script with a taut plot, a memorable batch of suspects, and lots of picturesque locations. Also characteristically excellent is the interplay between Oland and Luke whose humorous screwball patter is only bolstered by evident chemistry and warmth. The supporting cast is first-rate as well. Katherine DeMille makes for a wonderful femme fatale, enigmatic and sexy. Pauline Moore is charismatic as the ingenue. Meanwhile, C. Henry Gordon, always a welcome presence in a Chan flick, is wonderfully mysterious as the sinister Arthur Hughes who spends the entire film skulking about like Nosferatu. My favourite performance comes courtesy of Morgan Wallace. He plays the silky spymaster who almost outplays Charlie at his own game - politeness which hides a devious mind. "Charlie Chan at the Olympics" is now best remembered for its setting and archival glimpses at the games and the Hindenbur which is Charlie's preferred method of travel to Germany. However, this film is far from a museum piece. It's a clever, funny, endlessly entertaining spy yarn full of humour, excitement, and charm. The script is twisty and H. Bruce Humberstone's direction is pacy and slick. This is indeed a top-tier Chan. 8.5/10 09-04-2023 Despite its title, "Charlie Chan on Broadway" does not see the great Chinese detective investigate the world of spotlights and songs. This is not his great return to the theatrical stage. Instead, the Broadway of this film is that of nightclubs and gangsters, sultry dames and journalistic hounds. The film tries to emulate the quick-talking, double-crossing, screwball mysteries about sharp newspapermen and their scoops. It is mostly successful in that the dialogue is terrific as is the supporting cast but Charlie Chan and his number one son Lee feel a little too much like fish out of water. The screenplay, credited to five separate writers including Chan stalwarts Robert Ellis and Helen Logan seems to be aware of this. A very funny running joke sees Lee (Keye Luke) acting as an interpreter translating the sing-songy New York patter to a baffled Charlie and unravelling Charlie's aphorisms to the bemused New Yorkers. The fast-moving plot begins, as many Chan films seem to, on a ship where a femme fatale wonderfully named Billie Bronson (Louise Henry) realizes her life is in danger. She's a former gangster's moll who hightailed it out of New York some years ago. Now, she's coming back hoping to sell her tell-all diary to the press. Of course, someone gets to her before she reaches her scoop-hungry editor but the killer gets away empty-handed. Wise to the danger, Billie took the precaution of hiding her diary in the luggage of a fellow passenger - none other than Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) himself. I found the first half of the film in which the complicated plot and its many characters are slowly revealed very entertaining indeed. There is something undeniably electric about 1930s New York and all the mooks and wiseguys hanging around in it that just makes for good cinema. The dialogue is very good as well full of clever double talk and funny gags. Most of it is delivered with charm and skill by Joan Marsh and Donald Woods as a pair of competing journalists after the same story. The high point of the film, however, is without a doubt Harold Huber, a very energetic and funny actor who holds the distinction of playing four different goofy cops in four different Charlie Chan films. Here, in his first appearance in the series, he shines as the fast-talking Inspector Nelson. I especially like how, despite being a comic relief character, Nelson is never played as a fool. Unlike similar characters in the previous films, Nelson is shown as being quite capable in his job and deserving of respect from Charlie. The two work alongside each other very well and the film ends with them as firm friends. The second half of the film in which Charlie finally begins his investigation is significantly less interesting. I would not say that the story of "Charlie Chan on Broadway" is bad but merely that it's so straightforward, familiar, and conventional that it never really grabbed me. The film is also full of missed opportunities. For instance, far too much of it is set in hotel rooms and offices instead of having Charlie and Lee truly trawl through the seedy 1930s New York. It should be noted, however, that director Eugene Forde doesn't do a great job of making the studio sets come alive. Unlike his immediate predecessor H. Bruce Humberstone, Forde's direction is rather flat and workmanlike. He uses the same kind of camerawork and lighting in the nightclub scenes as he does in the hotel room scenes making both feel like soundstages. Another missed opportunity lies in the fact that there's little for Keye Luke to do. After an entertaining but brief sequence in which he tries to get into a nightclub without a date, he is relegated to being little more than a glorified extra. The presence of Toshia Mori who played his love interest in "Charlie Chan at the Circus" made me think that a similar subplot would occur here but she only appears in the film for a single scene. Later on, an intriguing possibility is raised when the police arrest Lee under the suspicion of murder. Had this plot been followed, the rest of the story could have developed into a true rarity for the series - a story in which Charlie Chan has to work against the police to prove his son innocent. Sadly, the notion is dispelled almost immediately. Speaking of Charlie, he too is relegated to the background for a lot of this film. There is an awful lot going on here with the rival journalists, the cops, and the gangsters all looking for the same MacGuffin. Meanwhile, our hero seems to spend most of the film merely observing the action instead of participating in it. True, he gets his moment to shine while delivering his terrific final summation but can this film truly be called "Charlie Chan on Broadway" if Charlie spends all of it silently sitting in a hotel room? The lack of Oland is not as severe as it would be in the next film but his subtle, anchoring performance is definitely missing from some of the film's more scatterbrained moments. Coming on the heels of some of the very best Charlie Chan films ever made, "Charlie Chan on Broadway" is a bit of a disappointment. It's far from a bad film but it is a bit too conventional and unremarkable for its own good. As the most typical of all Warner Oland Charlie Chan films, it is still bound to provide a lot of entertainment value but I doubt it would stick in a lot of people's memories. 6/10 "Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo" is only significant for being Warner Oland's final movie. This wonderful, subtle yet unquestionably commanding actor died in 1938. Otherwise, Oland's 16th outing as the great Chinese detective is an absolute dud, an astoundingly boring picture which tries very hard to overcompensate for its star's failing health. Warner Oland had been a notorious alcoholic for many years and by 1937 his condition had worsened noticeably. The previous two Charlie Chan films both tried to reduce Oland's screentime through some clever use of the supporting cast and comic relief characters. However, by the time "Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo" rolled around, there was simply no hiding the fact that Oland was just out of it. In more ways than one, as well, since Oland is barely in this film. Most of the actual investigating is handled by either the number one son Lee (Keye Luke) or the Monte Carlo chief of police Jules Joubert (Harold Huber). When Oland actually does make an appearance, he is always accompanied by either Luke or Huber who get most of the dialogue. Oland's presence barely registers on screen. His delivery is unusually flat, his timing is completely off, and he lacks that tactful sharpness he had in the previous films. He even seems to be physically weaker than before as he spends a lot of his scenes sitting down or leaning on tables, chairs, or other actors. He also appears to be about as interested in the plot as I was, but more about that a bit later. In order to compensate for Oland's mental absence, the writers Charles Belden and Jerome Cady, beef up the supporting characters of Lee and Joubert. A similar undertaking was evident even in the previous film but "Charlie Chan on Broadway" was bolstered by the presence of Joan Marsh and Donald Woods, a very likeable character played by Harold Huber, and some interesting locations. No such luck here! Keye Luke is a wonderfully talented actor, possessed of terrific comedic timing and a knack for physical comedy. However, without Charlie Chan there to act as the straight man, Lee Chan's usual schtick simply falls flat. He has a lot more screen time here than in most of the previous films but Belden and Cady don't give him anything new to do. He merely repeats gags from previous films including being mistaken for a murderer, getting chased by angry porters, and falling about a lot. The charm and appeal of the Lee Chan character are not his klutziness or his stupidity. It is the warmth and affection he shares with his father. The scenes between Oland and Luke were the emotional glue which held the previous film together. Here, however, it can hardly be said that they share scenes. It feels more like Luke carrying the scenes while Oland sits back and occasionally delivers a line. Also prominently featured in the film is Harold Huber who was so wonderful in "Charlie Chan on Broadway". There, he played a fast-talking, wiseguy New York cop, a very funny character who despite being the film's comic relief was never played as a fool. Here, he plays another fast-talking cop, this time a cocky French chief of police eager to show off the efficiency of the Monte Carlo police but constantly finding himself embarrassed by his blundering underlings. While such a character could be humorous, Belden and Cady's script again fails in delivering original and funny jokes. Instead, they have Huber blubber and bluster his way through reams of jibberish while shouting at the top of his voice. As you might guess, this becomes tiring very quickly. The plot, revolving around the theft of 200,000 USD worth of bonds is far too thin and underdeveloped to satisfactorily fill out a 75-minute movie. To say that little happens over the course of "Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo" would be to oversell this film's excitement levels. This is one boring movie, lacking in both mystery and intrigue! It plods along through scenes which move at the speed of molasses. Watch as a secretary counts out the bonds one by one... Watch as Charlie and Joubert shake hands very, very, very slowly... Watch as a taxi driver struggles to start his car time and time again... Belden and Cady do stumble upon one funny gag which revolves around the fact that Charlie Chan can't speak French and Lee thinks that he can. This is a genuinely funny joke and Oland and Luke play the comedy well. Unfortunately, the writers then proceed to hammer the joke to death by repeating it every five or so minutes. Watch as Charlie and Lee try to get into a casino... Watch as Charlie and Lee try to alert a policeman to a dead body... Watch as Charlie and Lee try to order breakfast... Not all of the film's faults can be laid at the writers' door, however. I would go amiss without mentioning the listless direction from Eugene Forde. Forde, who was always one of the duller Chan directors, here outdoes himself. The film's pace is leaden, the visuals flat and uninteresting, and the performances absolutely theatrical. True, even a much better director would struggle to make much out of a script this dull but I'm sure that H. Bruce Humberstone could have at least made a film that moved quickly and was pleasing to look at. Forde's direction makes the Monte Carlo casino floor look like a high school mess hall. "Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo" is without a doubt the worst of the Oland Chan films. It is a slow, unengaging slog that wastes two of the series' funniest actors (Luke and Huber) and suffers from the lack of the central anchoring presence of Warner Oland who sleepwalks through his scenes. I must confess that as the obvious plot slowly unfolded and Huber continued to shout and Luke continued to fall about, I became sleepy myself. Looking into Oland's expressionless eyes, I sympathized with the man's need for a drink. After all, this is a 75-minute movie that feels like an eternity. 3/10 Warner Oland's unexpected disappearance from the set of "Charlie Chan at Ringside" and subsequent death threw doubt on the future of Charlie Chan. After 16 successful and beloved films in the series, 20th Century Fox had a major decision on their hands. Should they try to recast such an iconic role or should they allow the series to die with its leading man? Both choices had their pros and cons. The recasting seemed the more obvious choice to make, at first. Why let a cash cow die before every last penny has been drained from her? But would the audiences accept a new Charlie? Furthermore, would the audience accept a new Charlie without his number one son Lee? Keye Luke had become as much a staple of the series as Warner Oland was. Unfortunately, Luke had decided not to continue in the role without his on-screen father whom he had such warm chemistry with. So, if 20th Century Fox decided to keep going with Charlie Chan it would have to be from a clean slate. Such a major decision was not to be taken lightly which explains the relatively long hiatus between "Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo" and "Charlie Chan in Honolulu". In between, the abandoned "Charlie Chan at Ringside" was retooled into the awkward "Mr Moto's Gamble" and Charlie got a new imitator in the form of Mr Wong who was played by Boris Karloff in a series of decently entertaining B-movies from Monogram Pictures. The decision was finally reached and "Charlie Chan in Honolulu" finally reached the silver screen in December 1938 with a new star - Sidney Toler. Toler is the Charlie Chan I'm most familiar with. I grew up watching his films and have a certain fondness for their more fast-paced, gimmicky nature. Toler was a very different Chan than Warner Oland. He was more irascible, tougher, less polite and deferential. The debate about who was the better Charlie will probably rage for as long as the Chan films have fans. For me, I think they're both terrific in their own way. Oland was the warmer, wiser Chan for the cosy 1930s and Toler was the perfect tough, sharp cookie for the noirish 1940s. But Sidney Toler is not entirely comfortable in the part here yet. He is clearly still defining his take on Charlie Chan and his characterization frequently flip-flops between his authentic attempts to make the character his own and a kind of Warner Oland imitation he is not particularly good at. The script is clearly written with Oland in mind and is full of his familiar quips ("contradiction, please"), his warm, gentle humour, and his politeness all of which would be remoulded if not entirely removed over the course of the next few films. "Charlie Chan in Honolulu", however, is a careful movie. It does everything it can to ease the audience into the new, unfamiliar cast and to try to work even if Sidney Toler doesn't. A kind of lack of confidence in the new Charlie can be felt throughout. For one, he does not begin his investigation until the second third of the film! The first 20 minutes are spent with his number two son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) who, like his brother before him, is desperate to be a detective. When he answers a phone call meant for his father, he decides to pretend to be the famous Chinese detective and take on a murder investigation on his own. Victor Sen Yung's performance here is notably broader than Keye Luke's ever was. He is much more of an obvious comedic character - a cartoon almost. Sen Yung engages in plenty of face-pulling, running around, and comedic bits. Still, even though he is nowhere near as believable and engaging as Luke's Lee Chan was, I quite like Jimmy. He has that same endearing enthusiasm and actually proves to be a lot more useful in the investigation than you think he'll be. The case revolves around a murder on a cargo ship docked in Honolulu and is a real thin, uninvolving mystery. The screenplay is written by Charles Belden, probably my least favourite Chan scribe whose scripts are always overloaded with grating, unfunny comedy and feature bland, forgettable mysteries. "Charlie Chan in Honolulu" is no exception. The film spends far too much time trying very hard to be funny. Besides Victor Sen Yung and his bumbling antics, we also get a painfully cringeworthy comic relief character in the form of Al (Eddie Collins), a blundering sailor and his pet lion Oscar. I can't swear to it, but it feels like Collins gets more screen time than Toler here and his act is so broad, vaudevillian, and uniquely terrible that his very presence almost sinks the movie. A running gag in the film involves Al and Jimmy running around the ship being terrified of everything from corpses to creaking doors. This "g-g-gosh" act gets tiring quickly and goes nowhere very, very slowly. The film is only 67 minutes long but is such an unengaging and uninteresting affair that it feels a fair bit longer. Not only is the mystery completely bland but so are the suspects who are played by some of the stiffest actors in all of Chandom. The sole good performance comes from George Zucco who gives a very over-the-top but entertaining turn as the kooky Dr Cardigan who travels around with a human brain in a box kept alive by some Frankensteinesque instruments. "Charlie Chan in Honolulu" is a distinctly middling Chan film thanks largely due to Charles Belden's typically weak and unfunny script. Thankfully, it's his last in the series. Less happily, it is also the last film directed by the always-reliable H. Bruce Humberstone. Humberstone's tight direction is one of the few genuinely good things about this film and it's sad to see him go on such a clunker. Also first-rate is Charles G. Clarke's shadowy, atmospheric cinematography. I wish it were put to use in a better, more mysterious film. On a final positive note, I'd like to say that I quite enjoyed the scenes of Charlie with his large family. There is an endearing subplot involving Charlie becoming a grandfather for the first time and we get to spend more time with the Chan clan than we have since "Charlie Chan's Greatest Case". These funny, warm family scenes are far better than anything that happens on board the murder ship. This is a shaky start to Sidney Toler's era but rest assured that things will get better. Like most pilots, things will only get better from here on in. 5/10 Following a rather shaky start to his tenure as Charlie Chan, Sidney Toler's second film in the series "Charlie Chan in Reno" is far more confident and effective. It has the kind of verve and joy that made the Warner Oland films such a delight to watch but it also hints at a more dynamic, modern sensibility that would go on to mark the Toler era. After all, as one of the characters says to the woman whose husband she's planning to marry - "This is 1939 and we're modern!" Sidney Toler is also clearly more comfortable as Charlie Chan, a role he is steadily making his own. The writing is swiftly catching up to his more stern, tough take on the character and the Chan we see here is miles away from Warner Oland's warmer, more deferential portrayal. In "Charlie Chan in Reno", the Chinese detective is a far more austere figure, especially in the face of stupidity. At times, Chan's remarks are openly sarcastic whereas Oland would always hide his acerbic wit under a veneer of politeness and confounding Confucian doubletalk. Here's one surprisingly frank moment of sarcasm: a goofy policeman remarks that he has spent so much at the crime scene that he could search it with his eyes closed. "Thank you," replies Chan, "This time then, I'll search it with my eyes open." The biggest difference between "Charlie Chan in Honolulu" and "Charlie Chan in Reno" is how much better the latter is at integrating comedy with its thriller plot. In the worst Chan films, the comedy scenes tend to feel like they have been spliced in from a different film. Here, however, they are perfectly balanced so that the comedic characters make significant contributions to the ongoing plot while being funny in a way that doesn't jar with the overall tone of the film. The comic relief is provided by Slim Summerville, one of the very best comics ever to appear in a Chan film. He plays Reno's comically grave sheriff "Tombstone" Fletcher. I like how Tombstone and Chan immediately get off on the wrong foot and never become friendly. Instead of bending over backwards trying to be a loveable second fiddle, Summerville gamely takes up the role of a buffoonish foe, engaging in some terrifically witty banter with Chan and opposing him at every turn. While some of his more physical gags are a bit too cartoonish, I felt that Summerville was a worthy addition to the film playing a character who contributed a lot to making "Charlie Chan in Reno" tonally dynamic rather than a one-note experience. Also very good is Victor Sen Yung as Charlie's number two son Jimmy who is still as eager as ever to be a detective. The writers wisely write him in such a way that as goofy as he is he's actually of use to his father in the investigation. Not only does he do all of Charlie's legwork but his knowledge of chemistry supplies an invaluable clue to the identity of the murderer. That way, he's not mere comic relief. The antics Jimmy gets involved in are also much, much better than the ones from "Charlie Chan in Honolulu". The way he is introduced in the film, after having been mugged of all of his clothes, is a comedic highpoint of the entire series. The whole sequence starting with a very peppy Jimmy driving down a Nevada highway and ending with him standing in a police line-up in his underwear is perfectly pitched and played by Victor Sen Yung. It's a real delight to watch! The film was written by Frances Hyland, Albert Ray, and Robert E. Kent whose script has some terrific dialogue and a few colourful, entertaining characters. A stumbling block, however, comes from the film's mystery adapted from a story by Philip Wylie. Revolving around a murder of a serial adultress in a Reno hotel, it's just not all that interesting. The suspects are not clearly delineated, the motive is banal, and the setting of an upmarket hotel is neither exotic nor atmospheric enough. Thankfully, Norman Foster's direction is absolutely superb. Best known for his work on the Mr Moto films, Foster delivers a slick, stylish, pacy film which merrily zips along through its lean 71-minute runtime. Even though most of the film is set in the rather drab-looking hotel, the few scenes set in other locations give Foster and his cinematographer Virgil Miller an excellent chance to show off. A brief but intriguing sequence set in a Wild West ghost town is as evocative and authentic as anything from the Moto films. I wish the whole film was set there. It can be said that Sidney Toler's era of Charlie Chan films begins here! "Charlie Chan in Reno" is a confident, fast-paced, entertaining, witty film which heralds a new take on the old character. Even though the mystery is far from being the best in the series, the investigation is a whole lot of fun. I especially enjoy the rapport between Toler and Yung whose relationship is a whole lot more antagonistic than that of Oland and Luke but no less warm and amusing. 8/10 Despite its title "Charlie Chan at Treasure Island" does not see the famous Chinese detective battling pirates in order to find Captain Flint's buried gold. As enticing as that proposition may sound, the title is a baffling misdirection in a film full of sleights of hand. Instead, Charlie Chan once again takes on the supernatural which, this time, comes back with a vengeance. In his previous encounters with superstition such as "The Black Camel" and "Charlie Chan's Secret", the truth behind the magic was quickly revealed leaving the audience in little doubt as to the existence of "other realms". However, in "Charlie Chan at Treasure Island", the possibility of the supernatural is dangled before us throughout the picture. Even after the clever, complex crime is revealed in the film's dazzlingly theatrical finale, the involvement of supernatural forces is still not entirely resolved. The titular Treasure Island refers to a man-made island off the coast of San Francisco which is a minor location in this film (only a single scene takes place there). The story, instead, leads Charlie Chan all over the city from a police station to a psychic's mysterious house and finally to a theatre. But the film begins in the air as Charlie (Sidney Toler) and his number two son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) find one of their fellow passengers on board an aeroplane dead. The unfortunate fellow was a mystery writer named Paul Essex (Louis Jean Heydt) who died of unnatural causes clutching a note in his hand which reads: "Sign of Scorpio indicates disaster if Zodiac obligations ignored". The note's ominous tone leads Charlie to the house of Dr Zodiac (Gerald Mohr), a theatrical psychic whose business practices were being investigated by the dead writer. In one of the film's best scenes, Zodiac gives a demonstration of his powers to Charlie. Set in a room surrounded by black drapes, the scene as shot by DP Virgil Miller has a real feeling of a stage show. As Zodiac's magic-simulating mechanisms whirl around Charlie, we get to see a master showman at work. It is a wonderfully entertaining and over-the-top scene which sets the tone for the rest of the film. Another superb set-piece follows closely. Set on the titular island, Charlie attends another psychic demonstration this time by a young woman named Eve Cairo (Pauline Moore) who claims to be a mind-reader. During her show, the young woman suddenly becomes terrified, as she begins picking up powerful, hateful thoughts of someone in the audience. "I hear death among us," she shrieks, "There's evil here! Someone here is thinking murder!". This wonderfully atmospheric scene, suspensefully staged by director Norman Foster, is more than eerily reminiscent of Dario Argento's sizzling opening to "Deep Red". It is a real testament to Foster how skillfully he glides between melodrama, farce, and genuine scares. Like every Charlie Chan film, there's plenty of comedy in "Charlie Chan at Treasure Island", most of it thanks to the overenthusiastic antics of Jimmy Chan, wannabe detective. But the comedy never undermines the spooky goings-on. Foster's command of tone and pacing is second to no other director in the Chan series. While even the best of the previous Chans occasionally struggled with mood whiplash, "Charlie Chan at Treasure Island" has no such problems. It is a seamless exercise in directorial dexterity. The film also features a first-rate guest cast. Cesar Romero, one of the most charismatic and entertaining stars of the 1940s, gets a terrific role playing Dr Zodiac's rival, magician Rhadini. The final, extended set piece is set during a show-off between the oily Rhadini and the theatrical Zodiac. It is an absolute pleasure to watch Romero take command of the stage. Also excellent are Pauline Moore as the haunted mind reader, June Gale as a jealous knife thrower, and Gerald Mohr as the sinister, melodramatic Dr Zodiac hidden behind a giant beard, theatrical make-up, and a vaguely oriental garb. The film was written by John Larkin, a newcomer to the series, who spins a terrific mystery full of twists and misdirections. The story takes many elements which have been seen in Charlie Chan films before - phoney psychics, blackmail, a theatrical finale - and gives them a fresh coat by painting them in spooky, horror tones. It is the execution, however, which makes this simply the finest Charlie Chan film so far. Especially Norman Foster's dynamic, pacey, and most importantly atmospheric direction. The film zips along through its lean 74-minute runtime providing more mystery and more chills than any Charlie Chan film so far. The story is solid, the cast is first-rate, and the film works on just about every level. 9.5/10 Charlie Chan films depend so much on their settings. Whether it's the exotic desert camp in "Charlie Chan in Egypt", the spooky sewers of "Charlie Chan in Paris", or the gothic theatre from "Charlie Chan at the Opera", the location where the mystery is solved contributes to the film its atmosphere and its tone. Frequently as well the portrayal of the day-to-day activities and colourful characters who congregate there are far more interesting than the murder being solved. Such is the case with "Charlie Chan at the Circus" and "Charlie Chan at the Race Track". Few Charlie Chan films have as evocative a setting as "City in Darkness". Set in 1938 at a time when, as the film's urgent newsreel prologue puts it, the crisis over Czechoslovakia threatens to plunge all of Europe into war, the film takes place in Paris during the first of the city's many blackouts. The threat of German aeroplanes bringing death and destruction looms heavily over the characters as they send their loved ones to a war that hasn't even started yet. Meanwhile, the alleys and sewers of Paris are enveloped in darkness as German spies plot behind the thick curtains meant to keep the light hidden. What a fantastic setting for a thriller! Unfortunately, "City in Darkness" is nowhere near as good as its premise would suggest. It is not a terrible movie like "Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo" nor is it as uneven as "Charlie Chan in Honolulu" but it is a dreadfully dull picture which plods along through a routine, unengaging plot in as inoffensive and unexciting manner possible. For one, the setting is barely used. The film, as many of the lesser Chans do, takes place primarily in drawing rooms and offices making nothing of the darkness promised in its excellent title. The nervous expectation of war is present and looms heavily over the characters but writers Robert Ellis and Helen Logan use it only for bombastic patriotism. Parents sending their children to war are proud and poetically inclined instead of being worried, sad, desperate... I did like the bittersweet note on which the film ends, however. If only the rest of the film had the same sense of uncertainty and anxiety. But "City in Darkness" proceeds for the most part like one of those cheap Monogram films. It's heavy on dialogue and cringeworthy attempts at comedy and low on action and character development. Not much happens as Charlie (Sidney Toler) and his sidekick, the hapless French policeman Marcel (Harold Huber) trudge from one location to the next in pursuit of a murderer. The victim was a rich man named Petroff (Douglas Dumbrille) and he was found killed in his house which seemed to have been visited by an inordinate amount of people that night. Who is the killer? Honestly, who cares? There's very little sense of danger in this picture. Most Chan films feature at least one other murder but the death of Petroff didn't seem to put a series of dangerous events in motion. Instead, all the suspects are hellbent on evading the police and potentially getting out of Paris alive. Maybe the Wehrmacht should have been the real villains of the film. Some German spies are present but very briefly and their schemes revolve around forged passports and ammunition boxes instead of killing anyone. Most of the film then consists of dialogue scenes in which Charlie and Marcel question potential suspects in a surprisingly relaxed manner. These scenes are punctuated with unfunny bits of business in which the goofy French cop Marcel takes the place of Charlie Chan's number two son who is conspicuous by his absence. The usually reliable Harold Huber is dreadfully misused in "City of Darkness". Here he (over)plays a kind of Inspector Clouseau prototype complete with a propensity towards slapstick and a cod French accent (which his godfather, the chief of Parisienne police does not have!). Huber's over-the-top antics overpower the picture. Since the story is so thin and the characters so underwritten and uninteresting, his constant comedic interruptions become the film's only moments which stand out in any way. Unfortunately, he's not funny, merely annoying and the running gags (read: same punchline over and over again) become extremely tiresome almost immediately. Other than its setting, there's nothing at all that is interesting or that works in "City in Darkness". It's a remarkably bland film, slow-moving and lacking both an interesting plot and memorable characters. When the killer was finally unmasked, I didn't care in the least. When it comes to wartime Chans, "Charlie Chan at the Olympics" was a whole lot more entertaining and "Charlie Chan in Panama", which came next, was a whole lot more potent. "City in Darkness" is the flop of the lot despite its promising setting. 3.5/10 In "Charlie Chan in Panama", the eponymous great Chinese detective (Sidney Toler) has given up detecting mysterious killers in swanky drawing rooms and joined the war effort. At the beginning of the film, we find him in Panama, "the city of spies", posing as a lowly hat salesman. His true mission, however, is to catch Reiner - an elusive and extremely crafty Nazi spy who has evaded capture for years and is now the greatest threat to the safety of the American Navy. If you think this sounds like a plot of a Mr Moto film you're right. It does. "Charlie Chan in Panama", directed by Moto's favourite director Norman Foster, is the most Motoesque of all the Chans with its subterfuge, spies, secret passages, and concealed bombs. Intrigue has replaced mystery, action has supplanted interrogation, and the intelligent gentleman killer of yore has mutated into a gun-wielding sociopath ready to kill anyone at a moment's notice to protect their identity. Charlie Chan is a little ill-at-ease
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"https://www.davidbordwell.net/img/bordwell.jpg", "https://www.davidbordwell.net/img/spacer.gif", "https://www.davidbordwell.net/img/b_top_f01.jpg", "https://c.statcounter.com/1926782/0/1e338524/0/", "http://wms.assoc-amazon.com/20070822/US/img/noscript.gif?tag=thefrofra-20" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	Once Upon a Time . . . in Hollywood (2019). I guess what I’m always trying to do is use the structures that I see in novels and apply them to cinema. –Quentin Tarantino DB here: Tarantino has often embraced print-based texts that revise or complement his films. He’s shared screenplays that differ sharply from […]		https://www.davidbordwell.net/img/favicon.ico	Observations on film art	https://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/2021/07/10/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-again-tarantino-revises-his-fairy-tale/	Once Upon a Time . . . in Hollywood (2019). I guess what I’m always trying to do is use the structures that I see in novels and apply them to cinema. –Quentin Tarantino DB here: Tarantino has often embraced print-based texts that revise or complement his films. He’s shared screenplays that differ sharply from the finished product, and written graphic novels derived from Django Unchained. Now he’s gone farther. He’s published a novelization that playfully modifies the film’s title: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, without the three-dot ellipsis. Some will say, rightly, that the book is another instance of today’s tendency toward cross-platform narrative, what Henry Jenkins calls transmedia storytelling. As such it sells more stuff, builds fan connoisseurship, and provides academics like me more to talk about. But I think it does more. Tarantino has long borrowed from popular literature, particularly crime fiction. (The book I just finished writing tries to trace out some of his debts.) With his novelization, he returns the favor by transferring some of his creative methods to the long-form prose format. Moreover, he realized that some conventions of two genres–the movie novelization and the Hollywood novel–could be steered in fresh directions. What he provides, I think, is not only a fresh path through the story world that will tease fans but also another of his accessible experiments with narrative form. As a bonus, the book shows the author to be a stimulating historian of American studio cinema. Of course what follows contains spoilers for both the film and the book. But since you’ve had a good stretch of time to catch the film, and since the book currently sits at the top of the New York Times bestseller list, I’m hoping a fairly close analysis won’t scare away many readers. Even if you don’t read on, maybe the mere existence of this entry will send you to the two items in this intriguing multimedia package. TV or not TV: What is the question? The film weaves together the doings of actor Rick Dalton, stuntman Cliff Booth, and actor Sharon Tate, over the space of a few days. Rick has been hired to play a villain in a pilot for the TV series Lancer, and Cliff, no longer employable as a stuntman, fills his days serving as Rick’s personal assistant, maintenance man, and boon companion. Sharon, wife of Roman Polanski, lives a life of partygoing, shopping, and occasional screen performing. These characters cross paths with members of Charles Manson’s cultist “Family,” who in 1969 actually murdered Sharon and her guests in a home invasion. In the film, things turn out differently. The novelization takes up these characters and basic incidents but recasts them. The typical novelization is published to promote a film just before its film’s release, and it sometimes serves as an enduring fan memento or a contribution to a franchise’s “canon.” The writer is often working from a screenplay or a detailed synopsis, so changes made in the later phases of production can render the finished film quite different from the book. But Tarantino’s novelization comes two years after audiences saw his film. Many readers have already seen the film, possibly several times, so they will be sensitive to deviations from the original. Tarantino exploits that knowingness in ways that are sometimes traditional, sometimes striking. As you’d expect, a lot of the book is devoted to filling in the backstory of the three major characters. Flashbacks show how Sharon got to Hollywood and how Cliff became a stuntman (and a killer). Like other novelizations, Tarantino’s fleshes out subsidiary characters as well, providing the sort of enrichment of the story world that fans enjoy. And some scenes omitted from the finished film are dwelt on in the novel. For example, in the original pilot the Lancer half-brothers meet when they accidentally come to town on the same stagecoach. (Sorry about the punk YouTube rip.) Tarantino, always obliging, shot the scene in his own way and provides it as a bonus material on the disc. The woman in the TV show is the patriarch’s ward, but in the novel and the film she becomes his daughter Mirabella, and thus the men’s half-sister. Because a novel can plunge us more deeply into characters’ minds, Tarantino can share the thoughts of Cliff, Rick, and Sharon, as well as secondary figures like Squeaky Frome, Pussycat, Jay Sebring, Roman Polanski, and Manson himself. This widening of perspective alters Tarantino’s habitual storytelling method. I’ve argued that his films rely on block construction, longish “chapters”attached to one character or set of characters. Whether offering us present-time scenes or flashbacks, they remain fairly self-contained chunks, often set off by titles. As a film, Once Upon a Time . . . in Hollywood broke with this scheme somewhat and presented more alternation among shorter scenes, though still anchored to one of the three main characters. The novel is even more chopped up, presenting the story in twenty-five chapters, many of them including shifts in time or viewpoint. The transitions are clearly marked, with inner monologues rendered in italics and verb tense differentiating the present-time story from flashbacks. In all, the short, sharp scenes sample a broader panorama of Hollywood life than we find in the film, yielding something more like a network narrative. The same expansion goes for time. The film leaves Rick’s future somewhat open, but the book sketches in his career after his confrontation with the Family marauders. We learn fairly early in the book that in the 1970s he will cut down on his drinking, an important motif in the book. We also learn the career arc of Trudi Fraser, the little girl with whom Rick performs in the Lancer pilot. A more conventional novelization probably wouldn’t include this anticipatory material, because it would foreclose developments that filmmakers might want to conjure up in a sequel. Still, Tarantino does adhere to his block aesthetic in an odd way. Big chunks of the Lancer backstory not dramatized in the TV episode are given to us in dedicated chapters, written as if they were extracts from another novel. Recounted by an omniscient narration, they treat the Lancer family history on the same fictional level as the contemporary Hollywood plot. Why? I’ll try to explain below. Tarantino has experimented with viewpoint shifts and replays throughout his work, most notably in the repeated money-drop sequence in Jackie Brown. Now, like a writer of fan fiction, he can extend the strategy to prose. So an episode registered by one character in the film can be filtered through another in the book. The most extended viewpoint displacement involves Cliff’s visit to Spahn ranch. In the film, we’re attached to him throughout, but in the book everything that happens in that scene is restricted to what Squeaky sees and hears. Viewers are likely to remember Cliff’s fruitless conversation with George, so the replay allows Tarantino to build up a more sympathetic portrait of Squeaky than we get in the film. Two other narrative strategies are more surprising, but both target readers’ memory of the film. First, the book begins with an office conversation between Rick and agent Marvin Schwarz that echoes the restaurant meeting that opens the film. The reader is likely to think that the book’s ending will resemble the film’s end, which shows the Manson followers attacking Rick’s house rather than Polanski’s. This is the most drastic “alternative history” in the film, like the assassination of Hitler in Inglourious Basterds. But the reader who’s seen the film will be thrown off on page 110. In a flashforward to March 1970, Rick gets a call from director Paul Wendkos inviting him to join a project. Prompted by a teasing remark by Wendkos, the narration quickly summarizes the summer 1969 invasion and its aftermath before briskly scanning the effect on Rick’s career in the seventies. If you’ve seen the movie, now you can’t be sure what will happen at the end of the book. Will the book’s climax replay the movie’s firefight? Or will something else tie up the plot? Call it show-offish or shrewd, Tarantino’s anticipation of the film’s ending has activated the reader’s awareness of his choices about narrative structure. Related to this replacement-ending problem is a shift in rendering the filmmaking process. The film shows two scenes of the Lancer pilot being filmed. In the first, Johnny Madrid/Lancer rides into town, shoots down a hired gunman, and discusses joining Caleb DeCoteau’s gang. In the second scene, Caleb holds Lancer’s daughter Mirabella hostage while he arranges for ransom from Scott Lancer. But the novel version only alludes to these scenes; it doesn’t dramatize the filming of them. The meeting of Johnny and Caleb is presented as part of the inserted Lancer “novel,” while the hostage parley is merely mentioned. The only scene that the book describes being shot is one for Rosemary’s Baby. Instead, the novel dwells on what happens before shooting. On a porch Rick and Trudi discuss acting in general, and later she urges him to scare her during the hostage scene. Tarantino suppresses the act of filming this big scene, simply indicating laconically: “And Caleb and Miranda act out the scene.” Likewise, Sharon Tate, recalling her slapstick scene in The Wrecking Crew, dwells on what happened before the camera rolled. Why the shift from filming to preparation? I’ll suggest one possibility a bit later. Palimpsest of a period Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a “Hollywood novel.” Typically that genre centers on the rise and fall of a fictional star (Inside Daisy Clover) or an executive (The Last Tycoon), with glimpses of production woven in. The fictional characters dominate the plot, but there are references to actual people and studios, which (libel laws being what they are) serve mostly as colorful background. Tarantino follows these guidelines, but he offers a deeper analysis of American film history than any other Hollywood novel I know. His isn’t a dry historical approach, though, because of the flamboyance displayed by the narrator. Instead of giving us a prudent bystander’s account in first-person narration, as What Makes Sammy Run? does, the book presents an omniscient yarn-spinner addressing us through phrases like “And bear in mind,” “Now, truth be told,” and “You must remember.” At the same time, efforts at purely literary bravado mix the cheap tabloid alliteration of James Ellroy with the weirdness of Cornell Woolrich. Still, none could really match Aldo Ray when it came to publicly played-out poignant pity. The six powerful equines come to a gentle stop. The diminutive Polanski sports bed head on his cranium. Who’s speaking? This narrator is at once omniscient and lightly personified. The Lancer segments are straight Western-novel narration, except when they’re not. With his light Texas twang, Monty sang out, “Royo del Oro, last stop!” The backlit sunshine rays filtered through the gauze-like brown dust in the way, a hundred years from now, all cinematographers of western movies would hope to duplicate. An “I” almost never creeps in, but throughout we’re hearing the Tarantino who produces interview patter and whose screenplays insert wise-ass stage directions. Freddy finishes his playing-possum piss (Reservoir Dogs). Everyone is smiling except you-know-who (Pulp Fiction). From the floor, the bloody, sweaty, and in excruciating pain (she’ll probably lose that leg) German movie star says to the two American soldiers she’s just meeting for the first time. . . . (Inglourious Basterds). Once Upon a Time in Hollywood goes some way to confirming Tarantino’s repeated claims that when he stops making movies, he’ll turn to novels. I will read them. Every Hollywood novel is in a sense an alternative history, I suppose, but this unpredictable prose helps prepare us for something peculiar. Start with the time frame. The first and longest stretch of the film takes place on Friday 7 January 1969 and the following day, and these chapters are tagged with time indications. The film then skips ahead to the day and night of 10 August 1969, with the attack on Rick’s home. The book adheres to the February dates but as we’ve seen it “spoils” the film’s climax by announcing the massacre fairly early on. The central action of the book confines itself to the two days when Rick meets Schwarz and shoots the Lancer pilot, on 7-8 February, 1969. But that chronology is thrown off by another tag. After chapters presenting the day and evening of Friday the 7th, a new chapter indicates that Pusssycat’s Kreepy Krawl (another Ellroyism) takes place at 2:20 AM on that day. It’s either a flashback to an early-morning period before the previous four chapters (why?) or a scene taking place after the earlier chapters, and so is occurring at 2:20 on the 8th, not the 7th. The Krawl anomaly is an early indication that a misaligned calendar governs the whole book, as it did the film. The actual Lancer pilot was shot in 1968, not 1969. Tarantino has merged events of one year (Rick’s career crisis, the Lancer shoot) with those of a later one (the actual Tate-LaBianca murders). The typical Hollywood novel inserts made-up stories into a world of real ones, but Tarantino goes further. Your typical director would have pasted Rick on the cover of Time, but Tarantino goes for Mad. Your average movie-geek director would have had Rick reading an actual western novel, maybe Hombre in homage to Elmore Leonard. Instead, Tarantino invents a novel, Ride a Wild Bronc, by the real author Marvin H. Albert, because he wants a parallel between Rick and that book’s hero Easy Breezy. (The fact that Albert himself wrote many novelizations is a bonus.) Likewise, amid a flood of information about genuine Paul Wendkos films and stars therein, Tarantino deletes one actor (James Franciscus) from Hell Boats (1970) to cast the fictitious Rick in the part. The substitution gambit is literalized in the film, when we learn the gossip that Rick supposedly just missed getting the McQueen part in The Great Escape (1963). A comparable substitution conceit in the book is the jumble of publisher advertisements printed in the back. What could Tarantino’s book promote? Other books of the period published by Harper, of course: Oliver’s Story (1978), Serpico (1973), and Leonard’s The Switch (1978). The dates suggest that the “original” version of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was published in the late 70s, and this accords with hints in the narration and the book’s design. These period ads sit alongside one for the fake Ride a Wild Bronc and one for a purported hardcover edition of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (fake? forthcoming?). Yet these dabs of phony history allow the book to float some genuine historical analysis. The constant references to obscure movies and TV shows might be taken as merely Tarantino’s nerdy self-indulgence. In fact, these citations fit into a fairly coherent cross-section of the period’s filmmaking and film culture, with the trends filtered through the business decisions and personal tastes of his characters. 1960s Hollywood turns out to be a palimpsest. One layer is the fading of the studio system, reflected in agent Schwarz’s boast that he handles old royalty like Farley Granger and Joseph Cotten. Rick expresses his admiration for classic B-picture directors Wendkos and William Witney. Sharon’s backstory, when she hitched a ride to LA, reminds us of the enduring Hollywood myth of fresh-faced outsiders breaking in. There’s also the new competition from European genres and overseas art films. Cliff, who scorns Antonioni and Resnais, is a big fan of Kurosawa and I Am Curious–Yellow. Now a European arthouse director has made a smash American hit, Rosemary’s Baby, and Rick fantasizes being tapped by Polanski. By contrast, Rick is reluctant to venture into spaghetti westerns, the new territory for a has-been US star. “TV,” people used to say, “gets ’em on the way up or on the way down.” That’s been pretty much Rick’s career trajectory. Broadcast television has disrupted everything. B-directors like Wendkos shift between the two media, but the A-list older stars can’t sustain a series. Still, the narrator admits that some of these “sought to subvert their personas,” as Henry Fonda did in Once Upon a Time in the West. Young talent is on the make. James Garner, James Coburn, and many other TV stars can jump to film, while Lee Marvin can shift from B-film villainy to TV heroism (M Squad) and return to films to play dark lead roles. The most shining example is Steve McQueen, who after his series Wanted–Dead or Alive became a top film star. In Tarantino’s film, he’s briefly seen commenting on Polanski’s ménage, but in the book McQueen haunts Rick’s life. The misbegotten anecdote about The Great Escape follows him everywhere. At forty-two Rick is caught between two trends. He’s loyal to older directors and a classic genre, and he hates Eurowesterns and the counterculture. But to keep working he’s in competition with “the three Georges”–Peppard, Maharis, and Chakiris. Ten years ago he had his own series. Now he must wear a mustache and a biker wig and be the bad guy shot down by the newest “swinging dick.” Said dick would be, in the Lancer pilot, James Stacy, to whom an entire chapter is devoted. He is the next failed McQueen, the young paladin who started memorably on Gunsmoke but now realizes that the clean-cut bad boy is on the way out. He admires Rick’s early work and envies Rick’s “fucking fly” look as Caleb. He yearns to wear a mustache. The TV western has developed its own conventions, which Tarantino’s novel filters through the characters’ awareness. Schwarz introduces us to the antagonism between the series hero and the heavy, emphasizing that with every one-shot appearance, the guest star’s image suffers. After Rick reads the Lancer script, he admires its boldness in choosing as a protagonist Johnny, the sort of cocksure hothead who’d normally be shot down in the last act. Trudi is well aware that she is “just the ‘little tyke’ series regular.” More broadly, the book’s narrating voice realizes that westerns are based on “the man of principle pushed past his breaking point and beyond his nature. Most of Greek tragedy, half of all English theater, and three-quarters of American cinema operated from this premise.” Men in war and at work Men in War (1957); Aldo Ray on left. The book spares some thoughts for women working in Hollywood. Schwarz’s secretary Miss Himmelsteen winds up becoming a talent agent who also performs fellatio on her clients. Sharon Tate, who prefers the Monkees to the Beatles, is fully aware that she’s playing the role of “sexy little me” in most social encounters. Yet she genuinely enjoys the audience laughter aroused by her klutzy scene in the not-very-good The Wrecking Crew. Still, the book dwells far more on the men. The Mannix episode on Cliff’s TV spells it out. These men are anxious. Both Rick Dalton and James Stacy see their futures endangered. Charlie Manson is trying to build a career in the music business, but his clumsy networking reveals him as a loser. Most strikingly, in devoting seven chapters to Cliff Booth’s life story, the narration presents a composite of trends swirling through the period. We who’ve seen the film know Cliff’s manic, LSD-buzzed defense of Rick’s home. But who is he? This war hero who has murdered his wife and three other people is a hard case with a soft spot for foreign films. He’s a dog lover who put his pit bull Brandy through harrowing fights. He hurls Bruce Lee against a car but, out of concern for George Spahn, worries that the hippies encamped on his ranch are exploiting him. If Rick and James’ niches in the hierarchy are shifting, Cliff knows his place is near the bottom. Living in a crummy trailer eating Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, he can survive thanks to his muscle and his wits. He might be a man of principle who’s just pushed past his breaking point a bit too often. Enter Aldo Ray, an actual actor whom Tarantino has long celebrated. Despite working with George Cukor, Anthony Mann, Raoul Walsh, and other top directors, Ray destroyed himself through alcohol and wasteful spending. He gets his own chapter near the end, brought into the story when Cliff is stunting on a runaway production in Spain. While Charles Bronson is becoming a star, Aldo is sinking into a numb despair. He is what Rick or Stacy might become. As the book closes, this parade of masculine misery replaces the film’s Manson Family siege. After finishing the day’s Lancer shoot, Rick and Stacy head out to the Drinker’s Hall of Fame, a tribute to great Hollywood drunks. Cliff and other acquaintances join them, and they share stories of their sex lives and the productions they worked on. Rick finally manages to spell out why he hates the Great Escape rumor. He admits to his peers that he never really had any chance for the McQueen part. That clarity seems to give Rick a dose of prudence: he leaves early because he needs to learn his lines for tomorrow. For the reader, the drinking bout chimes with Aldo Ray’s plight in the prior chapter, and it suggests how Rick will survive the 1970s. His reconciliation with Stacy will lead both to keep their alcoholism under better control. Rick’s flash of self-discipline is among the many epiphanies that pile up in the final pages. Sharon, sweet-natured throughout, now gets annoyed with Polanski’s whining bossiness and maneuvers him into holding a pool party. Schwarz calls Rick and offers him a chance for a spaghetti western. Rick runs into Steve McQueen, and his resentment of the superstar drains away in a shared memory of male camaraderie, a pool game long ago. Above all, Rick gets a call from Trudi that resets his relation to his past and his craft. An actor prepares Tarantino admires directors, but he adores actors. Has any film more fully portrayed the insecurities of performers? Rick sees his career going down the drain while upstarts like Stacy and the coolly competent Trudi Fraser, only eight years old, are more professional than he is. Rick is baffled by the director’s pretentious ambitions (“Be evil sexy Hamlet”) and rages in his trailer when he blows his lines. Each small error confirms Schwarz’s diagnosis that Rick can flourish only in a downmarket cinema, below even episodic TV. One of the film’s finest sequences builds enormous tension when it shows Rick struggling to keep up with Stacy in their saloon reunion. Tarantino could have shot this sequence in 4:3 ratio and TV style, in accord with the Bounty Law commercial that opens the movie. But the bar sequence, like the hostage scene to come later, maintains the same stylistic tenor–widescreen, long takes, rich color–that presents the story of Rick, Cliff, and Sharon. Remarkably, we don’t see any shots of the director and crew watching the performance. The production staff remain offscreen, cueing Rick’s lines. Tarantino has fused the modern camera with the TV camera, “rewriting” the TV production with shadowy modern lighting and arcing camera moves. This filming strategy puts the pilot on par with the surrounding story, just as in the book the Lancer family saga carries the same weight as the 1969 story line. At the same time, the sequence lets us see just how difficult film acting is. (You can see Stacy trying to match his spoon’s movements to get a clean retake.) An awkward axial cut-in to the bartender delivering Johnny’s beans may be hinting that already Rick has blown a line and they had to reshoot it. Acting is hard. Even bad acting is hard. Could you or I do what Rick has to do in this scene? Seeing Rick’s malfunctioning performance in this scene puts more pressure on the big hostage scene, which again runs as if it’s part of the surrounding film. But now, after Rick aces the scene, we get our first crew shot and the director’s happy reaction, along with Trudi’s whispered praise. Even more than the film, the book pays homage to the strain of actors’ working lives. By sequestering the Lancer episodes in separate chapters, Tarantino can focus elsewhere on the sheer terror of preparation for filming them. Now we see why the book stresses the performers’ leadup to each shoot. We’ve seen in the film how harrowing it is to screw up, and the book digs into the panic of preparation. Which is why, I suggest, the book ends with one more phone call. (The back cover of the paperback hints at its imporance.) Suspecting that Rick is slacking off, Trudi calls Rick to goad him into rehearsing. As they start to run the lines, they slip into their characters. The narration cooperates. Caleb answers flippantly, “Greed’s what makes the world go ’round, little lady.” The little lady says her name out loud: “Mirabella.” “What?” Caleb asks. The eight-year-old child repeats her name to the outlaw leader. “My name is Mirabella. If you’re gonna murder me in cold blood, I don’t want you to just think of me as Murdock Lancer’s little girl.” Something about the way she says that registers with the outlaw. And suddenly it becomes important for Caleb to make her understand his fairness on this matter. Through Rick’s performance the narration can plunge into Caleb’s mind. Things get even more complex when Johnny enters the scene, voiced by Trudi. Trudi as Johnny points out, “Something happens to that money and we don’t get it, that’s our problem.” Caleb spins toward Johnny and violently says, “Something happens to that money, that’s her problem!” With fire in his eyes, he tells Johnny Lancer, “Git it straight, boy! . . .” Very soon Caleb will be shot dead, as enacted by Rick over the phone. As usual, we won’t see the scene filmed, but Trudi foresees the result. “We’re going to kill this scene tomorrow.” Rick agrees. When she adds that they’re in a great line of work, Rick has his biggest epiphany. Trudi is right. The career that seemed so dismal has let him work with great actors, make love to beautiful women, enjoy luxuries most men never dream of. He looks around at the fabulous house he owns. Paid for by doing what he used to do for free when he was a little boy: pretending to be a cowboy. Boys will be boys, apparently forever. Tracing three movie careers–a fading star, an aspiring starlet, and a below-the-line crew member–the film and the book provide Tarantino’s views not just of swinging-60s Hollywood (“You shoulda been there!”) but what working in The Business is like. Like most books and movies set in the film capital, these two texts show the pleasures and pains of a life that’s at once glamorous and dangerous. But thanks to visual and verbal bravado, ingenious crosstalk between cinema and prose, and a respect for actors, Tarantino has gone beyond the usual finger-wagging chastisement of Hollywood excess. His taste for low-grade product, which has sometimes seemed an auteur provocation, is revealed as a respect for the desperate energy that animates even barely talented performers. That stubborn struggle, he suggests, is more rewarding than hippies’ hopes to mosey into nirvana. Tarantino’s respect for those who dare to make movies, even opportunistic and down-market ones, puts him squarely in the classical Hollywood tradition of striving professionalism. His protagonist realizes, Capra style, that he has a wonderful life. Weird as it sounds to say it, Tarantino’s multimedia fairy tale might be the squarest story he ever told. The epigraph comes from Graham Fuller, “Answers First, Questions Later,” in Quentin Tarantino: Interviews, rev. ed., ed. Gerald Peary (Jackson: University of Mississippi Press, 2013), 37. More homework for the Tarantino squad: Trudi Fraser in the film is Trudi Frazer in the book. Jeff Smith’s discussions of the film, here and here, were our most popular 2019 entries. They still hold up. Through a blunder, I missed seeing Mark Minett’s careful email reply to my question about the saloon dialogue scene. Would such an arcing shot be likely in network TV of the period? His response is very helpful: As for lateral or arcing camera movements during shot reverse shot sequences, I think these must be pretty rare. It’s possible a show might feature one every once and awhile, but these would likely stand out as a directorial flourish. The late 1960s television I’ve seen tends to have static s/rs, with variety achieved through camera height and angle, though I did just see an episode of Hawaii Five-O where the reverse shot was a moving close-up of a pacing Jack Lord. Typically, you’d get mobile framing as you set up the key figures and then cut into the s/rs sequence. We sort of get that in the LANCER sequence as they sit to eat, and then there’s that interesting jump cut and track back reset as the man approaches with the food (I wonder if this was supposed to signal imperfection and authenticity or what?). Or, you could get a push in on a face at a climax, usually as they move out of the scene or to a commercial, as in the “1958” Bounty Law footage, though I think the more common option was just to hold on a close-up. That arcing move around the back of Olyphant’s head in Lancer, though, would be unusual, I think. I wonder if it’s worth distinguishing this kind of arcing movement that basically just resets the framing of the scene, from the kind of arcing movements that seem more common now, which continue across cuts and underwrite the dramatic tension of a sequence. The former seems like more of a possible – though still probably very rare – option on the menu of that era’s filmed television, while I’d be really really surprised to find the latter. These are all just somewhat informed hunches, though, and there’s definitely room for real research here. Arcing and lateral movements aside, I’m also not sure when s/rs sequences in filmed TV started to regularly incorporate the slow push-ins that develop over the course of a sequence. So much worth investigating! Mark should know. He’s the author of an excellent book on Robert Altman’s work, with close study of his TV projects. Another scholar of televisual style, Jonah Horwitz replied as well. I don’t really have much to add to Mark’s response except nods of agreement. I don’t have the Tarantino movie to hand but the kinds of embellishments David describes would be pretty rare. S/R/S, as Mark notes, tends to be locked down (though not usually as metronomic as on Dragnet!) A few folks have made some very tentative arguments for directorial style in midcentury US series TV partly on the basis of camera movement—that is, based on ambitious movements being the exception rather than the rule. Some of the former live TV directors I studied tried to import their love of long takes and elaborate camera movements into telefilm production with very mixed success (often they ran into the opposition of producers who wondered why they weren’t getting through x number of setups per day). Some of Joseph H. Lewis’s ’50s TV episodes stand out—in spots—for such things. Re. Mark’s question, in live TV drama S/R/S is typically handled using long lenses, which made precise or ambitious camera movements somewhat difficult for such sequences. I argue in my dissertation that much of the innovation in S/R/S in live TV drama came from finding ways to get more frontal angles on characters without the camera shooting the reverse-field intruding into the shot. Earlier live drama S/R/S set ups have an obliquity owing to the shooting situation. (If you imagine the prototypical S/R/S staging with a camera placed in front of each character, you can see the problem.) Later directors and cameramen mitigated this through careful planning and extremely dexterous crews. But, again, this is in 50s/early 60s live TV—far from the late 60s telefilm that Tarantino is supposedly pastiching. I wonder if the partially anachronistic shooting style of the Lancer segment could be motivated by the dream-film aspect of the movie (or maybe given Tarantino’s tendency to flagrant stylization we don’t even need recourse to a more specific alibi). P. S. 21 July 2021: Tarantino discusses the book in a fascinating interview with Mike Fleming, Jr. at Deadline. Once Upon a Time . . . in Hollywood. The Castle Island Case (1937). DB here: In the 1920s and 1930s, stories of mystery and detection became hugely popular in Anglophone countries. Britain’s “Golden Age” of whodunits, launched by Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, was rivaled by the emergence of American hardboiled detection, personified by Dashiell Hammett and other writers for the pulp Black Mask. Some of the detectives, such as Philo Vance and (alas) Ellery Queen, are largely forgotten today, but others remain towering figures of popular culture. Surprisingly, new Sherlock Holmes stories were still appearing in the 1920s. In addition, there emerged Hercule Poirot, Lord Peter Wimsey, Charlie Chan, Sam Spade, Nick and Nora Charles, Nero Wolfe, Philip Marlowe, and Perry Mason (recently revised in a noir version for streaming). Fiction, film, comic strips, and radio all disseminated their adventures. Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys were aimed at the kids. Amid this vast 0utput, writers needed to differentiate their work. The search for gimmicks was on, and a few were, as we’d say now, a little interactive. Since the classic detective plots centered on puzzles, publishers added games and playful ancillaries to their books. Some novels were published with the last chapters sealed, daring buyers to resist curiosity and return the book for a refund. A novel (The Long Green Gaze, 1925) might tuck clues into crossword puzzles (another 1920s fad) that the reader had to solve. Books came packaged with jigsaw puzzles (The Jig-Saw Puzzle Murder, 1933; Murder of the Only Witness, 1934). “Murder dossiers” like File on Bolitho Blane (aka Murder in Miami, 1936) assembled facsimile documents accompanied by matchsticks, strands of hair, bloodstained scraps of fabric, and other physical clues. The party game of Murder, in which guests were assigned roles of victim, culprit, witnesses, and detectives, became a craze and was, naturally, incorporated into novels (Hide in the Dark, 1929). The most outrageous of these extramural activities was Cain’s Jawbone (1934). The 100-page story purports to be a mystery novel whose whose pages were accidentally printed and bound out of order. There is, the reader is assured, only one correct sequence, although “the narrator’s mind may flit occasionally backwards and forwards in the modern manner.” The publisher offered a prize to the first reader who could submit the correct ordering–and, not incidentally, name both the murderer(s) and the victim(s). Only two people hit on the answer, which still remains unknown to the public. Even quite well-known writers joined in. The original editions of Sayers’ Five Red Herrings (1931) left a page blank so that the reader could jot down a guess at what Lord Peter asked the police to find at the murder scene. Sayers was quite proud of “this little stunt,” and floated the possibility of printing the missing passage in a sealed page at the end of the book. She also wrote a Lord Peter story that invited the reader to solve a rather recondite crossword. Q. Patrick composed a murder dossier, The File on Claudia Cragge (1938). Less immersive but still pretty interesting was my topic of today. I think it coaxes us to think about how pictures and text can interact, and how a book can borrow film techniques. In addition, it has enough weird touches to make it a remnant of a period in desperate search of storytelling novelty. You know, like ours. More highly seasoned than most With The Castle Island Case (published September 1937) a fairly famous author, Van Wyck Mason, introduced what he considered “a brand-new method of telling a mystery story.” That method involved accompanying the novel with staged photographs of the characters, clues, and crime scenes. Mason insisted that he and photographer Henry Clay Gipson came up with the idea before the first murder dossier (1936) and before Look magazine’s “Photocrime” series, which began running in June of 1937. Novels had long been illustrated; our undying conception of Holmes owes a good deal to Sidney Paget’s vivid drawings in the original stories. And comic books, which had begun telling long-form stories in the 1930s, showed that pictures (helped out by verbiage) could sustain plots. But photography changes the status of the image. Mason believed that photos could be not “mere illustrations but an essential, integral part” of the novel. Interestingly, he doesn’t rest his case on realism, the idea that the story would seem more plausible if it contained documentary images. But surely the appearance of a photographic record gives a forensic quality to the shots of clues and corpses. At the period, tabloids and even “family” magazines like Life and Look were incorporating gory crime-scene images. In The Castle Island Case, as befits fiction, these are more artfully composed. The shots of Allenby at an autopsy and of a topless woman washed onto the beach, we’re told, “were a very definite part of the story and were not included merely for effect.” Still, they are a bit startling in their prim sensationalism. (One reviewer: “A thriller more highly seasoned than most.”) The book’s up-and-coming publisher, Reynald & Hitchcock, had developed a reputation for daring: it published Hitler’s Mein Kampf in a complete translation the same year as Mason’s novel. Later the firm would issue policy books from a liberal standpoint and, in 1944, the controversial Lillian Smith novel Strange Fruit. For the shoot Reynald & Hitchcock flew the cast to Bermuda, where Mason lived. The story incorporated the exotic scenery and local life, notably a Gombey performance. Mason and Gipson accumulated about 600 stills in ten days, and they checked their results immediately, processing films far into the night. The finished book includes 180 or so shots, printed alongside text on glossy paper and bound in a large 7½ x 10-inch trim size that make them easy to study. An essential hook, trumpeted on the dust jacket, is that you can examine the pictures to find evidence that the text doesn’t mention. This was to be the first in a series of “Candid Clue Mysteries”–crime traces captured by the candid camera. Picture this Major Roger Allenby has flown to Bermuda to help an old friend whose daughter Judy has gone missing. She was serving as secretary to millionaire Barnard Grafton. Allenby arrives under the pretext of joining Grafton’s shady business deal with the president of Ecuador. Grafton is hosting other potential investors and several female guests. The set-up is a classic mystery situation: an isolated setting and a small group of wealthy people, some of whom will die or disappear, leaving the others as suspects. Soon Judy’s sister Patricia, who has replaced her on Grafton’s staff, is murdered. The photos are of three types. One operates as classic illustrations, showing all the characters from an impersonal perspective. So Allenby can be seen among others, as in the rather Straub/Huilletian autopsy image above. A second type of images is more “omniscient” and free-ranging, filling us in on background information. Mason declared that the photos could save time on exposition. Instead of describing the characters and settings, he could just show them. But he didn’t mention that, apart from Allenby, most major characters are introduced in abstract photomontages, not candid snapshots. The first one we see is devoted to wastrel C. Townley Ward. He’s presented in a collage of pictures and news clippings. The page devoted to Ward could have been replaced with paragraphs of backstory. But the layout coaxes the reader into a process of scrutiny that’s probably more intense than scanning prose. Are there clues in the images or the clippings? This crammed page, coming early in the book, encourages the reader to look carefully at the pictures that follow. This attention wouldn’t necessarily be aroused by traditional drawn or painted illustrations. Sometimes, as in the page devoted to jaunty Kathleen Manship, the layout recalls comic-book splash pages. A second sort of photos accords with Allenby’s restricted viewpoint. He has brought his camera along, so some images, like the nude shot on the beach, are represented as his recording of a crime scene. Naturally Allenby films letters and other obvious clues, and he sets traps to gain evidence. He rigs up an automatic camera device to capture an intruder, but to sustain suspense Mason shows us the negative first, then postpones revealing the person exposed (as above). Sometimes, though, it’s Allenby’s casual snapshots that accidentally capture items whose significance is apparent later. In all, Mason tries to play fair with the reader. If you page back after the solution is revealed, you can find that indeed the clue was there (however tiny). In good mystery-mongering fashion, however, some pages are red herrings. They contain no clues, but you’re likely to study them anyhow. Photography also helps us grasp clues that are more vivid than a prose description could provide. My favorite is the telltale pack of playing cards left behind by Patricia after her death. Trying them out in different sequences, Allenby notices that they contain tiny nicks on their edges. Odd phrases in Judy’s purported suicide note suggest a code the sisters shared, so after cracking that and arranging the cards accordingly, Allenby finds that the nicks yield a message. I think that the picture makes the discovery livelier than an account in the text would be. As in many detective stories, the clues are summed up before the detective reveals the solution. Here, Mason gathers up the most relevant photos Allenby has taken, challenging the reader to draw the right conclusions. Another plot convention: the final assembly of the suspects for a public revelation of guilt. In this book, it’s done through Allenby’s setting a trap. He will take an infrared picture that will, during a crucial moment of darkness, expose the killer. The exercise neatly brings together the objective, omniscient type of photo and Allenby’s eyewitness shots. First we see the entire scene, including Allenby. Then his camera’s record is presented in radically washed-out tones, suggesting a different film stock. (The second frame below is a detail from the climactic two-page spread, to avoid a spoiler.) Movies on the page The gimmickry of The Castle Island Case is enlivened by some features that go beyond puzzle and fair play. The book breaks its own rules, sometimes in ways that recall films. For example, we get a cluster of reaction shots of the characters responding to news of Patricia’s death. The pictorial narration running alongside the text sometimes breaks from our restriction to Allenby’s viewpoint for the sake of a cinematic effect. As he broods on the danger Patricia is in, the book “cuts away” to her in her bedroom. Four images show her sorting the playing cards, slipping the suicide note into a picture frame displaying her sister’s photo, tucking the pack of cards under her pillow, and–ultimate movie touch–sleeping while a clutching shadow hovers over her. Still later, the book will present a pictorial flashback, complete with angle changes, to show what led to Judy’s disappearance. There’s also a photomontage illustrating Terry James’ freewheeling lifestyle that calls to mind the turbulent montage sequences of Slavko Vorkapich. The book’s debt to cinema is perhaps most obvious in its last image, a clinch that traditionally closes a Hollywood movie. (See below.) Far stranger is the sequence devoted to the drinks-and-swims party. One page presents the guests hanging out, with the bottom one suggesting a party snapshot not taken by Allenby, although he’s in it. Facing this page is a curious portrait, evidently not taken by Allenby, showing a morose Grafton staring into his drink. What’s he looking at? Inside the champagne glass is the head of an apparently drowning woman. Is this a tipoff to the reader that Grafton killed Patricia? At the end we’ll realize what it means, but here it seems to offer a peculiar access to his mind, certainly beyond Allenby’s range of knowledge. In a film, the image might be an abrupt, enigmatic flashback to be explained later. Frozen on the page, and looking so different from the other photos we’ve seen, this hallucination turns into kitsch surrealism. Nothing ever really goes away. Perhaps the murder dossiers transmogrified during the 1940s into the board game Clue (aka Cluedo). The Wheatley ones were reprinted in the 1980s and apparently caught on for a new generation. The Choose Your Own Adventure children’s books included mysteries that allowed some interactivity, anticipating the branching options of our investigation-driven videogames. And today’s jigsaw puzzle called Alfred Hitchcock is explained: Alfred Hitchcock isn’t just another jigsaw puzzle – it’s a mystery waiting to be solved. First, read about a psychotic fan who’s obsessed with Hitchcock’s classic films. Next, assemble the puzzle and uncover hidden clues to solve the mystery. Mason’s “Candid Clue Mystery No. 1” had no successors, but writers didn’t give up on trying to integrate images into mystery plots. Rex Stout tried it, with awkward results, in two Nero Wolfe stories. (One, naturally enough, appeared in Look magazine.) In Murder Draws a Line (1940), Willetta Ann Barber and R. F. Schabelitz divide the labor between a Nick-and-Nora couple. The wife writes the text and the husband, a professional artist, illustrates it with sketches and diagrams of their efforts to solve the crime. The text-plus-photos books aren’t truly interactive. Nothing we do can adjust the text or create feedback. But they extend the possibilities of a narrative attitude encouraged by the mystery genre. Classic detective novels and short stories rely on a type of close reading. We’re expected to scrutinize descriptions of locales and behavior for cleverly planted traces of what’s really going on. Agatha Christie has a genius for mentioning items that we read over, thanks to misdirection and the blandness of her prose, but even hardboiled novels bury verbal clues so as to play fair. A slip of the tongue that we probably miss leads Sam Spade to Bridgid O’Shaughnessy’s guilt. Knowing that authors aim to mislead us through language, we read with a greater degree of suspicion than we bring to other genres. By extending this attitude to images as well as words, gimmicks like The Castle Island Case encourage us to consider how the pictures may tell the story, or sabotage our understanding of it. That’s what movies have done as well. We shouldn’t be surprised that these oddball efforts call on familiar storytelling schemas of classical cinema. Chapter 17 of Martin Edwards’ splendid The Life of Crime: Unravelling the History of Fiction’s Favorite Genre, reviews many more of these Golden Age games. It’s due out from Collins in May of next year, but in the meantime visit Martin’s bountiful website and proceed to sample any of his vast output of novels, anthologies, and histories of detective fiction. For background on Cain’s Jawbone, go to this account in The Guardian. It was reissued in 2019, as both a book and a set of cards (now very scarce). The publisher, appropriately called Unbound, offered a prize of £1000 for the first solution. The prize was won by a comedy writer who cracked the puzzle while housebound during the Covid-19 pandemic. Dorothy Sayers’ remark on her Five Red Herrings ploy comes from Janet Hitchman, Such a Strange Lady: A Biography of Dorothy L. Sayers (New York: Avon, 1976), 88-89. The Sayers story using a (very tough) crossword puzzle is “The Fascinating Problem of Uncle Meleager’s Will” (1925). My quotations from Van Wyck Mason come from “The Camera as a Literary Element,” The Writer 51, 11 (November 1938), 325-326. The review I quoted, unsigned, appeared in “The Criminal Record,” The Saturday Review (9 October 1957), 28. The Rex Stout Nero Wolfe stories inserting photographs are Where There’s a Will (1940) and “Easter Parade” (1957), reprinted in And Four to Go (1958). I don’t talk about them here. Thanks to Peter McDonald for introducing me to Virginia, The Shivah, Blackwell Unbound, and other mystery-driven videogames. P.S. 25 June 2021: Alert reader and old friend Jonathan Kuntz reminded me of other interactive mystery platforms, including the Secret Cinema screenings. He also mentions non-mystery boardgames that let you replay films, as in The Thing and The Lord of the Rings. P.P.S. 28 June: Alert reader and mystery maestro Mike Grost traces a chain of association to the champagne-glass image. Van Wyck Mason published a story called “The Enemy’s Goal” in Argosy (18 May, 1935). That story was adapted by Joseph H. Lewis for a film, The Spy Ring, released in 1938, and there a character summons up a mental image in a champagne glass. I haven’t seen the film, but Mike suggests that such subjective shots are fairly rare in Lewis films. He thanks Francis M. Nevins for finding the link, and I thank both. The Castle Island Case (detail). Goodfellas (1990). DB here: Fourteen months of being house-bound gave me plenty of chance to catch up on my reading. But the reading was almost all devoted to the book I was writing on mystery plots in fiction, film, and other media. Now that it has been catapulted out to unwary publisher’s readers, it’s time for me to catch up on some 2020 books I like. In this batch, all have a connection to film criticism, and murder, attempted or consummated, creeps into more than one. Movies for Muggles Somebody ought to write a history of the one-movie monograph. Early on there were picture books, and roadshow attractions often produced pretty laminated books as souvenirs, filled with PR stories and color images. My vote for the first analytical monograph would be the very ambitious Tu n’as rien vu à Hiroshima! (1962). In the early 1970s, American academic presses began offering critical studies of single films; an early example was the FilmGuide series edited by Harry Geduld and Ron Gottesman. (My favorite entry was Jim Naremore‘s study of Psycho.) Since then many publishers have pursued the format, usually as part of a series. Now we have 21st Century Film Essentials, newly launched at the University of Texas Press. The first two entries are pretty canon-busting. Dana Polan writes on The Lego Movie, and Patrick Keating on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I haven’t seen Polan’s book, but Keating directly takes up the challenge of the series. As a franchise film, as a work of digital cinema, as a work of collaborative authorship, and above all as a thoroughly engaging demonstration of the art of storytelling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is an essential work of twentieth-first century cinema. I confess I was skeptical, and still am a little. But Keating’s meticulous analysis and interpretation of the film does convince me that this is a ripe example of modern “hyperclassical” cinema. By that I mean a dense, “through-composed” revision of traditional narrative strategies and film techniques, working smoothly together to create effects at many levels. A hyperclassical film is more thoroughly classical than it “needs to be.” In other words, here’s another counterexample to the notion that “post-classical Hollywood” shows a collapse of traditional norms. Keating’s argument for the film’s richness, I think, revolves around two central concepts. First is that of narrative viewpoint. Virtually all of Azkaban, unlike the earlier entries in the franchise, is filtered through the consciousness of Harry. We’re attached to him as he experiences the action. That doesn’t, Keating hastens to add, make the film radically subjective; indeed, there are relatively few shots from Harry’s optical viewpoint. Attaching the unfolding plot to a character doesn’t rule out a wider perspective, if only because cinema puts him within a wider frame of a shot or an edited sequence. There’s always the possibility of our registering action or other characters’ reactions. The end of the Quidditch flight is thick with these impacted viewpoints, and elsewhere Cuarón’s constantly moving camera nudges us toward implications that supplement, or sometimes contradict, what Harry is concentrating on. Keating’s other main concept is connected to the broadening of viewpoint: worldbuilding. This idea is obviously central to Rowling’s achievement, as it has been to franchises since Star Wars. But Keating lifts the idea to a central role in how films engage us. The richly realized world of Potter is only an extreme instance of what every narrative does. Borrowing from critic V. F. Perkins, Keating suggests that any film narrative supplies us with the possibility of many stories that are only hinted at, or merely latent. Most movies prune those secondary offshoots, the better to force us to concentrate on our protagonist. But Tom Stoppard showed that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern deserved their own play. Similarly, franchise films, with the ever-present prospect of sequels, crossovers, or reboots, make us aware that any character, even any item of furniture, secretes a new story, or a bunch of them. The Potter films are committed to this spinoff aesthetic, packing in as many suggestions of sidestories as the screen will bear. This principle finds tangible expression in the portraits jammed into the Gryffindor common room and dorms guarded by the Fat Lady. Overwhelming us with characters and situations, many in motion, this gallery is perfectly in keeping with English traditions of floor-to-ceiling decor. It’s also a groaning feast of other stories that could yet, somehow, intersect with Harry’s fate. Keating’s shrewd commentary on worldmaking is one of the book’s highlights. Keating ties these ideas to phases of production and division of labor, reviewing how the novel’s viewpoint and worldbuilding strategies are transposed and extended by script, camerawork, editing, performances, set and costume design, and music. Throughout he weaves what he takes to be the film’s binding theme, that of time. Is the future preordained, as Ms. Trelawney insists in her frantic, fumbling lectures? Or is it open, as Hermoine and others tell Harry? This makes the film’s tour de force climax with the Time Turner into a synthesis of restricted viewpoint (we’re with Harry as he witnesses an alternative future) and worldbuilding (the future is what you make it). I might quarrel with Keating’s suggestion that the impulse driving Harry’s action is a struggle with the dementers. I saw his relation to Sirius Black as more than the subplot Keating considers it. Overall, though, Keating has produced not only a subtle, supple analysis of the film but also a model for how to understand cinematic storytelling in the age of the blockbuster. Wiseguy’s progress If Keating’s book is a classical sonata, Glenn Kenny’s Made Men: The Story of Goodfellas is bop. Keating offers a tidy analysis through crisply defined categories. Kenny provides a hardcopy approximation to a packed DVD. At the center is a 150 page scene-by-scene account of the film: a commentary track in your hands. Alongside that sit chapters that function as bonus materials. They include a brief introduction to the filmmaker just before he started work on the film, chapters on preproduction, the music (Kenny is an expert on pop and rock), the editing, the critical reception, and the ultimate fate of the real-life protagonist Henry Hill. Then, like the narrator of a Criterion video supplement, Kenny surveys Scorsese’s career after Goodfellas. Finally, an epilogue is virtually a monologue: Scorsese talks almost without interruption for twenty-five pages, as if this were the interview rounding off the disc. There’s also a bibliography, a timeline of the production, and the recipe for Henry Hill’s ziti. It’s overwhelming. Kenny has evidently read everything about the real-life sources of the story, and his interviews turn fan service toward crime reporting. It is no small thing to pursue hard cases who were recruited for bit parts. Kenny has also garnered a lot of information from staff like AD Joseph Reidy, who are seldom given much attention. Keating would probably be happy to see Kenny’s narrative splinter into stories leading to other stories, such as the effects of the film on the careers of Barbara De Fina and Ileanna Douglas. I compared the book’s central chapter to a DVD commentary. Anybody delivering a voice-over play-by-play regrets that you have to keep up with the film and can’t devote as much time to a big scene as you might like. Thanks to the print format, Kenny is able to pause the film and spiral out from it to fill in backstory or behind-the-scenes dynamics. Early on, he can give us three pages on Tuddy, both his original (who died in prison) and Frank DiLeo, the actor playing the role. Kenny explains that DiLeo was a music executive who oversaw Michael Jackson’s “Bad” video, which included a Wanted poster of Scorsese in a subway scene, which ties to a sneaky reference to the “Smooth Criminal” video featuring a character named Frank Lideo, played by Joe Pesci. . . well, you get the idea. Likewise, in an astonishing cadenza, Kenny identifies every actor and wiseguy in the long POV tracking shot in the Bamboo Lounge. His account of the cast rummages through filmographies and personal histories, and adds the sort of oversharing we welcome: “Behind the placid mook mug seen in the movie was a remorseless killer.” All these exfoliating tales don’t conceal a sustained performance of film criticism. Kenny’s governing idea is that Goodfellas cons us through a bait and switch. Lured in by a rapid-fire opening that arouses a bemused attraction to these bad boys, we’re gradually forced to a more sober, even horrified, realization of their moral and emotional brutality. I think that this fairly reflects most viewers’ experience. But how does the trap work? Kenny plots an “arc of disengagement” between the killings of Tommy and Spider. A rise-and-fall pattern links the parallel scenes of the Bamboo Lounge, the Copacabana, and the shabby tavern where the gang meets to whack Morrie. Kenny draws nuanced comparisons with The Godfather and is very detailed on Scorsese’s visual techniques, particularly the freeze-frames and fadeouts, which usually get less attention than the flashy camera moves. One of the book’s main points is that Scorsese, newly aware of how TV commercials trained viewers in quick pickup, deliberately decided to make his fastest-paced movie. And of course the music is central to managing our mood and commenting on the story. As a seasoned reviewer, Kenny can write. “Frisky newlyweds still hot for each other; you love to see it.” Henry (“a walking appetite”) eventually pulls Karen into his schemes: “The revitalized marriage will find its sense of twisted teamwork.” And digression is welcome when it humanizes the author. Listening to Sid Vicious’ version of “My Way” is comparable to “say, eating the fried chicken from the Kansas City restaurant Stroud’s for the first time.” (The “say” makes the sentence.) A movie about food begs the critic to sample a little synaesthesia, with music evoking mouth-watering chicken. Come to think of it, that linkage of music and food is in Goodfellas too. I especially enjoyed Kenny’s rebuke to fans who bust this carefully constructed work into “movie moments.” You probably know that one school of criticism thinks that films are more or less loose assemblages of scenes, out of which certain instants become incandescent. Certainly there are such moments in many movies, and sometimes they stand out from a gray pudding. But often strong moments ravish us because they’ve been prepared for by careful craft. So Kenny’s guided tour of Goodfellas shows its affinities with Keating’s holistic approach: Serrano and his crew reduce movies to anthologies of “cool” or shocking moments, as opposed to fictions whose circumscribed worlds aspire to create beauty or sorrow or horror or joy in some formally coherent whole. Mon semblable, mon frère. Dead end at the ocean’s edge La La Land (2016). On the other hand, I ought to be out of sympathy with Mick LaSalle’s Dream State: California in the Movies. It’s unabashedly reflectionist, tracing how films project contradictory images of the Golden State. The screen image of California promises pure self-fulfillment, but that leads to loneliness, danger, conformity, and loss of dignity. If Kenny and Keating see movies as made by an army of artisans, LaSalle treats them as springing full-blown from American mythology. There is barely a mention of a director, let alone a sound mixer, in his account. Instead, California-ism makes its way to the screen through a surge of a “collective mentality.” For instance, the blockbusters’ endless images of urban annihilation spring from “a people disseminating and celebrating visions of their own obliteration. . . . Something is seriously wrong with the nation producing such visions.” He suggests that “the fear of extraterrestrials is the disguised fear of illegal aliens. . . . the fear of the apocalypse is the disguised fear of terrorism.” Hollywood takes dictation from mass anxieties. I’ve explained elsewhere (here and here) why I find such claims unpersuasive. I think that reflectionism is every smart person’s mistaken idea about cinema. But sometimes, as with Susan Sontag’s essay “The Imagination of Disaster,” a reflectionist account of a film can activate some valuable ideas and information along the way, and it can host some entertaining writing. These benefits, I think, emerge throughout Dream State. In kaleidoscopic bursts, LaSalle provides suggestive takes on movies familiar and obscure, and the way they link to one another. For example, he tracks recurring plot patterns. There’s California’s version of the One Great Night, when individual transformation takes place in a few hours of turbid activity (Superbad, Modern Girls). American Graffiti is the prototype, and in just two pages LaSalle evokes the way audience knowledge races ahead of the characters, far into the future. (Curt winds up in Canada, which probably has to be explained to young viewers today.)He’s very good on the cost-of-stardom plot, from What Price Hollywood to La La Land, this last the only film that faces the fact “that every great advance requires sacrifice, and that even though there is nothing like the joy of first love , there is nothing more important than the fulfillment of one’s inner self.” LaSalle considers our willingness to take stars as surrogates for us, and here I was reminded of another critic who tried to pierce the Hollywood Hallucination, the great Parker Tyler. He had, I think, a more meta attitude toward the movies, since he avoided straight reflectionism by treating every film as a charade, a narcissistic exercise in make-believe. For Tyler, Hollywood movies were always primarily about Hollywood, filled with symbolic surrogates for their makers and their viewers. In this respect, LaSalle’s opening chapter is agreeably Tyleresque, positing The Wizard of Oz as a film enacting the flight to a dream city; the Emerald City as Hollywood. Like Tyler as well, LaSalle searches for what he calls a movie’s complex finish, as with a glass of wine. Wizard ends not on a note of ambiguity exactly, but on something like a chord that sets off contrary overtones. Tyler’s books were built on this chord. Another critical avenue that LaSalle opened up for me was iconographic: the differences between LA movies and San Francisco movies. He deftly contrasts the ambience and topography of the cities. Noir and disaster films are primarily anchored in LA, while San Franciso movies tend to be steeped in nostalgia (e.g., Jobs, Milk). He keeps finding new angles to comment on. Avoiding the obvious effort to discuss California’s boom during and after the war, he skips back to the months around Pearl Harbor to bring to light films, mostly exploitation quickies like Secret Agent of Japan and Little Tokyo, USA, that rushed to treat Japanese Americans as potential spies. Meanwhile, the unoffending citizens were shipped off to internment. On a lighter note, anybody who’s bold enough to praise Gidget as a more mature film than Easy Rider gets my admiration (and agreement). LaSalle, who came to California from the east, weaves in bits of memoir that highlight his main theme. And like Kenny, he writes with conversational wit. “Home is horrible. Oz is horrible, too. . . but at least it’s in color.” On Saturday Night Fever and Grease: “One seems tough, but it’s soft. (Of course, that’s the New York film.) One seems soft, but it’s hard. (Of course, that’s the Los Angeles film.)”In Hollywood “integrity is so original it might just work as a strategy.”In Out of the Past, “sex can kill you, but it’s worth it anyway.” In San Francisco (1936) “if only to get Jeanette MacDonald to stop singing, the Earth had to intervene.” Contrasting Monterey Pop to Woodstock‘s utopian fantasy, LaSalle nearly had me on the floor. This is a model? Hundreds of thousands of intoxicated people, unable to wash, all but sitting in their own slop, cheering for a series of aristocrats that swoop down to entertain them and then leave? Meanwhile, the army flies in food and the slave classes clean out the Port-O-Sans? That’s sustainable as a societal model? In addition to all this, through engaging appreciation, LaSalle has prompted me to seek out a great many films I hadn’t heard of. That’s another duty of the good critic. After seeing so much–pounding the beat every day–the movie reviewer can steer you to new discoveries. Cinephile into cineaste and back again He Said, She Said (1991). All of these critics have participated in filmmaking. Mick LaSalle has written and produced documentaries. Glenn Kenny has been an actor in several films (including Soderbergh’s Girlfriend Experience). Patrick Keating, who has an MFA in cinematography, has been a DP on independent projects. Reciprocally, director Ken Kwapis started out wanting to be a film critic–in third grade, no less. In college he devoured classic movies and gorged on film criticism. Kwapis went on to become a director of consequence, overseeing many features (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, He’s Just Not That into You) and TV episodes (The Garry Shandling Show, The Office). Yet he didn’t leave his cinephilia behind. But What I Really Want to Do Is Direct: Lessons from a Life behind the Camera has an intellectual heft rare in career memoirs and moviemaking manuals. It’s at once thoughtful and practical, suffused throughout by an ethic of modesty, tenacity, and what I can only call a desire to remain both a good artist and a decent person. It also contains some first-rate film criticism. Kwapis intercuts three sorts of chapters. There is the chronological account of the filmmaking process, with advice on taking meetings, establishing rapport on the set, giving actors “playable notes,” and coping with postproduction and marketing. Kwapis insists at every turn that you need to be both firm and flexible, open to every suggestion from the production team but still adhering to your conception of the project. But this is not auteurism on steroids. If you’re not a Spielberg or a Nolan, the director has to learn tact and strategy. Kwapis emphasizes not abstract technique but the interactive, interpersonal demands of filmmaking, He suggests ways of responding to producers’ notes or actors’ complaints that allow everyone to keep their dignity. Just stepping away from the Video Village, that cluster of people around the monitor, and positioning yourself by the lens is a way of proactively steering the scene. He even gives good advice about bad reviews. His creative process? “I want to stand behind the camera and make sure there’s something alive going on in front of it, something recognizably human.” A second batch of chapters shows this aesthetic/ethos in action through case studies from Kwapis’ career. Starting with Follow That Bird (1985), the Big Bird movie, and running up to A Walk in the Woods (2015), these chapters are about concrete problem-solving. How do you direct puppets? Or orangutans? Or Rip Torn? How do you support an actor who’s just not physically up to the role? There’s a fascinating account of staging options in The Office, where different situations force choices between developing the action in the “bull pen” or in the conference room. The 1990s were rife with narrative experiments, and He Said, She Said (1991) was one of them. Unfolding over two days, its first part uses flashbacks to present Dan’s memory of his romance with Lorie, while the second part shifts to her version, with replays and gap-filling scenes that show the biases of his account. Kwapis and his wife Marisa Silver (Permanent Record) decided to divide responsibilities, with him directing the man’s scenes and her directing the woman’s. They also built in stylistic differences. We pre-visualized each version to create as much contrast between Lorie’s and Dan’s personaities as possible. For example, I often show Dan’s literal point of view of Lorie, while Marisa uses camera movement and choreography to underscore how Lorie feels about herself (i.e., insecure). They created specific ground rules for shooting the scenes. Kwapis’ portion came first, so that Silver could see it and fine-tune the replay. Kwapis is admirably specific about how their strategy shaped performance and plot, with minor characters in one half becoming major in the second. In other words, a cinephiliac idea. (Kwapis prepared for his task by watching Rashomon, The Killing, and Citizen Kane.) The third type of chapter he offers is pure, sharp film criticism, always informed by the demands of craft. His account of American Graffiti is quite different from LaSalle’s, but no less appealing, emphasizing Curt’s visit to Wolfman Jack as an epiphany that needs no formal underlining (“no ham-fisted push-in”). Other chapters scrutinize 2001, Lawrence of Arabia, The Graduate, I Vitelloni, and other classics. Without being pretentious Kwapis manages to invoke the “objective correlative” (e.g., shoes in Jojo Rabbit) and reflexivity (no big deal). I especially appreciated his detailed analysis of staging in a scene often overlooked in The Magnificent Ambersons: George’s confrontation with a gossipy neighbor, handled in one deftly choreographed close framing. Kwapis designed the book to explore these three dimensions, but he isn’t puritanical about keeping them apart. Case studies and problem-solving pop up in the general advice sections, and the critical acumen shines through even brief examples of on-set tips (e.g., decisions about a score for Traveling Pants). It all flows together. The result ranks with Sidney Lumet’s Making Movies and Alexander MacKendrick’s On Film-Making, the most acute personal reflections on Hollywood directing. But like those, it’s more than a testament to the power of craft. It’s also a vision of how, as the first chapter says, to go “beyond success and failure in Hollywood.” You do it, Kwapis maintains, by knowing your plan, respecting your co-workers, inviting discovery through accidents, and staying humane. I like to think that studying films as a critic helped him get there. Not every director, after all, can quote Jean Renoir. “Only a hack cares about the goddam script” Donald Westlake (David Jennings for the New York Times). I promised you a murderer, and he arrives in Donald E. Westlake’s Double Feature, a pair of novellas originally published as Enough (1977). The second, Ordo, takes place in Hollywood, when a sailor learns that his first wife has become a movie star and decides to look her up. It’s remarkable in several ways, but the story that grabbed me was A Travesty. On the first page a film critic kills his girlfriend. True, it’s an accident, but even then he seems less distressed than he should be. He wipes down the crime scene and slips out. Of course he becomes a suspect. Once he seems to be cleared, the trusting cop lets him mosey along on later investigations. They discover that the critic has a knack for solving crimes, including an old-fashioned locked-room puzzle. He gets caught thanks to a plot twist that owes a good deal to Westlake’s early days writing happily overblown softcore porn. The plot lives up to its title, being a travesty of whodunits and man-on-the-run thrillers. Westlake invokes mystery conventions like the dying message and the final twist: “As with all Least Likely Suspects, I was in reality the Murderer.” But this guilty protagonist is writing a profound essay on Top Hat and interviewing an over-the-hill director who undermines his belief in the auteur idea that “it’s up to the director to color and shape the material and so on.” A: Yeah, that’s fine, but you got to have the material to start with. You got to have the story. You got to have the script. Q: Well. . . . I thought the director was the dominant influence in film. A: Well, shit, sure the director’s the dominant influence in film. But you still gotta have a script. Well, that wasn’t any help. What was I supposed to do, go ask three or four screenwriters for suggestions? A Travesty reveals that Westlake followed East Coast cinephile taste pretty closely. In the passage after this one, the killer regrets placing Brant so high in the Pantheon–a clear reference to Andrew Sarris’s writings. Better to ask a real director like Hawks or Ford or Hitchcock, or even Fuller. Hip movie references are de rigueur in most mysteries today. (Grudge-reading The Woman in the Window, I thought: Just kill me now.) But how many thrillers in 1977 invoked Marion Davies or Manny Farber’s Negative Space? Our anti-hero argues with a girlfriend about circumstantial evidence in The Wrong Man and Call Northside 777. And as you’d expect, the big clues that reveal the killer to her come from Gaslight. Westlake has long been one of my heroes; his Richard Stark novels get a chapter in that manuscript I mentioned at the outset. (Go here and here to gauge my dedication.) Like Elmore Leonard, he had a pragmatic approach to movie versions of his work. As far as I know, he complained only of Godard’s handling of The Jugger, which became Made in USA, not that anybody could tell. He wrote screenplays, notably The Stepfather (1987) and The Grifters (1990), and many of his stories have been adapted to the screen (Point Blank, The Outfit). Nearly all his work I know has a zesty playfulness, and A Travesty is no different. It suggests that, after shooting down movies and destroying reputations, film critics have earned a chance to kill for real. They just turn out to be fairly bad at it. My stack of reading has barely dwindled. I’ll try to file some more book reports as summer unfolds and the mosquitos discover our shady lawn. Thanks to Patrick Keating and Mick LaSalle for sending me copies of their books, though I would have bought them anyway. Thanks especially to Patrick Hogan for telling me of his friend Ken Kwapis’s book. Philip Pullman, a master of the sort of world-building Keating celebrates, argues against dwelling on the story spinoffs harbored by a richly realized milieu. He borrows the scientific idea of “phase space” to suggest that too great a concentration on the indefinitely large possibilities of a story world can freeze a narrative’s progress and distract the reader from the through-line. A story, he says, is a path through a forest and readers are best gripped by sticking to Red Riding Hood’s journey. (Compare Sondheim’s Into the Woods.) Interestingly, he compares this strategy to the cinematic idea of knowing the right spot for the camera, a spot that’s just as valuable for what it excludes as for what it shows. See Daemon Voices: On Stories and Storytelling (Vintage, 2017), 20-24, 122-123. For more on Parker Tyler, see the chapter in my The Rhapsodes: How 1940s Critics Changed American Film Culture. Avoiding straight reflectionism, Tyler saw the film world as its own sealed-off realm. If the movies reflect anything, it’s not what America thinks but what Hollywood thinks that America thinks. Or rather, what Hollywood imagines that America dreams. In this entry I write about some of the anti-Japanese films Mick LaSalle discusses. This entry analyzes the pseudo-documentary style of The Office. I write about 1990s as an era of narrative experimentation in The Way Hollywood Tells It: Story and Style in Modern Movies. No admirer of Westlake can ignore the addictive Westlake Review or, of course, the official webpage maintained by his son Paul. Westlake’s motto: “My subject is bewilderment. But I could be wrong.” American Graffiti (1973). DB here: The fears that electronic publishing would kill off the physical book have abated. Just as home video and theatrical moviegoing managed to coexist, readers seem to have divided their commitment between e-books, to be read on the go or tapped into for certain purposes (cooking, exercise, reference), and books they want to have and to hold. Publishers have noticed. They’ve realized that sumptuous books have their own appeal, and art books and de luxe editions continue to be printed. With the rise of digital publishing, one editor notes, “Hardback books have to be more beautiful., better produced, and a pleasure to handle. The market for books worth fondling is bigger and expanding.” This conviction is affirmed by a trend that I’m sure you’ve noticed. We’ve long had fancy picture books devoted to film; the first one I owned was The Movies, by Arthur Mayer and Richard Griffith, from 1957. The Big Movie Picture Book is a long-lived genre, devoted to personalities, periods, and the making of classics like The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind. But the trend I have in mind is different. It’s the de luxe book dedicated to a director, with documents capturing the creative process and texts written by serious critics. Call it the Massive Auteur Monograph. Massive because it’s high, wide, and handsome, as well as heavy. Some of these books are monstrously big, and all boast coated paper and production design suitable for a book on any of the fine arts. Auteur because it pursues the idea, now commonplace, that the director is the central creative figure in much filmmaking. Monograph because it’s not just an anthology but rather a through-composed argument about the significance of the auteur in question. Even when the book compiles texts by several hands, those texts form part of a coherent “database” sprawling across the big pages. In art publishing, books like this are a staple, often attached to particular exhibitions or museum collections. And we’ll see that there are some forerunners of these cinematic “art monographs.” But now I think we’re seeing the MAM come into its own. Just this year we’ve had three major additions to the stack: the Taschen boxed set devoted to Jacques Tati, Adam Nayman’s book on Paul Thomas Anderson (Abrams), and Tom Shone’s study of Christopher Nolan (Knopf). Each deserves in-depth discussion, but I can’t do justice to that here. This isn’t a review. Instead, these books set me thinking about how we got here, and what “here” looks like. I want to consider how film criticism seems to have been changed by this genre of publication. Each director gets a book, maybe several Start with auteurist criticism itself, as practiced in France and Anglophone countries. Let’s distinguish dossiers from critical appreciations. A dossier collects documents about the director, while a critical monograph offers an ongoing argument. A dossier can spark ideas and introduce you to new information; a critical book focuses on a line of inquiry and marshals evidence around that. A through-composed book is a multi-course meal, while a dossier is a buffet, and sometimes a meal made of appetizers. D. W. Griffith: American Film Master, a catalogue of an influential Museum of Modern Art exhibition of 1940, brought together a critical essay by Iris Barry, an interview with Billy Bitzer, and a filmography with commentary by Eileen Bowser. I can’t exaggerate the importance of such dossiers through the decades. Before the internet, these were precious sources of information for cinephiles and academics. Critical studies of directors, as distinct from biographies and PR flackery, go back fairly far. While biographies like Roy Fuller’s little 1946 book on Orson Welles sometimes included critical discussions, the earliest pure case that occurs to me is Parker Tyler’s Chaplin: Last of the Clowns (1948), a very idiosyncratic reading of Chaplin’s films. André Bazin’s brief, powerful study of Welles appeared in 1950. With Cahiers du cinéma and Positif celebrating the director as auteur, several publishers accepted the idea of a director-based book series. The first came from Editions Universitaires in Paris, and it was launched by Jean Mitry’s 1954 monograph on Ford. The books that followed were through-composed critical studies. Three other French publishers provided more mixed models. The Seghers “Cinéma d’Aujourd’hui” series of squat, square paperbacks in stiff cardboard covers was a vast accomplishment, starting with Georges Sadoul’s 1961 book on Méliès. In a Seghers book, a critic’s long essay was followed by extracts from the filmmaker’s writings, snippets of reviews and critical commentary, and a fairly detailed filmography and bibliography. Because a substantial essay anchored a Seghers installment, it had some of the focus of a through-written critique. “Premier Plan,” another series, came from Lyon, under the auspices of SERDOC (Société d’Études, de Rechereches, et de Documentation Cinématographique). Premier Plan books were usually flimsier than the Seghers ones. Some were simply filmographies with clip-quotes from reviews, but some, like the plump volume on Renoir, provided a substantial compilation of rare documents. Other entries featured long-form texts by experts like Barthélémy Amengual. Yet a third series came into existence about the same time. The small-format entries in Anthologie du cinéma were published by L’Avant-scène, a company issuing texts of plays on a bimonthly basis. In 1961 it began publishing film scripts and transcripts as well. The first mini-monograph, Luda and Jean Schnitzler’s 1965 study of Dovzhenko, led to a great many dossiers, some on quite obscure figures. All three series attracted some of the best critics and researchers. The old guard–Georges Sadoul, Jean Mitry, René Jeanne, Charles Ford–were balanced by the likes of Noël Burch, who wrote a provocative Seghers volume on Marcel L’Herbier, and Francis Lacassin, who contributed titles to both Seghers and Anthologie du cinéma. The 60s and early 70s were the boom years, when cinéphiles like me haunted the Gotham Book Mart, the Larry Edmunds Bookshop, and other specialty niches looking for that rare item on Anthony Mann or Vittorio Cottafavi. In England, a new generation of critics caught the auteur wave. Peter Cowie modeled his International Film Guide series on the Seghers format, launching it with his monograph Antonioni–Bergman–Resnais in 1963 and following it up with his book on Welles and Robin Wood’s trailblazing Hitchcock’s Films (both 1965). Published by the Tantivy Press and distributed by the distinguished art-book publisher Zwemmer, these were in-depth critical studies. Cowie’s series was pluralistic, focusing not only on directors but on genres and periods. Eventually the series would run to dozens of titles, along with the indispensable International Film Guide, an annual begun in 1963, and a journal, Focus on Film (1970-1977). A parallel enterprise was launched by the critics around the important British auteur journal Movie (1962-). Its bold pictorial design, the creation of Ian Cameron, carried over to “Movie Paperbacks,” which launched in 1966. The books published major monographs by Robin Wood, Charles Barr, Raymond Durgnat, Michael Walker, and Cameron and his wife Elisabeth. Many were single-authored, but there were as well important anthologies on Godard and others. Cinema One, published by Secker and Warburg, was linked to the British Film Institute’s magazine Sight and Sound. Beginning in 1967 with Richard Roud’s book on Godard, that series followed the model of the Movie paperbacks in integrating stills and texts. Cinema One books were either through-composed monographs, like Geoffrey Nowell-Smith’s entry on Visconti (1967), or interview books like the vastly influential Sirk on Sirk (1972). Probably the highest-impact entry of the Cinema World series wasn’t a director study. Peter Wollen’s Signs and Meaning in the Cinema (1969) introduced a generation to semiology. Such was the sway of auteurism, though, that in one chapter Wollen tried to revamp that critical approach with a structuralist analysis comparing binary themes in John Ford and Howard Hawks. The 1960s saw an outpouring of auteur studies, along with many other books on film subjects. Because of the much bigger US market, the English series found copublishers and distributors stateside: Tantivy worked with A. S. Barnes, Movie with the University of California Press, and Cinema One with various commercial houses. Needless to say, the possibility of buying these books in local bookstores added joy to my college years. I remember getting Wood’s book on Hawks in Albany in 1968 and reading it immediately. Having already read his book on Hitchcock, I thought, Now we’re getting somewhere. The illustrations in these books tended to be production stills, photos taken on the set during filming. Frame enlargements from the finished film were difficult to obtain, and their quality was questionable. But one American publisher incorporated actual shots from the movie. Under the mysterious imprint “a visual analysis by Halcyon,” Harcourt Brace Jovanovich produced Alexander Walker’s Stanley Kubrick Directs (1971) and John Simon’s Ingmar Bergman Directs (1972) with specific frames enhancing the critics’ interpretations. The quality of the images wasn’t always good (sometimes subtitles were left in), and one can imagine editors pointing to the results as proof that production stills were preferable. These Halcyon books seem to have had little impact on other publishers, but both showed that heavily illustrated in-depth commentary on an auteur’s work was feasible for a book-length study. Simon’s close reading of Persona remains a remarkable accomplishment, as fine-grained a piece of interpretation as we can find anywhere at the time. M. Hulot, boxed Mon Oncle (1958). None of these books boasted big production values. The only de luxe auteur book of this period I can recall, and probably the prototoype of our Massive projects, was Donald Richie’s gorgeous The Films of Akira Kurosawa (1965). Published by the University of California Press but printed in Japan, it boasted excellent paper stock and authoritative critical interpretation, with Richie drawing on his unique access to personal conversations with Kurosawa. He displayed far more attention to style than most critics of his day, devoting sections of every chapter to cutting and camerawork. Arguably, the handsome interview book Truffaut/Hitchcock (1966) also paved the way for the large-scale auteur study. A little later, in a more obsessive vein, there was Robert Benayoun’s handsome oversize tribute to le fou Jerry, Bonjour, M. Lewis! (1972). From the 1970s on, more lavish auteur volumes began to appear. Since they were expensive to produce, they were often the result of institutional support, and they tended toward the dossier format. As the festival circuit expanded, those events hosted retrospectives of periods, genres, national cinemas, and, inevitably, auteurs. So it wasn’t surprising that Venice produced a high-gloss 1980 volume on Mizoguchi, with critical essays, interviews, and a detailed filmography surveying the master’s works, including lost films. For decades thereafter festivals created collectible catalogues based on their screenings. Followers of Hong Kong film, for instance, are forever in the debt of that festival for its in-depth publications on major figures like King Hu. Similarly, just as museums published volumes commemorating major exhibitions, film archives began to finance catalogues derived from their programs. The books might be fairly modest, but some have been coffee-table quality. Usually these have been dossiers, but an important exception is Hervé Dumont’s monumental study Frank Borzage: Sarastro à Hollywood (La Cinémathèque francaise, 1993). The most stupendous dossier-catalogue I know comes from the Filmoteca Espagnola and bears the curious title, Los proverios chinos de F. W. Murnau. Edited by Luciano Berriatúa, this two-volume boxed set (weight: ten pounds) is a feast for the Murnau admirer. Its glossy pages teem with original sketches and plans, frame enlargements, and ancillary information about the films and the director’s life. Its key image, in two color schemes, is also refreshingly unpretentious. The French, as in other domains, have led the way with the deluxe auteur package. Patrick Brion, for instance, has written several large-scale studies. on animation and on directors like Joseph Mankiewicz (who’s much more deserving of a biopic than his brother, in my view). Cahiers‘ “au travail” albums, some translated into English, survey each director’s creative process by drawing on unpublished working documents. From the 70s on, art-book publishers saw that there was a new audience among film fans and began to think of offering movie titles. There were quickie books, aimed for remainder markets and built out of publicity stills, but the prime player early on was Taschen, the firm long identified with distinctive books on the visual arts. Taschen, committed to producing books at all price ranges, released some inexpensive image-based movie titles, while also mounting unique limited editions of photography and painting. What else do you expect from a firm that offered as a bonus a stand to support a $25,000 book? (A baby version goes for just $1500.) Taschen’s auteur campaign was part of its “Archives” series. Memorabilia and in-depth background from Star Wars, Disney cartoons, and the Bond films. were packed into huge horizontal-format volumes. In the same uniform design and binding came entries devoted to Almodóvar, Bergman, and Kubrick. It’s hard to know how to handle them for casual reading, but I suggest you supply your own table. The Kubrick volume was republished as a thick but more manageable volume; the paving stone became a brick. But maybe the Archive releases aren’t really designed for normal reading. Like a gallery installation, they are easier to browse than to scrutinize. These books contain valuable primary documents, but a researcher into the subject would still yearn to see all those items that were kept back. One page of a script is interesting, but the scholar wants to see the whole thing. The Taschen volumes, impressive as they are, are high-grade fan compilations. They are stuffed yet tantalizing dossiers doing duty for an entire career: not so much an archive as an exhibition. This year Taschen released an item that breaks with the design of the Archives line. The Definitive Jacques Tati, edited by Alison Castle, is is a five-volume boxed set. This homage to one of our most sprightly directors weighs nearly eighteen pounds, but the vaguely Bauhausian font and school-lunchbox packaging aim to lighten the tone. Volume 1, Tati Shoots, consists of production stills of scenes, each one given a separate page, as if it were a painting. Tati Writes offers scripts, reproduced complete (Jour de fête) or in extract pages, with English translations of the entire texts. Two unmade films, The Illusionist and Confusion, are included. Tati claimed to have shot a film without looking at the script: “I know the film by heart.” The earliest screenplays in the volume are fairly minimal, but when we get to PlayTime, one of the most strenuously dense films of all time, the description of a single shot’s action can run to hundreds of words. The Royal Garden sequence, an hour-long tour de force, was planned in daunting detail, notating gestures, eye movements, and even the virtuoso matches on action. The screenplay of this sequence is often packed with many more gags and bits of business than are onscreen in the versions we have. For instance, one of my favorite gags takes place when the air conditioning is switched on and we see the skin on a woman’s back ripple. Soon the fan is adjusted and her flesh settles down. Apart from its sheer audacity (who thinks of a gag like this?), it comments on the flabby patronage of the restaurant. It also recalls the puffy plastic chairs that earlier bewilder Hulot by erasing his presence. The AC gag is more elaborate in the screenplay; a technician fiddles with the controls, making the undulations vary until the adjustment is right. I don’t find an account of the provenance of the published PlayTime text , but if this is something like a late shooting script, Tati made enormous alterations, usually simplifications, during filming. Volume 3, Tati Works consists of a biographical chronology and illustrated with family photos, followed by segments devoted to phases of his career, also heavily illustrated. It’s here that we get behind-the-scenes images of Tati at work. There are appreciative essays on the films, filling in background on the production and reception of the films while pointing up some of Tati’s artistic strategies. The writers acquaint readers with the core ideas of Tati criticism: comedy of observation, comments on modern life, deep and decentered composition, ricochet gags, anomalous sound effects. Most of these essays are by Jonathan Rosenbaum, who worked with Tati, while Jacques Kermabon and Alexandrine Dhainaut contribute background on the early films and the unfilmed projects respectively. Quotations from collaborators round out the volume. Tati Explores consists of essays on recurring images (vehicles, architecture) and auditory strategies, by a range of French critics. These and the earlier essays are fairly brief and synoptic, in keeping with the general policy of favoring pictures over texts. Still, in volume 4 in particular, documents drawn from the archives often illuminate Tati’s creative process. We can see how the Mon Oncle gag with the spiny foliage was obsessively elaborated in advance. All this personal material made me think that perhaps we should go beyond treating Tati as an isolated artist, as if the local or global film industry had no impact on him, or him on it. His international standing as both filmmaker and performer was made possible partly by his brilliance as a mime, partly by his charmingly eccentric persona, and partly by subjects and themes that were widely intelligible. It seems to me that his easily grasped satiric targets (old versus new, country versus city, people trapped in routine, overweening technology) enabled him to make formally and stylistically complex movies. He smuggled innovative narrative and style in on the back of clichéd material. In other words: We can always ask new questions. The final volume, Tati Speaks, includes more on-set images, along with quotations from interviews. Again, pictures dominate, but there are some longish interviews at the end that allow Tati and his questioners to develop real conversations. In all, The Definitive Jacques Tati is a kind of ultimate dossier collection, an act of homage that also aims to be a precious object in its own right. You can, up to a point, fondle these bulky volumes. For more hands-on engagement, you can upgrade to a numbered limited edition that includes a miniature set you can assemble yourself. Price $895 until 31 January 2021, thereafter $1000. Immersed in Wesworld The whimsicality of the Tati box’s design, so different from the solemn slabs of Taschen’s Archive series, is in keeping with a new direction in the Massive Auteur Monograph. That tendency emerges most vigorously at another publisher, Abrams. Abrams had already embraced film animation as an art form, producing Helen McCarthy’s beautiful volume on Osamu Tezuka. The new auteur bent is especially evident with Matt Zoller Seitz’s The Wes Anderson Collection (2013). It looks like a dossier, but actually I’d argue it’s an unusual critical monograph. Organized chronologically, film by film, it’s called by Seitz “a book-length conversation interspersed with critical essays, photos, and artwork.” As with the Taschen Archives, Seitz’s access to the filmmaker allows him to include working notes and sketches, storyboards and tests. Ins tead of a linear argument, Seitz offers a collage on interwoven themes in and around Anderson’s work, particularly his appetite for both high and low culture. Seitz’s free-range imagination comes up with influences and sources not obvious to an outsider. Who else picked up on Anderson’s debt to Peanuts and Star Wars? And Seitz can discuss these possibilities with the director. The sense of a running dialogue spills over every page, where the captions continue to make connections and send you flipping to other pages. These are a fan’s notes on a Borgesian scale, the print equivalent of hyperlinks. The biggest breakthrough comes, I think, with a design decision. Instead of through-composing a critical argument, weaving interview quotes and claims about influences into seamless prose, Seitz decided to soak the whole package in Anderson-ness. The slightly tense nerdery, the OCD fixation on lists and details, the deadpan naïveté of the films–all are replicated in the very texture of the book. Anderson’s vision, which creates childhood worlds filled with adult anxieties, is rendered in a sort of tween book for grownups. Each section is given an absurdly precise annotation (“”The 1,113-Word essay,” “The 7,065-Word Interview”). Each Anderson film invites us into a densely furnished milieu, and the book eagerly assists his near-maniacal worldbuilding. Bonus material includes logos and indicia from the fictional companies, organizations, and texts. Reproducing the yearbook montage from Rushmore, Seitz supplies “activity cards” drawn from shots from the film. A pastiche ad for The Dollar Book Club (in Garden City, of course) offers for a mere $1 the library books Suzy has swiped in Moonrise Kingdom. Seitz’s artwork includes color drawings by Max Dalton that reinterpret the inhabitants of Wesworld as wispy cutouts, arms hanging down, as if in a police lineup or a paper-doll sheet. Often with their eyes lowered, they have the awkwardness of exceptionally intelligent people who haven’t yet figured out “self-presentation” and “impression management.” Under Dalton’s hand, a landscape becomes an urbane New Yorker rendering of Grandma Moses. The real tipoff, I think, comes with the end papers, which consist of a vast grid of characters as imagined by Dalton. This is a book Anderson characters would like to own: geek chic. Unsympathetic critics who find the films over-cute (I’m trying to avoid the label “twee”) will find this a double dose of it. I, who like the films, find it a fascinating
2205	dbpedia	0	50	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3592583/	en	And the Winner Is: Inviting Hollywood into the Neuroscience Classroom	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih…rd-share.jpg?_=0	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih…rd-share.jpg?_=0	[ "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/coreutils/uswds/img/favicons/favicon-57.png", "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/coreutils/uswds/img/icon-dot-gov.svg", "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/coreutils/uswds/img/icon-https.svg", "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/coreutils/nwds/img/logos/AgencyLogo.svg", "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/corehtml/pmc/pmcgifs/logo-june.gif" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Eric P. Wiertelak" ]	null	Both short excerpts from, and full-length presentation of feature films have been used with success in undergraduate instruction. Studies of such use of films has revealed that incorporation of film viewing within courses can promote both content mastery ...	en	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/coreutils/nwds/img/favicons/favicon.ico	PubMed Central (PMC)	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3592583/	J Undergrad Neurosci Educ. 2002 Fall; 1(1): A4–A17. PMCID: PMC3592583 PMID: 23493171 And the Winner Is: Inviting Hollywood into the Neuroscience Classroom Department of Psychology, Macalester College, Saint Paul, MN 55105 Address correspondence to: Eric P. Wiertelak, Department of Psychology, Macalester College, 1600 Grand Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55105. E-mail: ude.retselacam@kaletreiw Copyright © 2002 Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience Abstract Both short excerpts from, and full-length presentation of feature films have been used with success in undergraduate instruction. Studies of such use of films has revealed that incorporation of film viewing within courses can promote both content mastery and the development of critical thinking skills. This article discusses and provides examples of successful use of two methods that may be used to incorporate a variety of full-length feature films into neuroscience instruction. One, the “neuro-cinema” pairs the presentation of a film featuring extensive neuroscience content with primary literature reading assignments, group discussion and writing exercises. The second, a neuroscience film series, features group discussion of movies of perhaps more limited relevance to neuroscience. An additional goal of this article is provide the reader with initial resources for the selection of potential film titles for use in neuroscience education. Three extensive tables are included to provide a wide range of title suggestions appropriate for use in activities such as the neuro-cinema, the neuroscience film series, or for more limited use as short “clips” in classroom instruction. Keywords: teaching methods, neuroscience education, Motion Pictures, films, movies It is no secret that instructors across disciplines have long made use of feature films and short “clips” from movies in conjunction with classroom instruction. Examples of such use in instruction include the use of film to provide conceptual illustrations (Fleming et al., 1990; Boyatzis 1994; Conner 1996; Kelly, 1998); allow examination of social relationships and interpersonal communication (for example, Paddock et al., 2001); to permit the observation of specific methodological techniques (Toman and Rak, 2000; see also Wedding and Boyd, 1999) and to introduce students to content that may be beyond their personal experience, such as psychological trauma (for example, Alexander and Waxman, 2000). In studies of such course related uses, movies have been shown to augment the understanding of course material (Kinney, 1975; Fleming et al., 1990; Boyatzis 1994; Conner 1996; Paddock et al., 2001), improve critical thinking skills (Fleming et al., 1990; Conner 1996; Paddock et al., 2001), broaden student awareness of important social issues (Hyler, 1996; Alexander and Waxman, 2000; Davis, 2000), and aid in the application of concepts from their coursework to real life situations (Fleming et al., 1990; Hyler and Moore, 1996; Davis, 2000; Toman and Rak, 2000). The purposes to which movies have been put across disciplines may also be of benefit in the study of neuroscience. While not a substitute for classroom instruction and readings, movies can serve to promote the understanding and retention of specific content areas under discussion within a course. A critical examination of films depicting (for example) neuroscience methodology in use, pharmacological effects on behavior, or the impact of illness or injury on the nervous system can provide students with valuable opportunities for the evaluation of their own educational progress. Further, movies featuring neuroscience content may effectively expose students to unfamiliar, but important subject matter, or provide needed context-- stimulating interest in and enthusiasm not only for specific topics, but for the interdisciplinary field of neuroscience. Indeed, the use of movies in undergraduate neuroscience education may also help students to recognize the many intellectual and vocational possibilities that such study has opened for them (for a discussion of the use of neuroscience-related feature films in middle school/secondary education, see Stewart and Chudler, 2002). This article discusses some ways in which to incorporate movies into the undergraduate neuroscience curriculum. It provides extensive title suggestions, along with examples of the sorts of assignments and film choices that have been effective in recent years in my own course offerings. The movie titles included here are intended to provide suggestions for use across a wide range of topics, genres and Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) ratings, from the earliest days of film making to today. It is by no means exhaustive-- or intended to exclude the reader’s personal favorites. ASSIGNMENT/EXERCISE 1: NEURO-CINEMA This assignment includes the viewing of an entire film by the class as a group, within a single multi-hour laboratory period. The design allows the class to become involved in the story and remain so for an immediate post-viewing discussion. (This sort of exercise is not unique to neuroscience instruction; for example Fleming et al. (1990) describe a somewhat similar exercise used each week in a film-based psychology course.) Ideally, films chosen by the instructor for use in this exercise should meet two criteria: 1) Feature a neuroscience concept, used as a central plot mechanism; and 2) Employ a neuroscience concept associated with a strong primary literature base. Considering the rate at which feature films are currently produced worldwide, along with the incredible number already in existence, the limited number and type of movies that meet the above criteria for use is surprisingly large. contains a selection of movie titles that meet the criteria suggested above. One week prior to the laboratory session in which the film will be shown, two to three readings related to the film chosen are assigned to the students. Typically, the readings chosen are a combination of one or more empirical research papers and a single review article. Students are assigned to prepare a one- to two-page summary for each of the readings, which are collected prior to the film presentation. The film presentation is followed by a group discussion of the movie in relationship to the assigned readings and relevant course content; a one- to two-page “reaction” paper is due at a subsequent next class meeting. Table 1 TitleYearReleased ByRunning TimeDirected ByFeaturingSpecific ContentGenre/RatingA Beautiful Mind2001Universal Studios and Dreamworks LLC2 hrs., 16 mins.Ron HowardRussell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer ConnellySchizophrenia, attentionDrama PG-13A.I.: Artificial Intelligence2001Dreamworks LLC and Warner Brothers2 hrs., 25 mins.Steven SpielbergHaley Joel Osment, Jude LawArtificial intelligence, ethicsDrama/Action PG-13Afraid of Dark1991New Line Productions1 hr., 31 mins.Mark PeploeJames FoxVision, perception, neurodegenerative diseaseDrama/Thriller R ViolenceAs Good As It Gets1997Tristar Pictures2 hrs., 19 mins.James L. BrooksJack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding, Jr.Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, phobiasDrama PG-13At First Sight1996Metro Goldwyn Mayer2 hrs., 8 mins.Irwin WinklerVal Kilmer, Mira SorvinoVisual perception, surgery, methodsDrama PG-13Awakenings1990Columbia Pictures2 hrs., 1 min.Penny MarshallRobert DeNiro, Robin Williams, Julie KavnerEncephalitis, Parkinsonism, L-Dopa, dyskinesia, treatment of the mentally ill, ethicsDrama PG-13Blind Date (AKA Deadly Seduction)1984New Line Cinema1 hr., 35 mins.Nico MastorakisJoseph Bottoms, Kirstie AlleyVision, nervous system/technology interfaceSuspense/Horror R Violence Gore Sexual ContentClean Slate1994Metro Goldwyn Mayer1 hr., 47 mins.Mick JacksonDana Carvey, James Earl Jones, Valeria Golino, Vyto RuginisKorsakoff’s Syndrome, memory, brain injuryComedy PG-13Dark Victory1939First National Pictures Inc./Warner Brothers1 hr., 44 mins.Edmund GouldingBette Davis, George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, Ronald ReaganBrain Tumor, terminal illness, visionDrama NRDarkman1990Universal Studios1 hr., 36 mins.Sam RaimiLiam Neeson, Frances McDormandBrain/spinal surgery, pain, methodsAction/Horror R Violence, Gore, LanguageDeep Blue Sea1999Warner Brothers1 hr., 45 mins.Renny HarlinSamuel L. Jackson, LL Cool J, Saffrom Burrows, Michael RapaportMethods, Alzheimer’s Disease, genetic manipulation, neuropharmacologySuspense/Thriller R Violence, Gore, LanguageFight Club1999Twentieth Century Fox2 hrs., 19 mins.David FincherBrad Pitt, Edward Norton Meat LoafDissociation, pain, delusional thoughtDrama/Action R Violence, Language, Sexual ContentI Come in Peace1990Anchor Bay Entertainment1 hr., 31 mins.Craig R. BaxleyDolph Lundgren, Brian BenbenAbuse potential of Endogenous opioids, psychopharmacologyAction/Thriller R Violence, Gore, LanguageJacob’s Ladder (AKA Dante’s Inferno)1990Carolco Pictures1 hr., 55 mins.Adrian LyneTim Robbins, Danny Aiello, Ving Rhames, Jason AlexanderDeath and the nervous system, environment and learning, psychopharmacologySuspense/Horror R Violence, Language, Sexual ContentLorenzo’s Oil1992Universal Studios2 hrs., 9 mins.George MillerNick Nolte, Susan SarandonNervous system disease, adrenoleukodystrophy, science and society, ethicsDrama PG-13Man’s Best Friend1994New Line Productions1 hr., 27 mins.John LafiaAlly SheedyGenetically-enhanced nervous system, neuropharmacology, ethicsThriller/Horror R Violence, Gore, LanguageThe Matrix1999Warner Brothers2 hrs., 16 mins.Larry and Andy WachowskiKeanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburnevirtual reality, nervous system/technology interface, sensation and perceptionAction/Thriller R Violence, LanguageMetropolis1926Universum Film A.G., Paramount Pictures1 hr., 55 mins. (DVD Release)Fritz LangBrigitte Helmscience and society, artificial intelligence, robotics, cybernetics, memoryDrama SILENT NROne Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest1975The Saul Zaentz Co.2 hrs., 14 mins.Milos FormanJack NicholsonPsychopathology, electroconvulsive treatment of mental illness, ethicsDrama R Violence Sexual Content LanguageQuills2000Twentieth Century Fox2 hrs., 4 mins.Philip KaufmanGeoffrey Rush, Kate Winslet, Michael Caine, Joaquin PhoenixTreatment of mental illness-historic (18th century); defining insanity, sadismDrama R Strong sexual content; violenceRegarding Henry1991Paramount Pictures1 hr., 48 mins.Mike NicholsHarrison Ford, Annette BeningBrain Injury, Recovery of FunctionDrama PG-13The Secret of NIMH1982Metro Goldwyn Mayer and United Artists1 hr., 22 mins.Don BluthVarious VoicesScience and society, animal rights, neuroscience methodsDrama ANIMATE D GThe Serpent and the Rainbow1988Universal Pictures1 hr., 38 mins.Wes CravenBill Pullman, Paul Winfieldneuropharmacology, cultural beliefs, learningHorror R Sexual ContentStar Trek VII: Generations1994Paramount Pictures1 hr., 58 mins.David CarsonWilliam Shatner, Patrick StewartArtificial Intelligence, EmotionDrama/Action PGThe Terminal Man1974Warner Brothers1 hr., 47 mins.Mike HodgesGeorge SegalBrain surgery, implantation, neural stimulation, seizuresDrama/Thriller PGThe Wild Child (L’Enfant Sauvage)1969Les Films du Carrosse and United Artists1 hr., 26 mins.François TruffautFrançois Truffaut, Jean-Pierre CargolNature versus nurture debate, language, learning, concept of self/soulDrama French; dubbed english (DVD) G Example 1. Lorenzo’s Oil (1992) Consider the dramatic motion picture that is marketed as a serious treatment of neuroscience subject matter. Depending on the particular course and area of neuroscience, a number of possibilities might exist and coordinate well with the instructor’s interests (see ). One such choice that this author has used with success is the 1992 movie, Lorenzo’s Oil (Miller and Mitchell, 1992). Lorenzo’s Oil provides a wealth of material that illustrates the roles of science and medicine in society. Further, Lorenzo’s Oil demonstrates the value of a liberal arts education; showing how an understanding of the nervous system, in combination with other well-developed academic skills and life experiences, may collectively enable the motivated individual to pursue even those goals that to others around them seem unattainable. The reader may recall that Lorenzo’s Oil is ostensibly the story of how two parents, Augusto and Michaela Odone, worked to provide a therapeutic intervention for their son Lorenzo, stricken with the rare disease adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD). Indeed, the efforts of the Odones and the foundation they established, the Myelin Project, have stimulated substantial research activity on ALD and related disease processes where there once was very little (the instructor considering the use of the film Lorenzo’s Oil in a course may be interested in visiting the foundations’ promotional/informational website; it can be found at http://www.myelin.org). A literature search using the film title as the key word reveals a substantial collection of empirical reports, clinical case studies, journal editorials and research reviews, many suitable for use as reading assignments focusing on various aspects of the film’s content and ALD (for example, see Rizzo, 1993; Aubourg et al., 1993; Hudson, 2000). Completion of the reading assignment and viewing of the film reveals a complex story. To frame the post-viewing discussion, I ask the class to consider a number of issues, such as: This film begins with a plea from the film’s stars, Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon, to support the Odones’ work and the Myelin Project. What was your reaction to this segment, experienced by the student, both in the moment and after the film’s completion? Several scenes in the movie are devoted to instruction (of characters depicted in the film) on the topic of long-chain fatty acids. To what extent did you find this content of educational value? Did you view this portion of the film as potentially educational? The movie end credits feature testimonials from seeming dozens of boys positively affected by the Odones’ work. Having read the literature, what is your reaction to these testimonials? Consider the depictions of clinical researchers and basic scientists in the film, and their interactions with the Odones (as well as the other parents, patients, and Lorenzo). Are these two groups treated similarly in the film? Example 2. Clean Slate (1994) Films have also employed neuroscience content as central plot mechanisms for comedic, rather than dramatic effect (See ). One example of the appropriation of such content to amuse is the use of Korsakoff’s Disease in the movie Clean Slate (Zanuck et. al., 1994). Korsakoff’s Syndrome is a familiar topic in both neuroscience and neuropsychology textbooks used in undergraduate neuroscience instruction, and the available literature from which readings may be selected is robust. As in the previous example, summary papers for each of the readings are collected from each student prior to the film presentation. The film presentation is followed by group discussion, with a one- to two-page reaction paper due at the next class meeting. Clean Slate is the story of Pogue, a private detective who, in the midst of a “case” receives a brain injury. As a result, he is unable to form new long-term memories, and amnesic for the events in the years just prior to the accident-- a constellation of effects the movie identifies as Korsakoff’s Syndrome. As luck would have it, the plot requires that Pogue continue his investigation, allowing each scene to mine the comedic potential of memory loss. An additional comedic “element” relevant to neuroscience can be found in Pogue’s dog, which is blind in one eye and perceptually challenged at every turn. As in the previous example, following the conclusion of the film, several issues are raised in the form of questions, both to stimulate and frame discussion. Potential questions here might include: How does this movie’s depiction of memory loss compare to known forms of memory impairment? How does the depiction of Korsakoff’s Syndrome compare to what you know? Describe your expectations for a movie scene dealing with Korsakoff’s Syndrome. Is the use of Korsakoff’s syndrome justifiable as a plot mechanism? What are examples of justifiable use? What effects might this use have on the viewing public? On science? Given your knowledge of the disease, how enjoyable was the film? Would your emotional response be different if the film made dramatic, rather than comedic use of Korsakoff’s syndrome? What effect did the depiction of Pogue’s dog have? The neuro-cinema exercise can be a dynamic part of a neuroscience class, but requires significant allotments of time; not only in viewing the movie, but for students in completing the preparatory readings and the two writing assignments; and for the instructor in preparation of readings and discussion questions. However, while the persistent and intrepid instructor may develop reading assignments to accompany many more movies beyond those featured in , not all movies that contain desirable neuroscience plot elements focus on well-defined topics that allow the instructor to easily assign readings drawn from a single primary literature. Moreover, at some institutions laboratory periods may not be of sufficient duration to allow for completion of the film presentation and group discussion. Indeed, while the restrictions for film suitability and requirements placed on students and instructor promote the educational value of the neuro-cinema, in many courses time constraints and competing educational goals may limit an extensive use of laboratory sessions for such experiences. One alternative to the neuro-cinema exercise is a less restrictive neuroscience film “festival” or series, conducted outside regular class or laboratory hours, for which participation may be limited to those enrolled in a specific course or opened to a larger student audience. ASSIGNMENT/EXERCISE 2: A NEUROSCIENCE FILM SERIES An evening or weekend film series can also augment content and provide important context for the study of neuroscience, without the use of laboratory periods or class time. However, mounting a film series to accompany a course does require real effort on the part of the sponsoring faculty, not only to select appropriate titles and participate in the viewing and post-presentation discussion, but also to stimulate and maintain student interest in the events. One potential approach to stimulate student involvement is to reduce the obstacles to participation in the film presentation and post-viewing discussion by the elimination of the students’ preparatory readings and initial writing assignment employed in the neuro-cinema exercise. Here, instead of readings, a few minutes of introductory remarks by the instructor prior to the movie presentation set the stage for the presentation and foreshadow the post-viewing discussion. In my use of the film series exercise, I do require that students complete a short reaction paper reflecting on the film and group discussion, to be handed in at a subsequent class meeting. While an individual instructor may or may not choose to include a written assignment component, a film series otherwise structured in this way allows a greater range of films to be suitable for such use, in comparison to the neuro-cinema exercise. includes feature films that make use of neuroscience content, without the explicit satisfaction of the criteria described above for the neuro-cinema exercise. Films in this category can provide valuable lessons in neuroscience, but may not derive their central themes from such content, or focus on a single subject matter. Given the emphasis of the neuroscience film series exercise on the post-presentation discussion, some of the best films for use in this assignment may well be those that provide neuroscience content of a more implicit than explicit nature. Indeed, some instructors are even able to effectively employ the discussion of films of irrelevant content by “forcing” the generation of analogies to the course content (see Dengler, 1974 for a discussion of this possibility). Examining films with less explicit neuroscience content may promote a more critical analysis from discussion participants. Further, such films provide the instructor with additional opportunities for teaching moments within the post-presentation discussion, helping students to grasp important concepts of neuroscience; develop an appreciation for the connections between the various sub-areas of neuroscience; and to link principles to application. In choosing from feature film titles that satisfy the criteria imposed on the suggested titles in either or , a neuroscience film series attached to a course can promote a variety of goals for neuroscience instruction, not the least of which may be to convey the excitement and scope of the interdisciplinary field of neuroscience. Table 2 TitleYearReleased ByRunning TimeDirected ByFeaturingSpecific ContentGenre/Rating12 Monkeys1995Universal Studios2 hrs., 10 mins.Terry GilliamBruce Willis, Brad Pitt, Madeleine StoweDelusional thought, treatment of mental illnessSuspense/Drama R Violence, Language, Gore2001: A Space Odyssey1968Metro Goldwyn Mayer2 hrs., 28 mins.Stanley KubrickKeir Dullea, Gary LockwoodArtificial intelligence, the human ecological niche, concept of self/soulDrama GThe 6th Day2000Columbia Pictures2 hrs., 4 mins.Roger SpottiswoodeArnold SchwarzeneggerMemory, cloning, ethicsAction/Suspense PG-13A Bird in the Head1946Columbia Pictures16 mins.Edward BerndsMoe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly HowardBrain transplantation across species, brain anatomyComedy NRA Clockwork Orange1971Warner Brothers2 hrs., 17 mins.Stanley KubrickMalcolm McDowellLearning, aversion therapy, perception, ethicsDrama R Violence, Sexual Content, LanguageAbbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein1948Universal Pictures Co. Inc.1 hr., 23 mins.Charles T. BartonBud Abbott, Lou Costello, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney, Jr.Brain transplantation, ethicsComedy NRBenny and Joon1993Metro Goldwyn Mayer1 hr., 38 mins.Jeremiah ChechikJohnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson, Aidan QuinnMental illness, pyromaniaComedy PGBlack Friday (AKA Friday the Thirteenth)1940Universal Pictures Co. Inc.1 hr., 10 mins.Arthur LubinBoris Karloff, Bela LugosiBrain Surgery, neural tissue transplantation, motivation, personalityHorror NRThe Black Sleep (AKA Dr. Cadman’s Secret)1956United Artists1 hr., 22 mins.Reginald LeBorgBasil Rathbone, Lon Chaney, Jr., Bela LugosiBrain tumor, brain surgery, pharmacologyHorror NRBlade Runner: The Director’s Cut1982The Blade Runner Partnership1 hr., 57 mins.Ridley ScottHarrison Ford, Sean YoungArtificial intelligence, ethicsSuspense/Action R Violence, Language, GoreBrain Damage1988Palisades Partners1 hr., 26 mins. (uncut version)Frank HenenlotterRick Hearst, Gordon MacDonaldDisembodied brain, addiction, neuropharmacologyHorror/Comedy Unrated; Violence, Gore, LanguageThe Brain From Planet Arous1957Howco International Pictures1 hr., 10 mins.Nathan JuranJohn Agar, Joyce MeadowsGiant disembodied brain (alien), invasion of nervous systemHorror NRBrain of Blood (AKA Brain Damage; The Brain)1972Independent International Pictures1 hr., 27 mins.Al AdamsonKent Taylor, John BloomBrain transplantationHorror PGBrain Waves (AKA Mind Games)1982CinAmerica1 hr., 17 mins.Ulli LommelKeir Dullea, Vera Miles, Tony CurtisNeurostimulation, memory, memory transfer, comaSuspense/Thriller PGBrainscan1994Coral Productions1 hr., 36 mins.John FlynnEdward Furlong, Frank LangellaMemory, hypnosis, virtual realityHorror/Thriller R Violence, LanguageBrainstorm1983Metro Goldwyn Mayer1 hr., 46 mins.Douglas TrumbullChristopher Walken, Natalie WoodMemory, memory transfer, nervous system/technology interface, perception, imaging, ethicsSuspense/Thriller PGCharly1968Selmur Productions and CineramaI hr., 43 mins.Ralph NelsonCliff Robertson. Claire BloomMental retardation, experimental brain surgery, science and societyDrama PGComing Home1978Jayne Productions, United Artists2 hrs., 6 mins.Hal AshbyJane Fonda, John VoightSpinal injury, recovery of functionDrama R Violence, Sexual Content, LanguageThe Computer Wore Tennis Shoes1969Walt Disney Pictures1 hr., 31 mins.Robert ButlerKurt Russell, Cesar RomeroNervous system/technology interface, artificial intelligenceComedy GDe Luxe Annie1918Select Pictures Corp./Norma Talmadge Film Corp.1 hr., 12 mins.Roland WestNorma TalmadgeAmnesia, dissociative fugueDrama SILENT NREdward Scissorhands1990Twentieth Century Fox1 hr., 40 mins.Tim BurtonJohnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Vincent Priceartificial intelligence, prosthetics, science and society, immortality, ethicsComedy/Horror PG-13Eve, The Wild Woman (AKA King of Kong Island)1968Three Star Films1 hr., 32 mins.Roberto Mauri (AKA Robert Morris)Esmeralda BarrosBrain implantation, nervous system/technology interface, ethicsAction/Horror Italian; dubbed english NReXistenZ1999Alliance Atlantis Communications1 hr., 37 mins.David CronenbergJennifer Jason Leigh, Jude Law, Willem DafoeVirtual reality, implantation, gaming, perception, nervous system/technology interfaceSuspense/Action R Violence, Gore. LanguageFearless1993Warner Brothers2 hrs., 2 mins.Peter WeirJeff Bridges, Isabella Rossellini, Rosie PerezLearning, emotion, traumatic stressDrama R Violence, LanguageThe Fisher King1991Tristar Pictures inc.2 hrs., 17 mins.Terry GilliamRobin Williams, Jeff BridgesSchizophrenia, treatment, ethicsComedy R LanguageFlatliners1990Columbia Pictures1 hr., 51 mins.Joel SchumacherJulia Roberts, Kevin Bacon, Kiefer SutherlandDeath, clinical experimentation, ethicsSuspense/Horror R Violence, LanguageFrankenstein1931Universal Pictures Co. Inc.1 hr., 11 mins.James WhaleBoris Karloff, Colin CliveRe-animation, brain transplantation Immortality, ethicsDrama/Horror NRFreejack1992Morgan Creek Productions, Inc.1 hr., 50 mins.Geoff MurphyEmilio Estevez, Mick Jagger, Renee Russo, Anthony HopkinsMind transfer, nature of self/soulSuspense/Action R Violence. LanguageHydrotherapie Fantastique1910Méliès13 mins. (approx.)Georges MélièsGeorges MélièsRe-animation, historic neuroscience/methodsDrama SILENT NRThe Island of Dr. Moreau1996New Line Cinema1 hr., 36 mins.John FrankenheimerMarlon Brando, Val Kilmer, Fairuza BalkGenetic manipulation across species, ethicsHorror/Drama PG-13Johnny Mnemonic1995Tristar Pictures Inc.1 hr., 38 mins.Robert LongoKeanu Reeves, Ice-TMemory, neural implantation, imaging techniquesDrama/Action R Sexual Content. Violence, Gore, LanguageJurassic Park1993Universal Studios2 hrs., 7 mins.Steven SpielbergSam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff GoldblumGenetic manipulation, learning, memory, sensation and perceptionAction/Thriller PG-13K-Pax2001Universal Studios2 hrs., 1 min.Iain SoftleyKevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges, Alfre WoodardTreatment of mental illness, proximity effect, learning, ethicsDrama PG-13La Femme Nikita1991Samuel Goldwyn Co.1 hr., 57 mins.Luc BessonAnne ParillaudBrainwashing, drug useDrama/Thriller French; dubbed english R Violence, Sexual ContentLawnmower Man1993New Line Cinema2 hrs., 20 mins.Brett LeonardPierce Brosnan, Jeff FaheyVirtual reality, artificial intelligence, nervous system/technology interfaceAction/Horror R Violence, LanguageThe Long Kiss Goodnight1996New Line Productions2 hrs.Renny HarlinGeena Davis, Samuel L. JacksonAmnesia, MemorySuspense/Action R Sexual Content, Violence, LanguageLove Potion #91992Twentieth Century Fox1 hr., 32 mins.Dale LaunerTate Donovan, Sandra BullockPsychopharmacology, limbic systemComedy PG-13The Man With Two Brains1983Warner Brothers1 hr., 30 mins.Carl ReinerSteve Martin, Kathleen TurnerBrain surgery/transplantation, disembodied brainsComedy R Gore, Language, Sexual ContentThe Manchurian Candidate1962United Artists2 hrs., 6 mins.John FrankenheimerFrank Sinatra, Janet Leigh, Angela LansburyBrainwashing, hypnosisDrama/Thriller PG-13Marathon Man1976Paramount Pictures2 hrs., 5 mins.John SchlesingerDustin Hoffman, Lawrence Olivier, Roy ScheiderTorture, painDrama/Thriller R Violence, LanguageMarnie1964Universal Studios2 hrs., 10 mins.Alfred HitchcockSean Connery, Tippi HedrinDissociation, psychogenic fugueDrama/Suspense PGMary Shelley’s Frankenstein1994Tristar Pictures2 hrs., 3 mins.Kenneth BranaghRobert DeNiro, Kenneth Branaghtransplantation, re-animation, science and society, ethicsDrama/Horror R Sexual Content, Violence, GoreMemento2000I Remember Productions LLC1 hr., 53 mins.Christopher NolanGuy PierceMemory, anterograde amnesiaSuspense/Thriller R Violence, Language, GoreNovocaine2001Artisan Entertainment1 hr., 35 mins.David AtkinsSteve Martin, Helena Bonham Carter Laura DernPain, drug abuse, imaging techniqueComedy/Suspense R Violence, Language, Sexual ContentOsamu Tezuka’s Metropolis2001Tezuka Productions/Metropolis Project1 hr., 49 mins.RintaroVarious ArtistsArtificial intelligence, science and societyDrama/Action ANIME PG-13Outbreak1995Warner Brothers2 hrs., 8 mins.Wolfgang PetersonDustin Hoffman, Morgan Freeman, Renee RussoNeurodegenerative disease, science and society, ethicsThriller R LanguagePsycho1960Universal Studios1 hr, 49 mins.Alfred HitchcockAnthony Perkins, Janet LeighMultiple personalitiesSuspense/Horror R Violence, GoreRain Man1988United Artists2 hrs., 13 mins.Barry LevinsonDustin Hoffman, Tom CruiseAutistic savant, ethicsDrama R Language, Sexual ContentRe-Animator1985Re-Animator Productions Inc, Empire Pictures1 hr., 26 mins (rated version)Stuart GordonJeffrey Combsneuropharmacology, re-animation, science and society, ethicsHorror/Comedy R Violence, Gore, LanguageResident Evil2002Columbia TriStar1 hr., 44 mins.Paul W. S. AndersonMilla Jovovich, Michelle RodriguezArtificial intelligence, amnesia, genetic manipulation, re-animation, ethicsHorror/Action R Violence, Language, GoreThe Road to Wellville1994Columbia Pictures2 hrs.Alan ParkerMatthew Broderick, Anthony Hopkins, Bridget Fonda, John CusackNeural stimulation, historic neuroscience/methods, ethicsComedy R Sexual ContentRobocop1987Orion Pictures Corp.1 hr., 43 mins.Paul VerhoevenPeter Weller, Nancy AllenArtificial intelligence, robotics, cybernetics, nervous system/technology interface, ethicsAction R Violence, Sexual Content, Language, GoreScared to Death1946Golden Gate Pictures1 hr., 7 mins.Christy CabanneBela LugosiPsychopharmacology, hypnotism, sensation and perceptionDrama/Horror NRScent of a Woman1992Universal Studios2 hrs., 37 mins.Martin BrestAl PacinoNon-visual sensation and perceptionDrama R LanguageSleeper1973United Artists1 hr., 29 mins.Woody AllenWoody Allen, Diane KeatonCryogenics, cloning, virtual realityComedy PGSleepy Hollow1999Paramount Pictures1 hr., 45 mins.Tim BurtonJohnny Depp, Christina Riccihistoric neuroscience/methodsHorror R Violence, GoreStrange Days1995Twentieth Century Fox2 hrs., 25 mins.Kathryn BigelowRalph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, Juliette LewisMemory, memory transfer, nervous system/technology interface, perception, imaging, virtual reality, ethicsSuspense/Thriller R Disturbing Sexual Content and Violence, LanguageThe Terminator1984Cinema ‘84 - A Greenberg Brothers Partnership1 hr., 47 mins.James CameronArnold Schwarzenegger, Linda HamiltonCybernetics, artificial intelligence, robotics, science and society, ethicsAction/Horror R Violence, Language, Gore, Sexual ContentTerminator 2: Judgement Day1991Canal+ D.A.2 hrs., 36 mins.James CameronArnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward FurlongCybernetics, artificial intelligence, robotics, learning, science and society, ethicsAction/Thriller R Violence, Language, GoreTotal Recall1990Carolco Pictures1 hr., 53 mins.Paul VerhoevenArnold Schwarzenegger, Sharon StoneMemory, nervous system/technology interface, artificial intelligenceAction/Thriller R Violence Sexual Content LanguageTraffic2000USA Films LLC2 hrs., 27 mins.Steven SoderberghMichael Douglas, Benicio Del Toro, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Dennis QuaidAddiction, drugs of abuse, science and society, ethicsDrama R Strong sexual Content Violence LanguageTron1980Walt Disney Pictures1 hr., 36 mins.Steven LisbergerJeff BridgesArtificial intelligence, neural networks, memory, concept of self/soulAction/Thriller PGUniversal Soldier1992Carolco Pictures1 hr., 42 mins.Roland EmmerichJean-Claude Van DammeGenetic Manipulation, memoryAction R Violence, LanguageVanilla Sky2001Paramount Pictures2 hrs., 15 mins.Cameron CroweTom CruiseVirtual reality, memory, cryogenicsDrama/Suspense R Sexual Content, LanguageVirtuosity1995Paramount Pictures1 hr., 45 mins.Brett LeonardDenzel Washington, Russell CroweArtificial intelligence, virtual reality, nervous system/technology interfaceDrama/Thriller R Violence, LanguageWhite Zombie1932Halperin Productions1 hr., 8 mins.Victor HalperinBela Lugosi, Madge BellamyNeuropharmacology, re-animation, power of cultural beliefsHorror NRYoung Frankenstein1974Twentieth Century Fox1 hr., 48 mins.Mel BrooksGene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Madeline KahnBrain transplantation, re-animation, science and society, ethicsComedy PGZaat1972Barton Films, Aquarius Releasing Inc.1 hr., 40 mins.Don Barton and Arnold StevensMarshall GrauerGenetic manipulation across species, science and society, mad scientistHorror R Violence Example: White Zombie (1932) While White Zombie (Halperin and Halperin, 1932) was extremely successful at the time of its release, it is a film very few students (if any) might have seen. Most will recognize the star, Bela Lugosi, from his signature portrayal of Dracula (see Browning and Laemmle, 1931). In producing White Zombie, many of the sets from the classic movies Dracula (Browning and Laemmle, 1931) and Frankenstein (Laemmle and Whale, 1931) were re-used (Rhodes, 1995), a combination that, in a darkened lecture hall, can result in a memorable night time group viewing experience. The movie is the story of a young couple’s trip to Haiti, where their wedding is to take place. But, this is no vision of Haiti as an idyllic Caribbean island; almost immediately after arriving on the island, the couple encounter groups of “zombies” populating patches of ground fog as the gloom of dusk becomes the dark of night. As the story unfolds, it soon becomes evident that Lugosi’s character (named Murder Legendre) is responsible for the presence of these zombies, delivering a powdery substance into drinks that transform the unwitting consumer into the walking dead, most of whom become slave labor for his plantation and sugar mill. Legendre becomes infatuated with the young bride to be, and pre-empts the wedding by turning the young woman into a zombie. In a classic good versus evil finale, the young groom must free his fiancée from the grips of Legendre’s pharmacology. Following the conclusion of the movie, students are first asked about their reactions to the story. Several questions are then posed to draw the students into discussion, such as: What kind of agents might produce the effects seen in the walking dead, as well as the young bride to be? To what extent does culture play a role in the effects of the zombie “powder”? Some aspects of White Zombie were based on a popular travelogue about Haiti in the 1920s, The Magic Island (Seabrook, 1929). Discussion of the Haitian penal code in the movie, for example, is drawn from that book (Rhodes, 1995). Why might someone want to create zombies? Discussion of any of the questions above may lead to a far-reaching conversation on neuroscience. For example, Question 1 might lead to discussion of neurotransmitter systems and pharmacological antagonism; the physiology of the neuromuscular junction; diseases such as myasthenia gravis; perception and attentional processes; arousal and neuromodulatory circuits, or the ethical concerns of pharmacological treatments, to name just a few potential topics. Exercise 3: Film Clips in Lectures The use of full-length feature films as described in the neuro-cinema and film series exercises above can be a great adjunct to neuroscience education, but to incorporate film use within standard class periods it is generally more practical to use short excerpts. The distinct advantage of the use of “clips” is that they may be inserted into the course without taking significant amounts of time away from other classroom activities. Yet another advantage of using short excerpts is that an even larger selection of films becomes appropriate for use in neuroscience education. While any of the movies included in or above are suitable for such use, presents further title suggestions, including films with entirely implicit, tangential or momentary content relevant to neuroscience education. Table 3 TitleYearReleased ByRunning TimeDirected ByFeaturingSpecific ContentGenre/RatingAndy Warhol Presents Frankenstein (AKA Flesh For Frankenstein)1974Triboro Entertainment Group1 hr., 36 mins.Paul MorrisseyUdo Kier, Monique Van Voorentransplantation, re-animation, science and society, ethicsHorror/Comedy R Sexual Content, Violence, Gore, LanguageCharlie Chan in Honolulu1938Twentieth Century Fox1 hr., 7 mins.H. Bruce HumberstoneSidney Toler, George ZuccoDisembodied brainSuspense/Comedy NRColor of Night1994Cinergi Productions2 hrs., 1 min. (2 hrs., 20 mins. director’s cut)Richard RushBruce Willis, Jane MarchPsychogenic achromatopsia, mental illnessSuspense R Violence, Sexual Content, LanguageThe Dark Half1993Metro Goldwyn Mayer2 hrs., 2 mins.George A. RomeroTimothy Hutton, Amy MadiganBrain Surgery, undeveloped conjoined twinSuspense/Horror R ViolenceDeath Race 20001975Roger Corman Classics, Concorde-New Horizons Corp.1 hr., 18 mins.Paul BartelDavid Carradine, Sylvester StalloneCybernetics, prostheticsAction R Violence, Sexual Content, GoreThe Empire Strikes Back1980Lucasfilm Ltd.2 hrs., 4 mins.Irvin KershnerMark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee WilliamsProsthetics/cybernetics, learning, artificial intelligenceAction/Thriller PGEncino Man1992Hollywood Pictures Co.1 hr., 38 mins.Les MayfieldBrendan Fraser, Pauly ShoreCryogenics, Recovery of function, learningComedy PGEscape from L.A.1996Paramount Pictures1 hr., 41 mins.John CarpenterKurt Russell. Bruce CampbellNervous system injury, ethicsAction/Thriller R Violence, LanguageFace/Off1997Paramount Pictures2 hrs., 20 mins.John WooJohn Travolta, Nicolas CageCranial Nerves, Facial innervation, tissue rejectionThriller R Violence, Language, GoreForrest Gump1994Paramount Pictures2 hrs., 22 mins.Robert ZemeckisTom Hanks Sally Field Gary Sinise Robin WrightProsthetics, nervous system injury and disease, recovery of function, perceptionDrama PG-13Grandma’s Reading Glass1900George Albert Smith6 mins. (approx.)George Albert SmithuncreditedPerception, examination of the eye (external)Documentary SILENT NRThe Green Mile1999Warner Brothers3 hrs., 8 mins.Frank DarabontTom HanksBrain tumor, positive symptomsDrama/Suspense/Horror R Violence, LanguageHalf Baked1998MCA/Universal Studios1 hr., 22 mins.Tamra DavisDave Chappelle, Jim BreuerPsychopharmacology, drugs and society, pharmaceutical researchComedy R Drug content, LanguageInspector Gadget1999Walt Disney Pictures1 hr, 18 mins.David KelloggMatthew Broderick, Rupert Everett, Michael Hagerty, Andy DickCybernetics, nervous system/technology interfaceComedy/Action PGJohn Q2002New Line Productions1 hr., 52 mins.Nick CassavetesDenzel WashingtonTransplantation, ethicsDrama PG-13The Little Shop of Horrors1960The Filmgroup1 hr., 10 mins.Roger CormanJonathan Haze, Jack NicholsonPain and contextComedy/Horror UNRATEDMars Attacks!1996Warner Brothers1 hr., 46 mins.Tim BurtonJack Nicholson, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVitoTransplantation across species, disembodied headsComedy PG-13Men In Black1997Columbia Pictures1 hr., 38 mins.Barry SonnenfeldWill Smith, Tommy Lee JonesMemory, amnesia, sensationComedy/Thriller PG-13Never Say Never Again1983NSNA Co.2 hrs., 13 mins.Irvin KershnerSean Connery, Kim BasingerVision, eye anatomyAction/Thriller/Suspense PGOffice Space1999Twentieth Century Fox1 hr., 30 mins.Mike JudgeRon Livingston, Stephen Root, Jennifer AnistonHypnosis, personality, emotionComedy R Language, Sexual ContentOur Man Flint1965Twentieth Century Fox1 hr., 48 mins.Daniel MannJames Colbern, Lee J. CobbBrainwashing, hypnosisComedy NRPeeping Tom(AKA Face of Fear)1960Anglo-Amalgamated Productions1 hr., 41 mins. (uncut version)Michael PowellCarl BoehmFear and the nervous system, scopophiliaDrama/Horror NRPlanet of the Apes (2001)2001Twentieth Century Fox2 hrs., 4 mins.Tim BurtonMark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham CarterScience and society, evolution, learning, ethicsThriller PG-13Star Trek III: The Search for Spock1984Paramount Pictures1 hr., 45 mins.Leonard NimoyWilliam Shatner, Leonard NimoyMemory, memory transferDrama/Action PGVertigo1958Paramount Pictures; 1996 by Universal Pictures2 hrs., 8 mins.Alfred HitchcockJames Stewart, Kim NovakacrophobiaDrama/Suspense PGWhat’s Eating Gilbert Grape1994Paramount Pictures1 hr., 58 mins.Lasse HallstromJohnny Depp, Juliette Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprioautismDrama PG-13What hypnotism can do1899American Mutoscope and Biograph6 mins. (approx.)Frederick S. Armitage (also cinematography)uncreditedHypnotism, perception, science and societyDocumentary w/fantasy content SILENT NRThe World is Not Enough1999Danjaq.,LLC and United Artists2 hrs., 8 mins.Michael AptedPierce BrosnanImaging techniques, brain injury, emotionAction/Thriller/Suspense PG-13X-Men2000Twentieth Century Fox1 hr., 44 mins.Bryan SingerPatrick Stewart, Halle Berry, Hugh JackmanGenetics, mutation, sensation and perception, nervous system/technology interfaceAction/Thriller PG-13The X-Ray Mirror1899American Mutoscope and Biograph6 mins. (approx.)Wallace McCutcheon (also cinematography)uncreditedx-ray concept, science and societyComedy w/fantasy content SILENT NR Presenting just those few moments of a particular film that relate to a class topic may accomplish a number of goals. Short film clips can provide a purposeful transition from other course content; needed context for discussion to follow; or vivid illustration of a hard-to-grasp concept. Recent research in psychology instruction (Roskos-Ewoldsen and Roskos-Ewoldsen, 2001) suggests that the use of film clips can be an enjoyable part of class time, and similar to full-length film presentations, can aid in the understanding of lectures and overall subject mastery. Furthermore, as student interest may wax and wane across a class period, the judicious inclusion of a interesting short film clip may serve to maintain student engagement in the subject at hand. The instructor considering the occasional use of film clips for this purpose may find it useful to employ a variety of film titles and genres popular with the students’ age demographic, as what engages students might not be what is interesting or even tasteful to the instructor, however relevant to the course a particular clip may be (see Brumbaugh, 1940, for an interesting early study and discussion along these lines). One example from my own in-class use of film clips is the use of scenes depicting dental procedures from the movies Marathon Man (1976) and The Little Shop of Horrors (1960) in the discussion of pain mechanisms and modulation with my behavioral neuroscience class. In the scene from “Marathon Man”, a young Dustin Hoffman is put through agony at the hands of an aged former-Nazi torture specialist played by Lawrence Olivier. However, in the scene from The Little Shop of Horrors, a young Jack Nicholson is positively joyful to receive a similar experience at the hands of Semour-- the flower shop clerk, pretending to be a dentist. Both clips serve to focus attention on the subject of pain, and provide vividly contrasting examples of how the meaning of the situation and the experience of the individual interact in the interpretation and perception of pain. Many instructors have integrated the use of film clips into their classroom instruction beyond the illustrative and occasion-setting uses employed by this author. For further examination of the use of film clips in instruction, the reader may be interested in recent articles by Alexander and Waxman (2000), which discusse such use in a medical school setting, and Paddock et al. (2001), which describes the use of film clips within an undergraduate psychology course. Acknowledgments Many thanks to the anonymous reviewers of this article for their suggestions and comments, and the members of the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience “FUN-NET” electronic mailing list for their interest in discussing neuroscience-related feature films. Footnotes The reader may enjoy visiting The Internet Movie Database website (us.imdb.com) which was employed in the verification of some cast and crew information, and invaluable in the preparation of this article. 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2205	dbpedia	0	0	https://tropedia.fandom.com/wiki/Charlie_Chan	en	Charlie Chan	https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/0/02/CharlieChan.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160118090404	https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/0/02/CharlieChan.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160118090404	[ "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/e/e6/Site-logo.png/revision/latest?cb=20210626004936", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/e/e6/Site-logo.png/revision/latest?cb=20210626004936", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/0/00/Farm-Fresh_balance.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/16?cb=20140704100801", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/0/0a/Transmit_blue.png/revision/latest?cb=20140704095633", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/8/82/WikEd_fancyquotes.png/revision/latest?cb=20140704095340", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/3/31/Emoticon_happy.png/revision/latest?cb=20140704100439", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/d/d9/Heart.png/revision/latest?cb=20140704095757", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/6/65/Silk_award_star_gold_3.png/revision/latest?cb=20140704095841", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/5/57/Refridgerator.png/revision/latest?cb=20200921013731", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/d/de/Group.png/revision/latest?cb=20140704100734", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/3/30/Script_edit.png/revision/latest?cb=20200921013727", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/f/fd/Skull0.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/16?cb=20140628162910", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/3/38/Rsz_1rsz_2rsz_1shout-out_icon.png/revision/latest?cb=20190812053515", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/7/79/Magnifier.png/revision/latest?cb=20140704100522", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/8/8e/Gota_icono.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/16?cb=20140704095251", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/9/97/Bug-silk.png/revision/latest?cb=20140704095413", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/a/aa/Help.png/revision/latest?cb=20140704100315", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/7/7a/FilmRoll-small.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/20?cb=20200921015307", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/1/1e/Rainbow.png/revision/latest?cb=20140704095823", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/5/55/Photo_link.png/revision/latest?cb=20140704095448", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/5/54/Nyan-Cat-Original.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/16?cb=20200921044716", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/8/87/Haiku-wide-icon.png/revision/latest?cb=20200921020033", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Library_science_symbol_.svg/16px-Library_science_symbol_.svg.png", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/0/02/CharlieChan.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20160118090404", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/0/02/CharlieChan.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20160118090404", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Cquote1.svg/22px-Cquote1.svg.png", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Cquote2.svg/22px-Cquote2.svg.png", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/6a181c72-e8bf-419b-b4db-18fd56a0eb60", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/6c42ce6a-b205-41f5-82c6-5011721932e7", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/464fc70a-5090-490b-b47e-0759e89c263f", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/f7bb9d33-4f9a-4faa-88fe-2a0bd8138668" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Contributors to Tropedia" ]	2024-07-12T14:06:28+00:00	Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Earl Derr Biggers. Biggers had been vacationing in Hawaii in 1919, when he read a newspaper account of a Chinese-American detective, Chang Apana, connected with the Honolulu Police Department. Fascinated by the idea of an Oriental...	en	https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/allthetropes/images/4/4a/Site-favicon.ico/revision/latest?cb=20210627205841	Tropedia	https://tropedia.fandom.com/wiki/Charlie_Chan	YMMV • Radar • Quotes • (Funny • Heartwarming • Awesome) • Fridge • Characters • Fanfic Recs • Nightmare Fuel • Shout Out • Plot • Tear Jerker • Headscratchers • Trivia • WMG • Recap • Ho Yay • Image Links • Memes • Haiku • Laconic • Source • Setting Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Earl Derr Biggers. Biggers had been vacationing in Hawaii in 1919, when he read a newspaper account of a Chinese-American detective, Chang Apana, connected with the Honolulu Police Department. Fascinated by the idea of an Oriental hero as a contrast to the ubiquitous Yellow Peril villains of the period, Biggers included an Oriental detective named Chan as a peripheral character in his novel House Without a Key (1925). In the 1926 novel The Chinese Parrot, Chan took center stage, and his successful adventures spanned four more Biggers novels: Behind the Curtain (1928), The Black Camel (1929), Charlie Chan Carries On (1930) and Keeper of the Keys (1932). The character's most familiar portrayals, however, were in a series of nearly 50 films. By the time of Biggers' death in 1933, all but the last of the novels had been adapted for film (the last was adapted for the New York stage). Contrary to popular belief, Chan was portrayed by Asian actors in his earliest appearances — but not Chinese: The Japanese actors George Kuwa and Sôjin played the detective in his first two films, and E.L. Park, probably a Korean, in his third. None of these portrayals was deemed particularly successful, either by Biggers or by the public. It was, oddly, a Swede, Warner Oland, who became in the opinion of Biggers and of most fans the ideal embodiment of the character. (Oland had already played Fu Manchu in the movies, and always claimed to be of Mongolian descent himself; he would continue to be in demand throughout the Thirties to play various Asian characters, such as Dr. Yogami in 1935's Werewolf of London.) Oland played the detective in a series of 15 films for Twentieth Century Fox, starting with Charlie Chan Carries On (1931), though many fans believe that his characterization really hit its stride in Charlie Chan in London (1934). Here Charlie assumed his archetypical form: the unassuming, heavily accented but brilliant detective, spouting pseudo-Oriental aphorisms (a Flanderization which Biggers himself cordially disliked), kindly and devoted to his fractious and multifarious family, and often having to endure the feckless co-detecting effort of his thoroughly Americanized Number One Son, Lee, or others of the clan. Chan became a globe-trotter: He rarely remained home in Honolulu, but appeared against a number of glamorous and exotic backgrounds: at the racetrack, at the opera, on Broadway, in London, in Paris, in the Pyramids of Egypt, at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. By the time of Oland's death in 1938, Charlie Chan was one of Fox's most popular and successful film series. So popular was he, in fact, that the studio refused to let the character die with the actor, and so the Missouri-born Sidney Toler took up the role in 1938's Charlie Chan in Honolulu. His Chan was slightly more acerbic than Oland's, and he was much given to ridiculing the efforts of his Number Two Son, Jimmy (or sometimes Tommy) Chan (Victor Sen Yung). After 11 films, Fox decided to end production of the Chan series, whereupon Toler bought the rights to the character, and proceeded to make another 11 films, with Monogram Pictures, until his death in 1947. Bostonian Roland Winters (born Winternitz) took up the part in 1947's The Chinese Ring. By now it was apparent that Monogram was determined to milk the franchise for all it was worth, with little regard to quality. An attempt to transfer the character to television in the person of J. Carroll Naish was made in The New Adventures of Charlie Chan (1958) with moderate success. In Hanna-Barbera's 1972 Animated Adaptation, The Amazing Chan and The Chan Clan, Mr. Chan was portrayed for the first time by an actor actually of Chinese descent: Keye Luke, who had played Number One Son Lee Chan in the Oland series of films, and who was later well known as "Blind Master Po" from the popular Kung Fu series of the 1970s. A pair of Affectionate Parodies appeared as The Return of Charlie Chan (aka Happiness Is a Warm Clue) (1973) and Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981), in which Chan was played by Ross Martin and Peter Ustinov, respectively. (A Chan-based character was also played by Peter Sellers in the 1979 omnibus mystery spoof, Murder By Death.) In the 1990s, a number of Charlie Chan films were produced in Hong Kong by Chinese production companies. An Italian Chan appeared in 1983. There was talk in the 2000s about a screen adaptation starring Lucy Liu as the granddaughter of the famous detective, but it never came to pass. Tropes Associated With This Character Include:[] Adaptation Distillation: Generally speaking, the best regarded films are those produced between 1934 and 1939. Alliterative Name Animated Adaptation: Not only the 1972 Hanna-Barbera series, but also the 1970 Filmation series (See Lawyer-Friendly Cameo, below.) Asian Speekee Engrish: Averted for Charlie. Any Chinese in the books more elderly, however... Busman's Holiday: Frequently Lampshaded for The Chinese Parrot and Behind That Curtain. The latter being an Immediate Sequel for the former, Charlie's especially anxious to get home. At the end of Behind That Curtain, somebody rushes in, saying there's just been a very unusual murder. When they try to find Charlie, they find he's just gone out the fire escape. Catch Phrase: Warner Oland's Chan often said, "Thank you so much." Sidney Toler favored, "Excuse, please," and "Correction, please." Character Celebrity Endorsement: In 1935, Warner Oland appeared as Charlie Chan in a short subject to urge the voters of Pennsylvania to vote to allow Sunday showing of motion pictures: "Humble self very much puzzled why one man may play golf game on Sunday and other man cannot see Charlie Chan bring criminal to justice on same day." Comic Book Adaptation: Several: First, as a Newspaper Comic that ran from 1938-42 (it was cancelled because the white readers didn't want an Asian in the funnies... even though during World War II the Chinese were on the Allied side). Then, with now-defunct Comic Book publisher Prize Comics, drawn by none other than Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, otherwise known as the creators of Captain America. When Prize lost the license, the series transferred to Charlton Comics, continuing the same numbering. The numbering and the title changed when DC Comics got their hands on Chan and his Number One Son: The New Adventures of Charlie Chan lasted for six issues, the longest consecutive run for any publisher handling the license. Dell Comics managed two issues; Gold Key Comics did a 4-issue tie-in to The Amazing Chan and The Chan Clan. Cool Car/Transforming Mecha: The Hanna-Barbera cartoon featured "the Chan Van", a vehicle which could transform itself into various modes of transportation from van to station wagon to sports car, etc., at the push of a button. (It makes one mildly uncomfortable to recall that it shared this trait with Hong Kong Phooey's Phooeymobile, though the canine crime-fighter used a gong to trigger the change.) In the books, Charlie's car was always described as a "flivver", which was The Roaring Twenties' way of saying "What a Piece of Junk!". Drink Order: Charlie likes his sarsaparilla (a nonalcoholic root beer-like drink). Enforced Method Acting: Warner Oland was an alcoholic; his director, "Lucky" Humberton, at times encouraged his drinking, because he found the actor's slightly slurry speech better conveyed the sense of one struggling with a foreign language. Which is ironic considering that Charlie Chan himself is a confirmed teetotaler. The Exotic Detective: Biggers was first attracted to the character by the exotic quality both of his Honolulu setting and of what was then considered the paradoxical contrast of a non-"Sinister Chinaman". Fake Nationality: While remaining Chinese, the character has only once in the Western media been portrayed by a Chinese actor. The animated version was voiced by Keye Luke. Live action versions have been played by Japanese, Korean, and (for the most notable versions) white actors. Flanderization: Probably the best-remembered characteristic of the detective is his use of pithy "Oriental" aphorisms — a trait which comes directly from the Warner Oland Filmic Adaptations, and which were the only aspect of those adaptations that Biggers himself disliked. Good Hair, Evil Hair: Averted. Charlie's Genghis Khan moustache and (optional) beard, usually reserved for villains, are here merely signs of ethnicity. Lawyer-Friendly Cameo: Charlie Chan-type characters show up in a number of works, usually as Affectionate Parodies. For instance: In two episodes of Get Smart, Joey Foreman played a Charlie Chan Expy, a Chinese-Hawaiian detective named Harry Hoo. In 1970 Filmation's Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down? featured a Jerry-ized version of Chan, Flewis Lewis (and his One-Ton Son), both ghastly Ethnic Scrappies. In the 1979 film Murder By Death, Peter Sellers plays a Chan-type sleuth named Sydney Wang. The Lestrade: Charlie usually has to deal with one of these, especially when he's working on a case outside of Honolulu. However, as a fellow lawman, he understands what they're going through, and always defers to their judgment, such as in Keeper of the Keys. On the other, he's not too unwilling to point out that the Noble Bigot with a Badge isn't quite so noble after all... Man in White: Charlie often, though by no means always, dresses in a white linen suit with his iconic Panama hat. Missing Episode: Four of the Chan movies from the 1930s, Charlie Chan Carries On, Charlie Chan's Chance, Charlie Chan's Greatest Case, and Charlie Chan's Courage, are lost (though Charlie Chan Carries On survives in a Spanish-language version, Eran Trece). Nephewism: Averted. When sidekicks were added to the movies, they were his sons. Nepotism: Charlie's sons work with him. Nice Hat: Chan invariably wears a Panama hat with a broad brim and rounded crown. No Swastikas: An early example of this appeared in 1936's Charlie Chan at the Olympics, which were, of course, held in Berlin that year; all the numerous swastikas that appear (including on the Hindenburg) are carefully blotted out. Obfuscating Stupidity: Charlie Chan is a master of this trope, often playing up his "foreignness" so people underestimate him. The Other Darrin: After three films in which Chan was played by George Kuwa, Sôjin, and E.L. Park, Chan was played in a series of 15 films by Warner Oland until his death in 1938. The series continued with Sidney Toler playing Chan in 22 films, and when he died in 1947, Roland Winters took over the role for 6 films. Public Domain: All six books, the comics, the radio plays and most of the movies; check The Other Wiki for more details. Shout-Out: In Charlie Chan in Shanghai, Oland sings a song making reference to "the Emperor Fu Manchu", a part he had played himself in previous films. In the same film he asks son Lee Chan (Keye Luke) whether he is selling "Oil for the Lamps of China" — the title of a popular Twentieth Century Fox film in which Luke had just appeared. A Captain Ersatz version of Chan twice appeared in the form of "Harry Hoo" (Joey Forman) on Get Smart. Start to Corpse: Generally pretty short. The Teetotaler: Charlie Chan is a teetotaler, but in a bit of double irony he is no fan of a Spot of Tea; he prefers sarsaparilla (a nonalcoholic root beer-like drink). Title Drop: Happened in most of the books:
2205	dbpedia	0	93	http://yoshabunko.com/main/literature.html	en	Yosha Bunko	http://yoshabunko.com/favicon.png	http://yoshabunko.com/favicon.png	[ "http://www.w3.org/Icons/valid-xhtml10" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	Minorities, suicide, anthropology, history, literature, and other aspects of life and death in Japan		../favicon.png		null	Literature and linguistics Westerns and Tawara By William Wetherall Literature, though not in the foreground of my youth, has never been too far away. Growing up, I read mainly hobby and technical magazines and books. The little fiction I read was mostly westerns and war stories in paperback. My father read a lot of literature in his school days before he turned to law. My mother, as busy as she was, finished a book or two a week. She read mostly current fiction, and for a while was even met with a local group discuss a story all its members had read. For the most part, though, she traveled alone in her reading chair, whenever she felt like getting away, and always before bed. Pulp days Toward the end of my junior year in electrical engineering at Berkeley, I became frustrated with the prospects of the sort of career that awaited me and decided to quit. I continued to go to an electrical engineering lab, where we worked in teams, but otherwise I ignored my homework and became a western paperback junkie. I turned to westerns because, for several years in my teens, I had clerked at a shoe store managed by a neighbor, Frank Fredrick, who spent his time in the back office reading westerns while I waited on customers. Frank, who is dead now, spent the war years as a merchant marine in the Pacific. He gave me his personal copy of Tawara: Toughest Battle in Marine Corps History, a photographic memorial published in 1944 soon after the battle, for a report I made in a high school history class. I cut it up for illustrations to paste into my report, totally clueless about the value of the book. A few years ago, I found another copy at a used book store. Except what I was required to read in English classes, I had read only pulp fiction until the fall of 1967, when I began my formal studies of Japanese in the Department of Oriental Languages -- now Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures -- also at Berkeley, having returned to Cal with a new major. Writing Yet, for reasons not clear to me -- for I never did well in composition classes -- I developed an ardent interest in writing. Even as an engineering student, I had written newspaper articles and letters to editors. By the time I began studying Japanese literature, I had even published a couple of rather future-looking essays in a Cal engineering magazine. Top Commentary Literature courses are mostly about reading for appreciation of whatever the teacher thinks is important. I am most grateful to the teachers who saw their mission as one of lighting fires under students like me, who might not have discovered the pleasures of reading without patient guidance through the verbal foliage of plot, character, voice, and imagery -- but also what I call the texture of a story. Texture An awareness of texture -- the sounds and rhythms of a narrative -- is cultivated only through experiences of performance -- listing to recitations, and learning to recite. My best teachers did not object to students, like me, who had developed the habit of subvocalizing while reading. Today, I refuse to regard a "good story" as "good writing" unless I can appreciate its texture. I've always advised my writing students that writing is essentially an oral/aural exercise. Good writing is done through the mouth and ear, and the best way to edit a story -- fiction or non-fiction -- is to read it aloud. Editors who focus on the mechanics of style and grammar often destroy the texture of a story because their ears are plugged with rules that have nothing to do with natural language and performance. College instructors are likely take interest in literature for granted, and many expect students to speed read long lists of novels, short stories, and essays. Some instructors focus theories of literature and meaning, others on the thoughts and even the lives of the writers. Literature has often been read as material for studying social and even intellectual history, but now also used in "multicultural" courses to raise awareness about about racial, ethnic, and related social issues. Critical standards When commenting on contemporary fiction, I am strongly inclined to grade high on sheer narrative quality -- all the better if minimalist, but I have no objection to verbosity if done with literary effect. Any tendency to tell rather than show, or to hack a story around a social issue, will draw critical fire -- as will the works of authors who appear to expect their ethnicity to add points to their legitimacy as novelists. Top Classical literature My main exposure to the classical world was through an interest in Mediterranean archaeology. In the early 1960s I had read a lot of popular books about ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. My drift away from electrical engineering was partly encouraged by talks on campus by archaeologists reporting their most recent discoveries. A friend, Bill Boltz, then a math major, now a classical Chinese linguist at the University of Washington, also influenced my budding interest in early civilizations through the own growing fascination with antiquity and philology. The chairman of the Department of Oriental Languages who interviewed me when I applied for readmission to Berkeley in 1967 was Douglas Mills, a classical scholar on loan from Cambridge, who was then finishing his research on A collection of tales from Uji: A study and translation of Uji Shui Monogatari (1970). By the time I was ready to tackle classical Japanese grammar, Mills had returned to the United Kingdom. So I first learned kogo and bungotai from Elizabeth Carr, the wife of Denzel Carr, a professor of Malay-Polynesian in the Department of Linguistics. Elizabeth Carr was known as Elizabeth "Betty" McKinnon to her students at the wartime Japanese Language School in Boulder. Born and raised in Japan, her mother had been Japanese. She was one of those remarkable people who devote themselves to teaching, and I remember her as one of my most inspiring instructors. Helen and William McCullough had moved to the Department of Oriental Languages at Berkeley from Stanford by the time I returned to Cal in the early 1970s as a graduate student majoring in Asian Studies. So I did my reading of Kokinshu, Heike, and Basho under Helen, and my reading of Genji and study of Japanese historiography under Bill, who became an examiner for my orals and one of my dissertation supervisors. Both are now deceased. Suicide in classical texts I was attracted to classical literature because, while one foot was still in Oriental Languages, I had moved the other to Anthropology, where I was studying suicide, among other social problems, with George De Vos. By no means was my interest in suicide limited to present-day Japan. If anything, I was more interested in the history of how suicidal behaviors have been presented in cultural materials such as written texts. Early chronologies and stories were the only place I would ever find accounts, historical and fictional, of suicide in Japan from antiquity to more recent times, when suicide became an object of vital statistics and case studies. I was fortunate in that both McCulloughs had reputations for using classical literature as primary material for studying anthropological, sociological, and even psychological subjects. They had limited their own interests to subjects like marriage and adoption, in addition to the usual concerns that translators have about food, clothing, architecture, political and military affairs, religious beliefs and practices, and a long list of other elements of life. For them, they thought it perfectly acceptable that I read literature with an eye for understand what I could about how people described suicidal thoughts and acts, in terms of motives and methods, and impact on survivors. My paper on the suicide attempt of Ukifune in Genji monogatari represents my first effort to clarify what this very sophisticated story reveals about self-destructive behaviors and responses to such behaviors during the Heian period. The story of Ukifune became a brick in my hypothesis that suicide as a human phenomenon (1) is essentially the same from one society to the next, and (2) has not essentially changed during the several thousand years for which we have historical accounts, mostly in literature, of suicide. I had no classroom exposure to the gesaku literature of the late Edo and early Meiji periods other than through translation. Not until I began working with the stories on early Meiji news nishikie, most of which were crafted by gesaku writers, did I venture into the vast world of gesaku fiction, still alive and well on the eve of its displacement by novel approaches to story telling. Top Contemporary fiction My first exposure to Japanese literature was as an undergraduate student at Berkeley in the late Sixties. Everything you may have read about the chaos on campus and the immediate neighborhood then is true. It was a war zone, and while most students were never involved in the fighting, very few were totally unaffected. Japanese lit under fire I first read classical and modern Japanese literature in translation, in survey courses taught by Francis Motofuji, an associate professor in the Department of Oriental Languages, in Durant Hall, where I was then a major. Frank had published The Love of Izayoi and Seishin (1966), a kabuki play by Kawatake Mokuami (1816-1893), and a short story by Dazai Osamu (1909-1948). The OL Department was a bastion of academic conservatism and social order -- and, when it came to Chinese, which I also studied, pro Republic of China or at least pro pre-Mao China. Frank, though, was sympathetic with the student movements, and during a period when the most radical professors in other departments were cancelling their classes in support of boycott actions, Frank held a few of his lectures off classes. By the time I returned to a quieter Berkeley in the early 1970s, Frank had translated short stories by Oe Kenzaburo and Kobayashi Takiji (1903-1933) and was doing research on the life of Dazai. It was then, as a graduate student, that I first read fiction in Japanese, with guidance and tutelage -- as opposed to hit-and-miss reading on my own -- again under Frank Motofuji in courses, seminars, and private sessions. Only after reading Japanese fiction in translation did I begin to read more English fiction. Whereas most of my classmates had come to their studies of Japanese literature through backgrounds in the humanities, I was practically unread in European literature. Even now I feel that I am still catching up. Personality and intent Generally I have not taken a great deal of interest in literature as a reflection of a writer's personality. When forced to write introductions to an author or work I have translated, I to some extent morph myself into a critic and speculate why authors write what they write and how they write it. Essentially, though, I do not endorse using an author's personal life as a guide to understanding the author's intent. Or, vice versa, even when a writer expresses an intent, I do not think a reader is duty-bound to interpret a story only in terms of intended meanings. Top Popular fiction Though I read westerns and war stories, I was did not become interested in popular fiction academically until I began studying mass media and Japanese literature. Having discovered Mr. Moto and Charlie Chan in English, I began reading Japanese popular fiction as vehicles for images of minorities in Japan, including foreigners like myself. My military background in clinical testing, which falls within the field of pathology in medicine, led me to an interest in forensic pathology and the broader field of criminalistics and identification. My initiation into psychological anthropology, by George De Vos at Berkeley, sparked to my continuing interest in suicide and crime. And so I was attracted to crime stories involving crime scene investigation and medical examination. No alien heroes in Japan? I became most intensely involved with detective and mystery fiction in Japan during the 1970s after coming to Japan in 1975 to conduct field work for a doctoral dissertation. The thesis began as a study of suicide in present-day Japan but turned out to focus on suicidal and homicidal following-in-death in early Japan. Partly as relief from the tedious work of collecting and collating the material I needed to reveal the nature of funerary practices and human sacrifice in ancient civilizations, centering on East Asia -- partly because, in 1975, I had read Masaaki Kishi's "Images of Americans in Japanese Popular Literature" in Journal of Popular Culture -- and partly because, at the same time, Lieutenant Columbo had begun making huge waves in Japan -- I plunged into a very serious refutation of Kishi's thesis that Japan was not a fertile ground for alien heroes. "In a homogeneous country like Japan," Kishi stated in his introduction, there is little room for an alien hero" (page 1). Or, as he rephrased it in his conclusion, because "'a foreigner has something about him that Japanese people cannot understand' . . . There is little chance for Americans to become best seller heroes" (page 9). Several of the articles posted in this section, but particularly "Akechi versus Columbo" and "Critique of Kishi 1975", address Kishi's claim. Several other articles, such as the report on "Translated mystery fiction", the commentary on "Tojinbune" [Chinaboats], and the translation of "Beikei Nichijin" [American Japanese], also grew out of my 1970s infatuation with depictions of foreigners in Japanese fiction, original and translated. Top Reviews I have reviewed a number of titles of popular English fiction set in Japan, or set elsewhere but featuring Japan or Japanese, for publication in the Far Eastern Economic Review, or in English-language newspapers in Japan. All such reviews are posted on the "Steamy East" website. Here I have posted only published and unpublished reviews of Japanese fiction, and of English fiction unrelated to Japan. Articles about translation, which compare translations with the original, are grouped in the "Language" section of this website. Top Korean / Chosenese fiction I treat all literature as belonging to the language in which it is written, not the national or other identity of the writer. So by "Korean fiction" I mean any fiction originally written in Korean by anyone at any time and place. Ditto for "Chosenese fiction". I regard fiction written in other languages, such as Japanese or English, by people who consider themselves "Korean" or Chosenese" by any definition of these terms, as belonging to the literature of those languages. Most Korean and Chosenese fiction has been written in one or another Korean or Chosen state or entity, by writers who are affiliated with the state or entity -- The Chosŏ Dynasty, the Empire of Korea, Chosen as a territory of Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea [sic = Chosen, Chosŏn], or even Yanbian Korean [sic = Chosen, Chosŏn] Autonomous Prefecture (边©鲜°©¡B 연변 조선족 자치주 Yŏnbyŏn Chosŏjok Chach'iju) in Jilin Provence of the People's Republic of China. I studied Korean in college but did not read Korean literature even in translation. Later in life I read a few works of Korean popular fiction in English translation, mainly stories by Kim Young-Ha (김영하 Kim Yŏngha à pÄ), including I Have the Right to Destroy Myself (1996, 2007), Photo Shop Murder (1999, 2003), and Your Republic is Calling You (2006, 2010). I have pretty much slept through the floods of interest in Korean dramas, music, and food that have swept through Japan now and then. My interest in the worlds of "Korea" and "Chosen" in Japan have been limited to the political and demographic relations between Japan and peninsular entities, or between the Interior of Imperial Japan and Chosen during the Annexation period when the peninsula was part of Japan, especially the migrations of people between these territories, and the so-called "Zainichi Kankoku/Chosenjin" population in present-day Japan. Kim Soom, Han Myŏng 2016, Hitori 2018 I had never heard of Kim Soom (김숨 Kim Sum à§) until receiving a request on 4 January 2019 from a Korean Literature Now staff member to review in English the Japanese translation Hitori (2018) of Kim Soom's Han Myŏng (2016). The review was due 21 January -- barely two weeks by the time I obtained copies of the translation and the original. "One Person" as I translate the title is about a comfort woman who kept her memories to herself until the last officially registered comfort woman is on her death bed. Japanese fiction In college I was forever having to comment on the literature I read for courses. I have kept all my written reports and plan to post them, mostly as examples of how I no longer think about Japan -- or about anything else, for that matter. Miru mae ni tobe The one report I still rather like is a structural analysis of the title story from Miru mae ni tobe (Tokyo: Shinchosha, 1958), an anthology of short stories by Oe Kenzaburo. I wrote the report for a graduate seminar in which all participants selected stories from the same anthology. I got so involved with the stories I completely translated some of them and started all. Though required only to write a report, I polished my translation of the title story, "Miru mae ni tobe" [Leap before you look], and submitted it with my report. Oe says no Years later, in Japan, I set out to publish a translation of the entire anthology. An agent contacted Oe Kenzaburo through Shinchosha but he said no. Oe said he considered the story one of his worst. He wrote, as I recall reading his reply at the agent's office, "Honyaku shite morau tsumori de wa nai" -- "I don't intend to have it translated." Oe also suggested that I translate something more recent, which reflected his current body of work. I was unhappy with this attitude. What upset me the most, however, was that "Miru mae ni tobe" and other stories he wrote at the time continued to be anthologized in Japanese. Oe was then gunning for the Nobel Prize, for which he had been short listed several years running. He wanted the outside world to read his more personal and intellectually engaging stories -- not those he wrote when still a young man, unmarried much less a father, and not yet so outspoken about political and social issues. "Fui no oshi" Later, though, Oe did permit me to publish a translation of "Fui no oshi" -- the shortest story in the 1958 anthology -- as "Unexpected Muteness" for Japan Quarterly in 1989. Though I had already translated it in 1973, the main reason I chose it for the journal was its length: all the other stories were too much too long. I am not saying that "Fui no oshi" is not interesting. The story reflects a certain attitude toward justice and retribution in a village that did not need an elaborate penal code and law of legal procedure. The story's structural tightness and narrative economy practically defines the short story -- whereas "Miru mae ni tobe" is more like a novella. Top Tamura Taijiro (1911-1983) Tamura Taijirō is best known for his "doctrine of carnality" as I would translate "nikutai-ron" (÷Ì_). His best-known works of "carnal fiction" are the novels he wrote in 1946, immediately after returning to Japan from China, where he had spent most of the Pacific War as a soldier in the Japanese Imperial Army. The work of most interest to me, and the one I have chosen to feature here, is Shunpuden, about three Chosenese comfort women in China. Top Tsuzuki Michio (1929-2003) Tsuzuki Michio was one of the writers who first attracted me back in the 1970s when I plunged into the subject of alien detectives in Japanese fiction. For he was the creator of the inimitable Quillion Sleigh, Poet. Tsuzuki, whose real name was Matsuoka Iwao, was born in Tokyo on 6 July 1929. In December 1945, during his 4th year of high school, he dropped out of Waseda Jitsugyo Gakko, which graduated Oh Sadaharu in 1957, and fielded the winning summer tournament high school baseball team in 2006. Tsuzuki's life From 1949 to 1954, Tsuzuki published a few short stories, mostly historical fiction, in various monthly magazines. From about this time he also became a translator of hard-boiled detective stories. In 1956 he quit a job as a copywriter for a cosmetics company to edit Hayakawa Shobo's Japanese edition of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (EQMM). In 1961, Chuo Koron Sha published his first full-length mystery, Yabunirami no tokei [The clock that squinted], and he went on to be very productive. He wrote fiction in all genres -- mystery, historical, science, fantasy -- as well as reviews and criticism, and some movie scenarios. Many of his stories involve parody, and some appeal to interests in horror or erotica. Tsuzuki received the 6th Japan Mystery Award in Tokyo on 18 March 2006, then passed away on 27 November at a hospital in Honolulu, where his daughter and son-in-law live. Japan Mystery Award The Japan Mystery Award has been given since 1998 by the Kobun Scheherazade Foundation, which is associated with the publisher Kobunsha. Tsuzuki served on the selection committee for the first four awards before becoming seriously ill. The award was established to honor lifelong achievement in the field of mystery fiction, as can be seen from the names of those honored. The recipients to date (2006) have been: Sano Yo (1st), Nakajima Kawataro (2nd), Sazawa Saho (3rd), Yamada Futaro (4th), Tsuchiya Takao (5th), Tsuzuki Michio (6th, with a special award to Ayukawa Tetsuya), Morimura Seiichi (7th), Nishimura Kyotaro (8th), and Akagawa Jiro (9th). Tsuzuki interview I wrote, literally, hundreds of pages of notes on detective and mystery fiction in Japan during the 1970s, many of them concerning issues that developed from my interest in Tsuzuki. In 1976 I had the pleasure of meeting him -- after calling him several times until, finally, he invited me to his study. After moving on to other projects, I continued to clip articles about Tsuzuki and magazine and book ads featuring his stories and novels. Some of the articles had photographs, so I watched him age -- become thin, cut his thinning hair, upgrade his glasses. Nearly thirty years had passed in 2003 when I read in a weekly magazine that Tsuzuki had passed away. As always happens when an active writer moves on, several of his works were reissued in what amount to memorial editions. An acquired taste Though Tsuzuki was very productive, he never achieved the fame enjoyed by a fairly long list of contemporaries. My impression is that he wrote more for self-enjoyment, and for a small but dedicated readership, than for the mass fiction market. His themes and sense of humor are very much an acquired taste -- and I preferred the more straight-forward mysteries of Matsumoto Seicho (1909-1992), Shimada Kazuo (1907-1996), Sasazawa Saho (1930-2002), and even Yamamura Misa (1934-1996). Tsuzuki will probably not be remembered for his literature, but for his enormous contributions to the postwar translated mystery fiction industry, beginning with EQMM at Hayakawa Shobo. He was respected enough as a judge of good mysteries to serve on a number of mystery award committees. And while a century from now no one will pause to mention Quillion Sleigh, it is worth noting that the most widely sold anthology of Tsuzuki's most representative stories begins with a Quillion Sleigh episode. To be continued. Top Yamasaki Toyoko (b1924) Yamasaki Toyoko was born in 1924, and her first few novels were set in the city. She became a reporter for Mainichi Shinbun, and worked under Inoue Yasushi (1907-1991) when he was the sub-chief of its arts and literature desk. Inoue left the Mainichi after winning the 22th Akutagawa Prize in 1950 for "Togyu" [Bull fighting]. Yamasaki herself quit the paper to write full-time in 1958, the year she won the 39th Naoki Prize for her second novel, Hana noren [Flower shop curtain]. Her third novel, Bonchi, was made into a film the same year it was published in 1958. Yamasaki's popularity soared from 1963 when Shiroi kyoto [Great white tower] began to be serialized in the weekly magazine Sandee Mainichi. The story portrays the vanity of a power-hungry surgeon. The novel came out as a book when the serialization ended in 1965. A hugely popular movie was made the next year, and a continuation of the novel, called Zoku Shiroi Kyoto, was serialized from 1967 to 1968. In addition to the 1966 film, Shiroi kyoto has been dramatized for television four times -- twice by TV Asahi (1967 as NET TV, 1990 as TV Asahi), and twice by Fuji TV (1978-1979 and 2003). The surgeon was played by Tamiya Jiro (1935-1978) in the 1966 movie, and again in the 1978-1979 TV dramatization. Tamiya shot himself late in December 1978, shortly after doing the takes for the early January episode in which he dies of cancer. Fuji's 2003 remake came 25 years later. Fuji promoted the remake with a release in 2002 of a DVD edition of the 1978 series. Soon after televising the remake, it released DVDs of the remake. Futatsu no sokoku & Sanga moyu Yamasaki lived in Hawaii during 1979-1980 while doing research there, and elsewhere in the United States, for her next book, which fed the boom of interest at the time in both the "roots" of Japanese and the Pacific War. The pattern was by then familiar. Futatsu no sokoku [Two fatherlands] was serialized in the weekly Shukan Shincho from June 1980. Shinchosha published the novel in three volumes in 1983. Then the very year, NHK televised a somewhat altered version of the novel as "Sanga moyu" [Mountains and rivers burning] on its year-long Sunday-evening "Taiga dorama" -- breaking, for the first and last time, its tradition of adapting a "taiga shosetsu" or "roman-fleuve" saga about well-known historical figures and the events, usually wars, that made them famous. In 1983, an article in the monthly magazine Masukomi hyoron [Mass communication criticism] claimed that Yamasaki had gotten the idea for the novel from Shimamura 's Niju kokuseki sha (Hara Shobo, 1967), and that she may have plagiarized some of the content. Both the novel and the TV drama were controversial among Americans of Japanese ancestry. I myself became involved in the controversy. My published reviews of the novel and the TV drama, and some unpublished articles and materials related to the controversy, are posted here. Koei naki gaisen There have been several Japanese novels about Japanese Americans during the Second World War, before and after Futatsu no sokoku. In sheer size and ambition, Yamasaki's work has been superseded by Shinpo Yuichi's Eiko naki gaisen [Triumph without honor], published by Shogakkan in 2006 after serialization in Shogakkan's weekly magazine Shukan Posuto from 2003 to 2006. Shinpo Yuichi (b1961) Eiko naki gaisen [Triumph without honor] Tokyo: Shogakkan, 2006 Two hardcover volumes 608 and 656 pages Shinpo became a novelist after training and working as an animator. He began writing full-time after receiving the Edogawa Ranpo Prize in 1991 for Rensa [Links]. He has since won a spate of popular fiction awards, and several of his novels have been made into films and television dramas. Eiko naki gaisen is about three Japanese American men who are caught up by World War II in different ways. Jiro and Henry love the same woman, and Matt intends to marry his white lover, but the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor changes everything. Jiro, who can speak Japanese, becomes a member of the US Army Military Intelligence Service (MIS), which takes him to the Pacific. Henry faces court action because he resists the internment of Japanese Americans. Matt, with some friends, bears arms in the 442nd Infantry Regimental Combat Team, which fights in Europe. Daichi no ko Yamasaki's next most interesting novel for me -- not as literature but for its theme -- is Daichi no ko [Child of the great land], published by Bungei Shunju in 1991 after serialization in the monthly Bungei Shunju from May 1987 to April 1991. The story is about a Chinese man who was born in China to Japanese parents but raised by a Chinese couple -- his sister, who is left with him but becomes separated -- and their father, who many years later returns to China on business. The man is looking for his sister, and the man is looking for his son and daughter, when the father finds his daughter, and the man finds his sister -- who is sick and dying in poverty, in sharp contrast with her brother, who has been well educated and has good job. The woman dies, and her brother has to decide whether to stay in China and remain Chinese, or go to Japan and try to be Japanese. The novel won the Kikuchi Prize the same year, and was dramatized by NHK and a Chinese production company in commemoration of NHK's 70th anniversary in 1995. The drama featured a Japanese and Chinese cast, and much of it was shot in China. In 1996, Bungei Shunju published "Daichi no ko" to watakushi ["Daichi no ko" and I], Yamasaki's account of why she wrote Daichi no ko and how she researched the story. The book dwells on the number of people she interviewed -- but Endo Homare was not one of them. While the book appears to be little more than a tie-in, it has to have been partly motivated by the talks Endo had been having with Bungei Shunju about whether Yamasaki might have plagiarized her works. Chaazu In January 1997, Endo Homare, a Tsukuba University professor (now emeritus) of physics, filed a suit against Yamasaki, claiming that she had plagiarized Chaazu [Pincers], a novelization of her own experiences in Manchuria, published in two volumes through Yomiuri Shinbun Sha in 1984 and 1985, about the time that Yamasaki admits she began doing research on her novel. "Chaazu" reflects a katakana Japanization of "qiazi" (WG ch'iatzu), as the character for the title would be read in Chinese. The first volume of Chaazu is subtitled "Deguchi no nai daichi: 1948 nen Manshu no yoru to kiri" [A land with no exit: Nights and fog in Manchuria, 1948]. The story relates how a seven-year-old girl and her foster parents escape from the pincers of hell when Nationalist and Communist forces clash at Changchun in Manchuria in 1948, at the height of the postwar revolution. The second volume is called "Ushinawareta toki o motomete" [In search of time lost], and continues the saga the family after it escapes Changchun and arrives at Yanji, where the girl suffers from malnutrition and tuberculosis and almost dies. Yanji [WG Yenki, K Yonggil, J ] is the capital of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin province, near China's border with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea., Endo was born in China in 1941 and did not come to Japan until 1953. The story she tells is essentially her own. She strongly identifies with the plight of children who were unable to resettle in Japan until several years after 1972, when Japan and the People's Republic of China signed an amity agreement and established diplomatic relations. Some stats on orphaned Japanese A survey conducted in 1981 by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Japan counted 2,457 "left behind orphans" [zanryu koji] known to be in China. Among these, some 1,700 -- about 6,400 including family members -- had resettled in Japan. Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare statistics as of 31 August 2006 show that of the 2800 people counted as orphans, only 1279 have been able to confirm their identities. 2507 of the total, including 1087 with confirmed identities, have permanently resettled in Japan. 1134 others, including 732 with confirmed identities, have come to Japan to visit or to stay for a short period. Many Japanese parents left their children in China during the confusion that followed the Soviet invasion and occupation of Japanese positions in Manchuria in August 1945. Repatriation was slow and ineffective. One or both parents of some families were killed or died. Many parents left their children because they were unable to feed them, and were uncertain of their fates even if they managed to get back to Japan. Thousands of such "war displaced children" or "war orphans" -- of all ages, but mostly very young -- were taken in by Chinese families and raised as Chinese. Their stories of suffering in China, of frustrated searches for parents or siblings in Japan, and of the deep bonds they formed with their Chinese foster parents and with China itself, where most of them married and raised families, are among the most poignant to come out of the drama of "repatriation" that continues as I write this sixty years later. Bungei Shunju's golden egg An interesting development is that Bungei Shunju, in 1990, while still serializing Yamasaki's novel, published a paperback edition of Endo's novel in two volumes called Chaazu and subtitled "Chugoku kakumei sen o kugurinuketa Nihonjin shojo" [A Japanese girl who made it through the Chinese revolutionary war]. The aim of the new edition is partly to profit from public interest in the plight of Japanese war orphans on the 45th anniversary of the end of the war. But partly it is also intended as a tie-in with Yamasaki's novel. The following year, when Bungei Shunju published the finished version of Daichi no ko, it ran advertising in newspapers, and publicity articles in its own weekly Shukan Bunshun, promoting Yamasaki's novel as a "huge bestseller" that "exceeds Pearl Buck" -- a reference to The Good Earth (1931), which is known in Japanese as Daichi -- literally "large land" but figuratively just "the earth" and even "mother earth". (See, for example, Shukan Bunshun, 4 July 1991, pages 49-53) Claims and counter-claims Endo claimed that Yamasaki's portrayal of the escape of her (Yamasaki's) protagonist and his foster parents from Changshun is virtually the same as the depiction in her story -- down to structure and even dialog. She felt that Yamasaki has used her personal experiences, as related in Chaazu and even an early work, Fujori no kanata [Beyond absurdity] (1983), without permission. When she filed her suit, Endo also made public her case against Yamazaki in a book called Chaazu no kensho: Daichi no ko" toyo giwaku [An inspection of "Chaazu": "Daichi no ko" plagiarism suspicions], published by Akashi Shoten. Timed to come out with the suit, it naturally generated a great deal of publicity. The book and the negative publicity moved Yamasaki to threaten to sue Endo for libel, on the grounds that not only were her claims unfounded, but they caused excessive damage to her reputation as a writer. (Asahi Shinbun, Chokan, 14 January 1997, page 29; Shukan Asahi, 24 January 1997, pages 30-33). Court ruling The Tokyo District Court agreed with Yamasaki's defense of her novel as an original story that did not abuse Endo's work. In a ruling given on 26 March 2001, it dismissed Endo's demands for public apology and compensation. The decision found that "The use as material in novels of facts common to publications of others is to some extent permitted." While the overall plots of Yamasaki's and Endo's stories "have several points in common, and resemble each other within the limits of historical facts, there are important differences in their story development and narrative methods." (From summary of ruling.) Writing process Yamasaki lists Endo's books in the bibliography at the end of the second volume of Daichi no ko, along with other references. Endo said this was a ruse to give the impression that her work was just one of many others. In fact, many authors who set fiction in historical periods consult numerous sources -- especially if, like Yamasaki, they set out to lecture the reader about the author at least things really happened. And, like many such didactic writers, Yamasaki displays her research to heighten the reader's faith in the credibility of what is supposed to pass as documentary fact rather than fiction. Readers like to see their favorite authors at work, and authors of "faction", as much as those of "edutainment" and "docudrama", may feel they need to enhance their image as a reporter or scholar as well as a creator. A photograph on the first page of an article Yamasaki wrote for the May 1991 issue of Bungei Shunju, the month after the last episode of the serialized novel, shows her writing a manuscript while consulting a book, among several that are open on the table in front of her. One has the impression that, while Yamasaki may do a certain amount of research before she begins writing, she is writing on the fly while continuing to do research. The serialized version is somewhat edited for the book, but mostly the book is the same. I collected practically all of the serialized episodes of Futatsu no sokoku as they were being churned out ever week for Shukan Shincho. There are not a lot changes in the bound edition. And -- a common fault of fiction written to space in daily, weekly, or monthly heart beats -- the bound novel shows the seams and obesity of serialization. Other charges of plagiarism My take is that Yamasaki, like many Japanese writers who crank out page after page of fact-dependent fiction, day after day, with practically no let up, heavily depend on the works of others. Undoubtedly Yamasaki interview a number of Japanese Americans in preparation for the writing of Futatsu no sokoku and did a certain amount of other field work and, while writing, some fact checking. Yet Yamasaki plays loose with facts that get in the way of her interesting in racializing Japanese Americans and making it seem that many, in their own hearts, were more Japanese than American. And Yamasaki's hero, who kills himself, appears to have been directly inspired by a couple of biographies about a Japanese American interpreter who also killed himself. To be continued. Top English fiction While a regular contributor to the Mainichi Daily News, I was routinely asked to review a book for the seasonal "Summer Reading" column. Usually I declined, because I had not recently read anything I would really wish on others. I read for two purposes: research and pleasure. Most pulp fiction titles I now read for research. I read them, whether I like them or not, in order to be able to comment on their value as conveyors of information and stereotypes. Mostly I do not like them. I used to try and finish every book I started. I have found this not to be a very good way to spend my time. Now I finish only one in ten of the novels I begin to read for pleasure, and I find only one in ten of those I finish to be so impressive that I would publicly wish them on others. Passing muster James Welch's The Indian Lawyer (1990) was one of the one-in-one-hundred exceptions. Novels like J.M. Coetzee's Waiting for the Barbarians (1982) and Hari Kunzru's Transmission (2004) have more recently passed muster. Now and then I am inspired to promote a favorite work, hence my review, here, of Ted Chiang's Stories of Your Life and Others (2002). Top Language Half of them are stupid My first teacher of Japanese was a glassware washer I worked with in a pathology laboratory at the 106th Medical Hospital at Kishine Barracks in Yokohama in 1966. He was actually more than a glassware washer. He'd been going to medical school in Manchuria when the war ended and he was repatriated to Japan. But there he was -- washing test tubes, flasks, beakers, pipettes, and petri plates. Kobayashi Tatsuji taught me how to write kana and some kanji, and I (and then others in the bacteriology section) taught him how to prepare culture media, plate and read cultures, and do virtually everything else that had to be done in the microbiology section of the lab. Eventually his position was reclassified to that of a local national (civilian) lab assistant. Meanwhile, I finished my tour of duty and returned to Berkeley -- where I changed my major from Electrical Engineering to what was then called Oriental Languages. When "Oriental" stopped being fashionable, and "cultures" came into vogue, the Department of Oriental Languages changed its name to the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures. Who says there hasn't been progress at Berkeley? My first formal teacher of Japanese was Haruo Aoki, a specialist in North American linguistics, best known for his work on Nez Perce. It turned out he had done his field work in parts of Idaho where my mother was born and raised. I had actually spent some of my summers in the tiny mountain towns where he had lived while recording the speech and stories of older native informants. The first thing Aoki said, shortly after 8:00 one morning in the fall of 1967, at the first meeting of his beginning Japanese course in Durant Hall, was that Japanese couldn't be difficult. For all Japanese could speak it, and half of them were stupid. The whole class laughed. Aoki made the point that learning a language was not a matter of intelligence. It might come easier to the few that were gifted with that mysterious faculty for picking up a language simply through exposure to it, even in their advanced teens or early twenties, long after most brains have thrown up barriers to "natural" language acquisition. For most of us, though, it would be a matter of working at it for hours a day. Foremost Something about Aoki's attitude towards not only Japanese but life itself affected me then and still. On one my trips back to the campus, I interviewed him for a magazine in Japan on the subject of "The Nez Perce Indians: A North American People" (The English Journal, Vol. 9, No. 8, Ser. 107, July 1979, pp. 72-76, pp. 102-104). I had introduced Aiki as a "foremost expert" on the Nez Perce language. Before he replied to my question, he gave me this take on my characterization of his expertise. Before we go on, maybe I should make a little comment on your very generous word "foremost". I think there are two kinds of "foremost" -- one, because you're very bright and very capable, you become a foremost authority. The second type is, because nobody else is doing it. And I'm afraid I belong in the second category. And in response to my final question, about what he thought of the tendency then in Japan to call American Indians "Apatchi", he said this. Well, it's a little bit like calling a Japanese "Tsushima" or "Sapporo" or something like that. And it is as valid and as representative. Haruo Aoki was born in 1930 in Kunsan in Korea, received his BA in English from Hiroshima University in Japan in 1953, his MA in English from UCLA in 1958, and his PhD in Linguistics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1965. His life work, which began with Nez Perce Grammar in 1970, culminated with Nez Perce Dictionary in 1994. From the late 1990s, Aoki has been a Nez Perce language preservation consultant in the state of Washington, and has participated in the initiation of several Nez Perce language course. As of this writing (2017) he resides in the East Bay area near Berkeley. For a fuller story of Aoki's life and work, see Haruo Aoki in article on Keene, Seidensticker et al. in the Translation section of this website. The Wilupup [January] 2003 Nez Perce tribe newsletter, remarking on Aoki's dedication to the cause of recording and describing the Nez Perce language, noted that there were probably less than 150 fluent speakers when his dictionary came out. Others have stated the number is definitely under 100. Nez Perce is among numerous "endangered languages" in North America alone. It is, however, the "heritage language" of all putatively Nez Perce individuals -- even those who can't speak a word of the language, and those who haven't yet discovered they are Nez Perce. Painting pictures While all human languages essentially label objects and actions, and provide ways to specify relations between objects and actions, how a language actually does this varies according to what is generally called its "grammar". Most languages have ways of differentiating subjects and objects. Though English pronouns have specific "subject" and "object" forms (I/me, he/him), English generally marks the case of nouns by their position in relation to a verb, hence "dog bites man" and "man bites dog". In principle, case-marked English pronouns can be moved around and still be understandable, hence "I like her" and "her I like" -- while "I her like" would mimic "foreign" English. But if the "I / her" relationship was reversed in reference to the verb "like", you would have to write "She likes me." Japanese marks topics and subjects "wa" and "ga" and objects with "o". Topics may be more general than subjects, as commonly illustrated by the sentence "Zō wa hana ga nagai" meaning "As for elephants [their] noses are long." In such constructions, the topic "wa" phrase will always preceed the subject "ga" phrase, and possibly other "ga" phrases subordinate to the "wa" phrase will follow. Subjects generally precede objects, hence "Boku ga kanojo ga suki desu" (I like her) and "Boku wa kanojo o ai shite iru" (I love her). If, by chance, the orders of the "wa" and "ga" and "o" phrases were scrambled, the meanings would still be clear, for function is marked by post-positional markings, not order. Nez Perce marks subjects and objects according to their case. So in Nez Perce, all possible combinations of "I" and "like" and "her" would be possible. The word order would convey which of these elements is "new" or otherwise the "focus" of our interest. If there is sufficient information available in the context of a verb, it might be used without subjects or objects. In Japanese too, and in many languages, the verb, in sufficiently strong contexts, can carry the entire meaning of an utterance. One could say just "suki" ("like") in Japanese, and either information previously conveyed and still available to the listener -- or information that has not been articulated but is somehow suggested by the situation -- would clarify "who" likes "what" references. There is a lot of debate about how the mind processes language, and whether the minds of say "English" and "Japanese" and "Nez Perce" speakers are different. The idea is that the mind learns to "think" in terms of the language it learns to process. In English one hears "I" and expects a verb to follow ("I [love, read, bite, will, do, am]). And having heard "love" one expects an object will follow (I love [someone, something]"). If one hears only a verb, or only a verb and an object, it is likely to be a command ("love me or leave me"). Just "Love" as a saluation in a letter is somewhat ambiguous, because it could imply "with love" rather than "I love you". If one hears just "I love [noise]", the word obscured by the "noise" left to whatever the listener can deduct from the context or otherwise imagine. If one hears just "[noise] love you" then the obliterated word is grammatically constrained to "I" or "they" (or another plural subject). Word order is also important in Japanese. While relations of noun phrases to each other and associated verbs are clearly marked, phrase order is not entirely free. And word order within phrases is also highly constrained by grammatical and stylistic conventions. Nonetheless, one processes Japanese phrases in a larger stream of speech according to the functional markers that follow them. Verbs themselves are phrases, and the main verbs typically come at the end of a sentence or major group of phrases. Moreover, tense and negation markers typically come at the end of a verb phrase. Not often, but now and then, a series of phrases with specific markers can sufficiently constrain the context that the final verb can be omitted with no loss of meaning. The verb is omitted because it becomes predictable -- a foregone conclusion, so to speak. Anything that can be predicted is of little informational value -- it has little or no entropy -- and in strong enough contexts can be omitted with little or no risk of misunderstanding. In 1978, a linguist hired by the Ministry of Education to make sure English textbooks were teaching proper English, wrote in an Asahi shinbun op-ed that in Japanese you need only say "Tasukete!" to be saved, but in English you have to say "Help me!" I countered in an op-ed I wrote in Japanese for the column that you could cry just "Help!" -- and bystanders would not ask who it was you wanted them to help before they threw you a life line. "Help!" would be the most common expression in such a situation, whereas "Help me" would be used merely to request someone's assistance. The same linguist said that in Japanese you say "nomu" (drink) with soup, but in English you must say "eat". He also said you couldn't say "drink tobacco" in English. I said that in English you can say "drink soup" if in fact you drink it, and that people "drunk" tobacco long before they "smoked" it. There is concrete evidence of such usage in English literature and even in English diaries about Japan. There is some testimony to the effect that, when listening to Nez Perce, one has to hear all the affixed words before one can know what is being said. Supposedly the brain has to wait for all pieces of the puzzle before it put them together into a picture that makes sense. Someone arguing that the Nez Perce brain might therefore be different wrote that a certain "tribal educator who is seeking to become fluent in her heritage language, verbalized this [heuristic] shift beautifully. Her face lit with joy as she exclaimed, 'My language paints a picture in my head; I just watch it!'" The idea is that, because Indo-European languages involve "linear" or "real time" processing of words that typically have only one morpheme per word, they facilitate "analytical" or "critical" thinking in the form of conscious sequential inductive logic. Whereas Native American languages, presumably because they entail more "holistic" processing of words composed of more than one and sometimes many morphemes, make logical processing more difficult because one must wait for a picture to pop into or be painted in one's brain before there can be any conscious awareness. Well, Aoki's brain -- native in Japanese, and better wired in English than most native English brains, managed to transcribe Nez Perce stories into texts that made enough sense to be translated into both English and Japanese. And reading these texts makes it very clear that Nez Perce speech, though a highly agglutinated or polysynthetic (words consisting of several morphemes) polysemous languages like many in the world, has every appearance of being translatable. To be continued. Linguistics I began studying Chinese the same semester I started Japanese. The next year I continued Japanese but switched to Korean instead of Chinese. By then I had decided to specialize in Japanese but wanted to familiarize myself with Chinese and Korean. My only regret is that I did not pursue Chinese and Korean as diligently as I did Japanese -- to the point where I could speak, read, and write them today, rather than merely be able to pick my way through book and article titles, and translate a phrase or two with the help of dictionaries. I also audited a general undergraduate course in linguistics taught by James A. Matisoff, in preparation for taking Haruo Aoki's graduate courses on Japanese linguistics. Matisoff, now emeritus at UCB, is a Sino-Tibetan specialist. He animated his lectures on general linguistic principles with comparisons of words from numerous languages he had studied, not only from the Indo-European and Sino-Tibetan families, but Japanese, which he was able to speak. Matisoff launched UCB's Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus project. It's goal is a dictionary of Proto-Sino-Tibetan, the reconstructed ancestor of "Chinese, Tibetan, Burmese, and over 200 other languages spoken in South and Southeast Asia." for specialized in North American languages but was also well-versed in Japanese historical linguistics and dialectology. Though primarily interested in the relationships between the families of North American languages and Siberian languages, he was also a close observer of the still unsettled controversy over the linguistic affiliations of Japanese. The methods of historical linguistics were developed and proven in the reconstruction of Proto Indo-European -- the "Eve" of the Indo-European super family of languages, the largest in the world. Through a backward analysis of how sounds have changed in languages as far flung in space and time as Sanskrit, Hittite, Greek, Latin, and English and Russian and Spanish, linguistics determined that these and over four-hundred other languages descended from a common tongue. Sino-Tibetan, the second largest super family of languages, includes Chinese, Tibetan, and Vietnamese, Linguists are divided between between all human languages derive from a common ancestral population in which speech first evolved (monogenesis), or whether speech evolved in more than one human population (polygenesis). The former are looking for "the cradle" -- the latter for "the cradles" -- of human language(s). Numerous attempts have been made to group Indo-European and other language families, like South Caucasian, Altaic, Uralic, Dravidian, and Afro-Asiatic, into an even larger family. Most such attempts speculate as about cultural and even racial links as much as they do about common linguistic roots. Archaeology and genetics are therefore playing a greater role in what began as a purely linguistic endeavor. National identities are often at stake. Romantics in nations that are homes to the older Indo-European languages, sometimes guided by myths of national origin, want to believe the whole family got its start in a certain valley where their nation now sits. But nationalist theories inevitably encounter fatal problems in the light of archaeological and other evidence. Top Japanese Japanese and English cannot be fundamentally different, since both are human languages. There are only so many things a language can do, and Japanese and English allow one to do most of these things, in pretty much the same way. I am not, of course, talking about pronunciation or word order. I am talking the fact that most languages have names for objects and actions, expressions that modify the qualities of objects and actions, and ways to relate such elements in a train of thought that could be past, present, future, or timeless. Moreover, users of English and Japanese share essentially the same emotional capacity for anger, joy, disappointment, anxious anticipation, fear, whatever. To be continued. Top English While intelligence may help in learning or using a language, what makes some people better or more interesting speakers than others is personality. This fall a Japanese friend asked me to let an Australian girl stay at my home for a couple of nights before she returned to Australia. After speaking with the girl on the phone, I said to my friend, "She speaks very well." My friend said, "Of course, she's Australian." My friend meant that the girl spoke well because she was a native speaker. I meant that she was an exceptionally good speaker, because most native speakers don't speak particularly well. They just speak, because they have mouths, like they walk because they have legs To be continued.
2205	dbpedia	1	67	https://bakchormeeboy.com/2020/11/12/by-the-book-an-interview-with-sonny-liew-creator-of-the-art-of-charlie-chan-hock-chye/	en	By The Book: An Interview with Sonny Liew, creator of The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye	https://bakchormeeboy.co…33-am.png?w=1200	https://bakchormeeboy.co…33-am.png?w=1200	[ "https://bakchormeeboy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/cropped-logo.png?w=90", "https://bakchormeeboy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/screenshot-2020-11-08-at-8.12.33-am.png?w=1702&h=768&crop=1", "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0432/1161/files/15liew-1-superJumbo-2_1024x1024.jpg?v=1565764298", "https://www.straitstimes.com/sites/default/files/articles/2017/06/28/sonny5.jpg", "https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51T0QGi-fzL._SX332_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg", "https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51zkPfxkYyL.jpg", "https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591539062l/160457._SX318_.jpg", "https://i.imgur.com/buk1H0K.png", "https://i.imgur.com/UAwJtpl.png", "https://i.imgur.com/tOwYd0Z.png", "https://i.imgur.com/NoUjDnJ.png", "https://i.imgur.com/Esw4KKf.png", "https://bakchormeeboy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/screenshot-2020-10-08-at-4.28.32-pm.png?w=276&h=408", "https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/87450d76a871ec256d0578fbad4c672842bb2c8bfd0f8ac8fbc9addc6c4718fe?s=20&d=identicon&r=G", "https://bakchormeeboy.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/bakchormeeboy-banner-728x90compressed-approved1.gif?w=300", "https://bakchormeeboy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/logo.png?w=50", "https://bakchormeeboy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/logo.png?w=50", "https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?v=noscript" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2020-11-12T00:00:00	It's been five years since The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye was first published, and since then, has gone on to win a slew of awards, ranging from the 2016 Singapore Literature Prize for English Fiction, to three Eisner Awards in 2017 for Best Writer/Artist, Best Publication Design, and Best U.S. Edition of International…	en	https://bakchormeeboy.co…02/logo.png?w=32	Bakchormeeboy	https://bakchormeeboy.com/2020/11/12/by-the-book-an-interview-with-sonny-liew-creator-of-the-art-of-charlie-chan-hock-chye/	It’s been five years since The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye was first published, and since then, has gone on to win a slew of awards, ranging from the 2016 Singapore Literature Prize for English Fiction, to three Eisner Awards in 2017 for Best Writer/Artist, Best Publication Design, and Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia. But for graphic novelist Sonny Liew, life hasn’t changed all that much since becoming such a decorated artist. Besides illustrating for works such as Gene Luen Yang’s The Shadow Hero (First Second Books), and Magdalene Visaggio Eternity Girl (Vertigo), he’s also been a part of the Singapore International Festival of Arts with theatre piece Becoming Graphic, and set for the publication of a joint project with writer Cherian George, titled Red Lines: Political Cartoons and the Struggle against Censorship come 2021. Original cover of The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye (2015, Epigram Books) “Before Charlie Chan came out, I was still known mostly as an illustrator,” says Sonny. “After winning the Eisner, some things did change, like how I now get better page rates both locally and in the USA, and I’ve received more offers from publishers to do other stories. Besides being an actual published work, Charlie Chan ended up doubling as a portfolio to let publishers know what I’m capable of.” For now though, he’s letting Charlie Chan enjoy its continued success, with publishers Epigram Books releasing the five year anniversary edition of the book, containing bonus material that includes a Q&A with Sonny and treasured sketches. “Charlie Chan has done well for Epigram over the last five years, not just locally, but also internationally. It’s gone into second print runs in Brazil and Spain,” says Sonny. “I like to think that it’s because there was something different about this book from other projects out there.” Second edition of Brazilian hardcover print of The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye Going back in time a little, Sonny’s story as an artist actually starts back in the mid-90s, when he penned the strip Frankie and Poo in The New Paper (eventually collected and published by Times Publishing). “It was such an engaging experience, and I wanted to figure out how I could eventually go into some kind of artistic career,” says Sonny. “So in 2001, I went to Rhode Island School of Design to actually learn it formally. Art school definitely led me to explore different things, from caricature to painting, and eventually, I found an internship with a computer game company. There came a point where I was hired as an illustrator and I was ended up trying to juggle that and work on other projects at night. but realised I just didn’t have enough hours in a day to do both.” “When I switched over to freelance work, I realised that the USA doesn’t offer a visa for that, so I had to come back, and that was the point I really made a commitment to become a full-time comic artist, and I guess that’s something I’ve stuck with and still do for over ten years now,” he continues. “I get the sense that if I stayed in the USA there would be more fan outreach and it would help more with networking within the industry, especially with how some artists earn even more money from art and comic conventions than publishers, something that won’t happen in Singapore. Still, location definitely isn’t a barrier, and working remotely on international projects is completely possible. Plus, the Internet has made it much easier to reach out now, like how ArtGerm has found success despite being based in Singapore.” Malinky Robot: Collected Stories & Other Bits (2011, Image Comics) Sonny’s artistic career and sensibilities quickly led him to him becoming an indie darling in the comics world, with creations such as the award-winning Malinky Robot (Slave Labor Graphics) and becoming the editor of the Eisner Award-nominated anthology series Liquid City (Image Comics). From there, he went on to work with industry giants such as Marvel and DC, illustrating variant covers and art for syndicated superheroes and other series. In the midst of it all came the idea for The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, which at that point, was set to be his most ambitious project yet. “The idea for Charlie Chan came up when I was reading Roger Sabin’s Comics, Comix and Graphic Novels, which was a survey of comics from around the world,” says Sonny. “That was a book that really helped me contextualise comics and learn about their creation in places like France and Japan, and and that got me thinking about writing a book like that.” Comics, Comix and Graphic Novels: A History of Comic Art by Roger Sabin (1996) “So I drew inspiration from concepts like Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics, where it was literally a comic about comics, and intended to create this book that, on the surface, seemed to be about art and comics, but actually doubled as a book that charted the history of Singapore,” Sonny continues. “Initially, it was conceptualised as an art book, and was meant to be a book filled with essays and art, and not so much to be read from cover to cover. But along the way, it evolved into a story with a narrative, while still retaining some elements of the art book, using stylistic segues to lead in to the characters’ life stories, and Charlie Chan’s life tying it all together.” “Working on my own projects is really quite different from working on projects for publishers written by someone else,” he adds. “For the latter, I acted more as an illustrator. All I had to focus on was the visuals, and not the narrative. Still, I did have to do my share of research and remain fully engaged, even if it was a syndicated character. As for Charlie Chan, it was a creative risk, and for several years I wasn’t sure whether any local publisher would end up picking it up, but eventually, Epigram got a fairly big grant from the MDA, and it became a good chance to explore this book. I ended up working on it over a three year period, while working on other projects in between as well.” Panel from The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye For anyone who might be misled into thinking Charlie Chan was an actual artist, unfortunately, as realistic a backstory as Sonny has managed to illustrate for him, he’s completely fictional. “Charlie Chan’s life isn’t based on any one artist in particular, but more of a combination of different artists’ experiences, insofar as it shows how he had this rising path while he was still young and hopeful, and then about how his art style eventually gets superseded by new styles, and goes out of fashion, where he finds his career petering out towards the end,” explains Sonny. Considering how diverse his art style is across Charlie Chan, Sonny doesn’t seem in danger of ever having his career following that same trajectory. “My sense is that everyone has their own art style, but you’ll end up finding other people’s drawings you like and emulating them as an artist. There’s this almost conscious attempt to learn new stylistic tricks and approaches, and eventually, it gels together with your existing style,” he says. “When I started out, I was still doing inking on paper light boxes, but nowadays, I’m most working on a computer for things like colouring. While there’s definitely plenty that’s happening that I’m not completely aware of, I do still try to keep up with it.” Pages from The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye “My biggest fear is that there will come a point in life where I no longer feel like I’m doing my most creative work,” he admits. “I wonder, after Charlie Chan and this ‘break’, how much time do I have to remain at this creative level? Of course it’s a vague background worry, and I’m not sure how real it is, because otherwise, you do see plenty of people out there constantly releasing creative work their whole lives.” In terms of his next project, while he has illustrated syndicated superheroes and the like, he doesn’t think that it’s a path he’ll go down for his own creations. “There were elements of that in Charlie Chan, like the Roachman idea, and I did grow up with heroes like Spiderman and Batman, but I don’t think I’d ever create a work with the superhero as the sole focus, instead relegating it as references or tropes of it,” he says. “I do admire the craft that goes into superhero comics a lot, but I still prefer indie and alternative graphic novels from the likes of Chris Ware. I do understand however, that so many of these mainstream series are so restricted because of the 20 page limit per issue per month, so it might limit what the creators can do.” Pages from The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye Besides the Cherian George project, Sonny reveals that he intends for his next book to tackle the topic of capitalism and the economy. “I’m interested in doing books about topics that are interesting to me, but I don’t know enough about. With Charlie Chan, that was about Singapore history, which I ended up researching a lot of,” he says. “The challenge I set for myself is to find ways to tell these stories that are both formally experimental but still engaging, and for the end result to hopefully translate and transmute the information I have in a good way, something I also hope to achieve in my next book.” Sonny certainly takes an interest in a wide variety of topics, who, as at the time of this interview, was reading a range of titles including Michael Sandel’s Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do?, and former New York Times journalist Russell Baker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiography Growing Up, about his experience with the Great Depression. Comics and graphic novels too of course, remain close to his heart, and when asked about some of his ‘desert island comics’, he replies: “The Complete Calvin and Hobbes, something by Chris Ware, and probably the collected works of Yoshihara Tsuge.” Pages from The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye As for whether he will ever move on from being known first and foremost as the creator of Charlie Chan, Sonny doesn’t really mind either way. “You can’t avoid being known for a particular work, because you have no control over how your work is received, and that’s not a bad thing,” says Sonny. “The only thing an artist can do is focus on the work and see where it leads you.” Extract from Red Lines: Political Cartoons and the Struggle against Censorship by Cherian George and Sonny Liew, forthcoming from the MIT Press in 2021 On the state of local literature in Singapore, while Charlie Chan has enjoyed relative popularity here, Sonny does believe that more can still be done. “People say Singapore doesn’t have the critical mass, and sure, you won’t get a billion readers here, but you can still see how works like Harry Potter have done so well at bookstores. Maybe it’s because the awareness of local work isn’t quite as strong, and there’s still a lot that can be improved with our infrastructure and the perception of it, which still can be improved,” he muses. “We do try, but there’s still many restrictions preventing us from becoming a first world city with a lively arts scene. I think about this saying in the UK that there’s no more working class actors, compared to when the state was funding theatre. Maybe without the funding for certain projects, you end up with practitioners from middle or higher income families who can afford to take on the uncertainties of a career in the arts, especially in the long run, because they have the financial leeway, and we end up losing the perspective of a lot of people.” Cover of The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye (5th Anniversary Edition), published by Epigram (2020) As for a piece of advice he’d like to impart, Sonny concludes with this: “An art school teacher once told me when we were doing live painting that ‘every hour is the first hour’. You can spend a whole day working on a painting but if something goes wrong, we have to fix it, and improve it where we can. While that’s not always possible in the real world, the idea is that we should improve things where we can, and always try to improve on our weaknesses to get better in time.” The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye (5th Anniversary Edition) is published by Epigram and available here.
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2205	dbpedia	2	24	http://moviemagg.blogspot.com/2008/06/nineteen-charlie-chans-fox-boxed-sets.html	en	Movie Magg: Nineteen Charlie Chans! The Fox Boxed Sets	http://moviemagg.blogspot.com/favicon.ico	http://moviemagg.blogspot.com/favicon.ico	[ "https://resources.blogblog.com/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "View my complete profile" ]	null	by Mark Gabrish Conlan • Copyright © 2008 by Mark Gabrish Conlan • All rights reserved After years of neglect — at least partly conditioned ...		http://moviemagg.blogspot.com/favicon.ico		http://moviemagg.blogspot.com/2008/06/nineteen-charlie-chans-fox-boxed-sets.html	Nineteen Charlie Chans! The Fox Boxed Sets by Mark Gabrish Conlan • Copyright © 2008 by Mark Gabrish Conlan • All rights reserved After years of neglect — at least partly conditioned by Asian-American activists who’ve condemned the films as racist, less due to their actual content than that the hero was always played by white actors — 20th Century-Fox has reissued most of its surviving Charlie Chan films in DVD boxed sets, four films to a package with a couple of intriguing bonuses: the 1929 early talkie Behind That Curtain (the first Chan film to survive) and Eran Trece, the surviving Spanish-language version of Charlie Chan Carries On, the lost debut of Warner Oland in the role. This is a survey of all the films released so far as my partner Charles and I have gone through the boxed sets and watched them. — M.G.C., 6/4/08 ••••• Behind That Curtain is a 1929 Fox production that’s the first Charlie Chan movie produced at that studio, the first Chan talkie and the earliest Chan movie that survives. That’s about all it has going for it, though. It was based on the third Chan novel written by the character’s creator, Earl Derr Biggers, who structured his book much the way Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did A Study in Scarlet and The Valley of Fear: a mystery prologue involving the “sleuth” character, a long backstory flashback indicating who the murder victim was, who the murderer was and the entire history that led this person to kill that other person, and a short epilogue in which the sleuth returns to tie up the loose ends. Fox’s scenarists, George Middleton (credited with the adaptation, so this was presumably his idea) and Sonya Levien & Clarke Silvernail (script), decided to lop off the introductory passage with the sleuth and just tell the backstory, bringing Chan in at the end as a sort of deus ex machina. William Fox, who when this film was made still headed the studio that bore his name (and who picked Upton Sinclair, of all people, to write his authorized biography, which makes me wonder what he’d think of the way the studio’s current owner, Rupert Murdoch, has made his last name synonymous with Right-wing news and political commentary), obviously saw this film as a follow-up to In Old Arizona, since he reunited that hit movie’s director, Irving Cummings, and star, Warner Baxter, and took advantage of all the opportunities for location work. A good chunk of the story takes place in what was then called “Persia” (modern-day Iran), even though it’s “played” by all too familiar Western locations and the “Persian desert” is obviously Hollywood’s all-purpose stand-in for deserts anywhere, the big sand dunes outside Yuma, Arizona. Baxter plays British explorer Col. John Beetham, who’s just returned from a four-month trip to China to find that private investigator Hilary Galt (Edgar Norton, for once not playing an alcoholic) has dug up some derogatory information about him and threatens to reveal that to his client, Sir George Mannering (Claude King), which will jeopardize his chances of marrying Mannering’s niece Eve (Lois Moran, second-billed). Only it turns out that during his Chinese expedition Eve has met and fallen in love with no-good bounder Eric Durand (Philip Strange) and it’s Eric that Galt plans to dis to Sir George (who doesn’t need any persuasion since he already hates him and bitterly opposes Eve marrying him) — and, in order to prevent this from happening, Eric elopes with Eve, kills Galt and leaves a pair of Chinese slippers at the scene of the crime (gifts from the Chinese emperor to Col. Beetham) to frame Beetham for the crime. Beetham flees by embarking on his planned expedition to Iran, and who else should turn up there but Mr. and Mrs. Durand. By then Eric is openly carrying on with his native servant, Nuna (Mercedes De Valasco) — even screwing her in what was supposed to be Eric’s and Eve’s marital bed — and Eve decides to separate from him but not divorce him because that would cause a scandal that would embarrass Col. Beetham, whom she’s decided she loves after all. Eve and Beetham run into each other when he’s about to set off into the Persian desert on his way to India, and the two of them ride into the desert and vibrate with mutual sexual frustration for several reels before they finally yield to the obvious temptation. Just then Sir Frederick Bruce (Gilbert Emery) of Scotland Yard turns up in Tehran, on the trail of Beetham for murdering Galt, and he meets Eric. The two of them charter a plane to fly on ahead of Beetham’s caravan, and of course run into Beetham and narrowly miss Eve — who overhears them and rides back to Tehran, then leaves the area altogether. A year passes, and the principals all end up in San Francisco, where Bruce and police inspector Charlie Chan (E. L. Park) attempt to catch the killer. Eric corners Eve in an elevator in a San Francisco hotel and demands a letter she received from Alf Pornick (John Rogers), Galt’s assistant, which is the only physical evidence tying Eric to the murder — he tells Eve and us that he’s already killed Pornick to shut him up and plans to do the same to Eve. Beetham is scheduled to give a lecture in the hotel ballroom and show films of his expedition, and during the showing Eric attempts to shoot Beetham from the audience, Bruce blocks the shot and takes the bullet himself (though he survives), and Chan shoots and kills Eric, thereby allowing the case to be solved without the scandal of a public trial. Of course, Beetham and Eve end up together. Behind That Curtain is a quirky story that could have made a good movie, but unfortunately this film is a virtual compendium of all that went wrong with the early talkies, especially the ones whose directors were too weak to stand up to the insane demands of the sound men that everyone … talk … really … slowly … and … distinctly, and … … pause … between … hearing their … cue line … and deliver- … -ing their own. The action is staged almost entirely in two-shots between the people presumably conversing, and though Fox was the pioneering studio in developing sound-on-film technology this film is as stiff, and its cameras as immobile, as anything Warners was making at the time with the handicap of the cumbersome (and soon obsolete) Vitaphone sound-on-disc equipment. The films from 1929 that stand up as entertainment today — Vidor’s Hallelujah!, Mamoulian’s Applause, Lubitsch’s The Love Parade, Wyler’s Hell’s Heroes, Capra’s Ladies of Leisure — are the ones that ignored the ostensible strictures of sound shooting and featured actors conversing normally, cameras that actually moved, and creative uses of sound. Behind That Curtain is all too typical of the common run of early sound films, stiff and boring, and though William K. Everson seems far too patronizing about the later Fox Chans with Warner Oland (“There was never much mystery about any of the ‘hidden killers’ in the Chan movies, nor much variety in their unmasking,” he wrote — a comment belied by Charlie Chan in Paris, with its gimmick of having the killer wear such a heavy disguise that it turns out two separate people are committing the murders, taking turns wearing the disguise and thereby alibi-ing each other, though this particular gimmick would have worked better if the two actors had been the same height; as it was, one was noticeably taller than the other and that should have given the game away; or Charlie Chan on Broadway, in which the obnoxious reporter we expect to be the romantic lead turns out to be the killer), he’s right on about this one: “The film itself, while it goes out of its way to exploit different kinds of sound effects and a variety of languages, is dull and plodding. The desert locales do nothing but emphasize the space in which nothing happens and also limits the number of characters involved, so that the interchange of dialogue is lengthened into tedium by long delays and reactions. The whole film is much more pedestrian than its basically good story and cast (including Boris Karloff) would indicate.” As for Karloff — making his sound-film debut and billed only as “Hindu servant” (which explains how he can get away at one point with pretending he speaks neither English nor Farsi) — he’s Beetham’s manservant (there’s an unintentionally funny scene in which, inside a desert tent, he’s serving Beetham, Bruce, and Eric drinks) and he gets very little more to say than, “Yes, Sahib” — though in a film like this that’s something of an advantage (and it’s worth remembering that two years later Karloff would become a star from Frankenstein, in which aside from a few pre-verbal cries, grunts and moans his character was mute). The rest of the film just plods along and wastes some potentially interesting actors — including Moran, who didn’t have much of a career after sound came in even though she gets the two genuinely emotional moments in this one: the scene in which she’s debating whether to have sex with Beetham (in which she’s a lot more subtle than Baxter, who’s attempting to figure out how to do the Valentino schtick in a sound film) and the good suspense scene in which Eric traps her in the hotel elevator. Warner Baxter had a tendency, even in better films than this, to seem unnecessarily overwrought (in his good films, like 42nd Street and The Prisoner of Shark Island, he was able to harness that to create effective characterizations), but in this one he seems determined to leave no stick of scenery unchewed — and at one point he audibly stumbles over a line, the kind of mistake one forgives in a stage play but in a movie makes one ask, “Why didn’t they retake?” I couldn’t help thinking that Behind That Curtain might have been a great movie, even in 1929, if Fox could have borrowed Josef von Sternberg from Paramount to direct; with Sternberg’s mastery of exotic atmosphere and his ability to get his actors to underplay (not just Dietrich but even 100 percent cured, smoked hams like Emil Jannings), and the control-freak tendencies that would have made him read the riot act to those stupid sound people, a Sternberg Behind That Curtain could have been a real gem. There are elements in this film of some interest — Karloff’s glowering screen presence; E. L. Park’s Chan (he was a British actor but he was considerably more convincingly “alien” than the Chans to follow); the use of source music to take the place of underscoring (sound mixing was still in its infancy and the use of non-source background music under dialogue was a considerably later development, around 1931 or so) — though the virtually forgotten Hamilton MacFadden does a much better job in that department in the 1931 film The Black Camel, also in the current Chan box and the only survivor among the first five Oland Chans (and one of the very best films in the series, thanks to MacFadden’s creative direction and the welcome presence of Bela Lugosi in a key supporting role) and an overall story that could have made a good (if not great) movie — but they’re lost in … a welter of … badly delivered … dialogue and … flatly photographed … scenes that add … up to an excruciatingly … boring film. — 9/2/07 ••••• There was one film in the DVD packages I’d just got that I particularly wanted to see: Eran Trece (“There Were Thirteen”), made by Fox in 1931 as the Spanish-language version of Fox’s first Charlie Chan film with Warner Oland, Charlie Chan Carries On (the fifth of Earl Derr Biggers’ six Chan novels). Through one of the bizarre vagaries of film preservation, the English-language version with Oland has been lost (indeed, of Oland’s first five Chan films, only the second, The Black Camel, survives) but this Spanish-speaking version, shot (like the Spanish Dracula, the German Anna Christie and the Spanish and French versions of Laurel and Hardy’s first feature, Pardon Us) simultaneously with the English version (Lupita Tovar, the female lead of the Spanish Dracula, recalled that the Spanish version was shot at night on the same sets as the English version had been shot on during the day, and the director was instructed to block the action the same way as the director of the English version so they could use the same “marks,” the lines taped on the floor of the set instructing the actors where to stop so the camera will photograph them properly). The American Film Institute Catalog credits David Howard as the director of Eran Trece (Hamilton MacFadden helmed the English-language version) and doesn’t list the translator of the script (the English version was written by Philip Klein and Barry Connors). The film opens with the murder of Isaac Potter, fabulously wealthy American, in a hotel room in London, and suspicion falls on the other 12 members of his tour group — he was on a round-the-world tour sponsored by Dr. Lofton (Julio Villarreal) — including his daughter Ellen (Ana María Custodio), Chicago gangster Max Minchin (Raul Roulien, who later played Gene Raymond’s rival for Dolores Del Rio’s affections in Flying Down to Rio — thereby putting everyone else in this cast one degree of separation from Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers!) and his wife Peggy (Bianca de Castejón), playboy and fantasist Walter Decker (Carlos Diaz de Mendoza) and his estranged wife, actress Sybil Conway (Lia Torá) — she wasn’t part of the tour group of trece but she was filming in San Remo and he was planning to join her when the tour reached there — as well as elderly attorney Paul Nielson (Antonio Vidal) — who in one sequence has a heart attack and his attendant saves his life using an amyl nitrite “popper” — and various assorted hangers-on. For the first three-fifths of the film Chan doesn’t appear at all — the lead detective is Inspector Duff (Rafael Calvo) of Scotland Yard, who gets involved in the first place because the initial murder (there are others, and while the first victim is strangled with a luggage strap the rest are shot by an unseen gunman who has an amazing ability to pick off people while firing through open windows) took place in his jurisdiction and who follows the tour group around the world (established through some generic sets on the Fox backlot and ghastly silent-era stock footage of the Pyramids and Sphinx to let us know they’re supposed to be in Egypt) until he himself is picked off through the open window of Charlie Chan’s office in Honolulu; he eventually recovers, but meanwhile Charlie Chan “carries on” with the case and ultimately uncovers the real murderer in San Francisco along with the motive — something about smuggling diamonds out of South Africa (we don’t leave the film with too clear an idea of what the crime was all about or why the killer, the usual peripherally involved character, picked these particular people to eliminate: maybe all was clearer in Biggers’ novel). On one level, Eran Trece is a surprisingly good movie: director Howard uses a surprisingly mobile camera and there are even some bits of background underscoring, unusual in a 1931 talkie, that make much of the film (especially the middle reels) look more like 1935 than 1931. But it’s still workmanlike rather than inspired, and given the superb atmospherics director MacFadden achieved in the second Fox Chan film, The Black Camel, I can’t help but think that the English version was probably better (unlike the Spanish Dracula, which despite the absence of Bela Lugosi and the mere competence of the actor who replaced him actually comes off, on balance, as a better film) — and by the way, why wasn’t The Black Camel included in the first Chan boxed set? Because it doesn’t have a title that begins with Charlie Chan in … ? Because of the myth that it’s unshowable today because one reel has poor sound quality (the bootleg tape I got from Canada contained the entire 72-minute film and the sound quality, though nothing to write home about, was consistent throughout and good enough that one could understand the dialogue and follow the plot)? It’s a pity, and one can only hope 20th Century-Fox Home Video includes it in the next Chan boxed set (and they’re calling this one Volume 1 so there’s a strong possibility that there will be a Volume 2) [actually they included it in Volume 3 — M.G.C., 6/4/08] because, along with Charlie Chan at the Opera, it’s the best film in the series, with MacFadden’s proto-noir compositions and superb use of “source” Hawai’ian music instead of orchestral backing (and a great performance by horror icon Bela Lugosi as a fake swami, though it takes real suspension of disbelief to accept Lugosi’s Magyar tones as coming from someone who’s supposed to be British). Like a lot of other later Chans, Eran Trece is sluggish (as I’ve pointed out often in these pages, it’s quite surprising that the early 1930’s produced so many great gangster films but, with virtually only two exceptions — the 1931 Maltese Falcon and 1934 Thin Man, both based on Dashiell Hammett novels — 1930’s filmmakers turned flat, leaden and dull when they tried to dramatize other sorts of crime), and the actor playing Chan, Manuel Arbó, is clearly modeling his performance on Oland’s long before Oland’s became iconic; also the famous Chan aphorisms literally lose a lot in translation (reading them in subtitles, they just sound stupid) — and Charles informed me that in Mexico people tell “Chinese jokes” the way Americans told “Polish jokes” and that Arbó was doing a lot of “l” and “r” switches that made Chan more of a buffoon than the serious character Biggers intended and Oland (and Sidney Toler after him) played. Eran Trece is a good movie, and I’m glad it survived and is back in circulation, but it’s hardly a long-lost gem. — 10/8/06 ••••• The movie I wanted to run when we got home was the 1931 film The Black Camel, the main reason I had bought the Charlie Chan, volume 3 DVD boxed set from 20th Century-Fox. I’d seen it before in a mediocre-quality bootleg tape from Vortex Video in Canada and it was nice to see it in an “official” DVD transfer that was quite beautiful, doing full justice to director Hamilton MacFadden’s atmospherics and the chiaroscuro effects cinematographers Joseph August and Daniel Clark (more prestigious names than usually got to do Chan films) got for him. The film is a quite close adaptation of the fourth Chan novel by Earl Derr Biggers — though it opens when movie star Shelah Fane (Dorothy Revier) and her film company reach Honolulu, Hawai’i and omits the long prologue Biggers wrote detailing the action on ship on their way there, during which Fane started a shipboard romance with millionaire Alan Jaynes (William Post, Jr.). He wants to marry her, but she’s concerned that he may learn her role in the death, three years earlier, of fellow movie actor Denny Mayo. Shelah sends for Tarneverro (Bela Lugosi), her favorite fortune-teller, and he arrives in Honolulu and not only tells her she can’t marry Alan but induces her to confess to the murder of Mayo. Shortly thereafter, Shelah is found stabbed to death on the floor of the pavilion of the Royal Hawai’ian Hotel — and Chan, who has already been investigating Tarneverro while posing as a humble Chinese merchant, is on the case. There’s the usual pool of suspects, including Shelah’s personal assistant, Julie O’Neil (Sally Eilers, second-billed) — who’s dating her own rich young man, Jimmy Bradshaw (Robert Young, looking like he just got out of high school) — Robert Fyfe (Victor Varconi), actor and Shelah’s former husband; Smith (Murray Kinnell), an artist-turned-beachcomber; his native girlfriend Luana (Rita Rozelle); Thomas and Anna MacMaster (J. M. Kerrigan and Mary Gordon), foster parents of the late Denny Mayo and his brother Arthur; Shelah’s maid Anna (Violet Dunn); Jessop (Dwight Frye, reunited with Lugosi from the Dracula cast), butler at the hotel; and Van Horn (whose connection to the others is unclear but who looks sinister enough if only because C. Henry Gordon is playing him). About the only false note in the story is the appearance of a comic sidekick for Chan, Kashimo (Otto Yamaoka), who like the Number One and Two Sons in the later Chan films is always causing trouble — at one point he bursts into the room where Chan is holding the suspects and slams a door, causing the bits and pieces of Denny Mayo’s torn photo Chan is trying to reassemble to fly about the room — but the rest of the film is so good this pointless character can’t hurt it much. I was impressed this time around with most of the same things I’d liked about the movie the first time: MacFadden’s sure command of atmosphere, the benefit of footage actually shot in Hawai’i (something Fox hyped a good deal back in the day, though it’s clear the only Hawai’ian footage was shot by a second unit and used as process-screen backgrounds or cut in for “authenticity”), Ben Carré’s spectacular sets (another far more prestigious name than usually got associated with the Chan films); Warner Oland’s typically imperturbable performance as the detective (it was only his second performance as Chan — and the only one of the first five Oland Chans that survives — and he isn’t bored with the role, as he became later in the series); a considerably more emotionally intense and rangy performance from Lugosi than he usually gave in his horror films; the marvelous use of Hawai’ian source music as a substitute for orchestral underscoring (the effect of “native” music was also used in Behind That Curtain, but far less effectively) — especially in a cruelly ironic scene in which a high-school glee club has assembled outside the hotel pavilion to serenade Shelah while she is dead inside — and the sheer mobility of the film. This was made just two years after Behind That Curtain, but the technology of the talkies had improved so dramatically it seems more like 10 years later; MacFadden and the cinematographers take what could have been an extraordinarily dull film and liven it up with swooping camera movements, dramatic lighting and almost claustrophobic interiors, especially in the scene in which Tarneverro drives Shelah to confess to having killed Denny Mayo shortly before she is killed herself, and the later sequences in which Chan holds the various suspects in a hotel ballroom and forces them to remain while he investigates the case. The Black Camel is also superbly plotted; the backstory murder of Denny Mayo hangs over everything (someone is so determined to obliterate his memory that when Chan goes to the Honolulu library to look through back issues of the Los Angeles Times to see his photos, all of them have been cut out of the library copies — though one would think that since he was supposed to have been a movie star in his own right somebody would have remembered what he looked like) and the denouement, though far-fetched, at least hinges on a motive that makes sense instead of the arbitrary climaxes of some of the later Chan films (particularly the ones that weren’t based on actual Biggers stories): Tarneverro turns out to be Arthur Mayo, Denny’s brother (their strong physical resemblance was the reason for their attempt to destroy all Denny’s photos); and maid Anna turns out to be Denny Mayo’s widow. The two were convinced that Shelah had killed Denny from the time it happened (which she had; Shelah was desperately in love with Denny but he refused to marry her because he was already married to Anna, so she killed him), and hatched a long-term revenge plan; Tarneverro would establish a reputation as a psychic and use background information supplied by Anna to make Shelah think he had genuine mystic powers; he would worm his way into her confidence and make her confess to the murder; and then they would turn her in to the police — only just after her session with Tarneverro, Shelah tore up the autographed photo Denny had given her shortly before she killed him, and Anna was so upset she lost control and stabbed Shelah on the spot. Smith, the homeless artist, attempted to blackmail one of the others and then was killed by Jessop, who was in unrequited love with Anna and wanted to shield her from being exposed by the critical piece of evidence (a diamond pin of Shelah’s which Anna had stomped on the night of the murder, not realizing that a piece of it had lodged in the high heel of her own shoe) Smith had discovered. The Black Camel is so good one wishes MacFadden’s other Chan films, Charlie Chan Carries On (an adaptation of Biggers’ fifth and next-to-last Chan novel from 1930 and the first time Oland played Chan) and Charlie Chan’s Greatest Case, survived (he also began the direction of Charlie Chan in Paris in 1935 but was mysteriously fired after just one week of shooting and replaced by the dull hack Lewis Seiler — “a real pity,” I wrote after Charles and I saw that film, “since MacFadden’s sense of atmosphere could have benefited this film, and I suspect the almost Gothic scenes in and around the sewers of Paris (‘Sing, my angel of music!’ Charles couldn’t help but joke, an allusion that wasn’t lost on me either) and some nearby exteriors were MacFadden’s work.” The collapse of MacFadden’s directorial career after 1937 (he had only two other directorial credits, Inside the Law from 1942 and Youth for the Kingdom, which he also wrote, in 1945) is a real mystery — after that he was mostly reduced to being an actor (he’s in The Black Camel as, appropriately enough, the director of the film Shelah Fane is shooting; and when Fox changed the setting and remade The Black Camel as Charlie Chan in Rio with Sidney Toler in 1941 MacFadden was in the film in the Robert Young role) and did no work in films after 1945 (though he lived until 1977). One wishes MacFadden could have made a directorial comeback in the mid-1940’s since on the strength of his work here he would seem ideally suited for the film noir genre; as it is, his most famous directorial credit was probably Stand Up and Cheer, the 1934 musical starring Behind That Curtain star Warner Baxter and introducing the little girl who would become the biggest movie star of the 1930’s, Shirley Temple. — 9/3/07 ••••• Afterwards I reached into the Charlie Chan boxed set and dug out the earliest of the four films represented (not counting Eran Trece, which was formally only a supplement to the Charlie Chan in Shanghai disc): Charlie Chan in London. I think Charles and I had actually screened this one before after we watched Gosford Park, where it was mentioned, but neither of us had any recollection of it. It’s one of those frustrating movies that takes a potentially great plot premise and accomplishes all too little with it. Having exhausted all other possibilities, including a judicial appeal and a petition to the Home Secretary, Pamela Gray (Drue Leyton) corners Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) in London and pleads with him to save the life of her brother, murder convict Hugh Gray (Douglas Walton), just three days before he is to be hanged. That gives Chan three days to find the real murderer, since he and we both believe he’s innocent even though Pamela’s boyfriend, attorney Neil Howard (Ray Milland — on the trailer he’s billed as “Ray” but on the actual film’s credits he’s still using the longer form of his first name, “Raymond”), blurts out to Pamela that he’s now convinced her brother was guilty even though he represented Hugh at trial (no wonder he lost!). The original murder victim was a man named Hamilton, a captain in the Royal Air Force, who was killed in the stable of the country home of Geoffrey Richmond (Alan Mowbray) in the decidedly fictional English county of “Retfordshire.” The usual motley crew of suspects is also staying there, and Chan — after a charming sequence in which he’s shown climbing through Pamela’s window to get in to see her after an overprotective butler has denied him admittance (and a maid goes into racist overdrive and thinks he’s a diabolical Chinaman who’s going to hack them all to bits in their beds!) — reunites everyone who was there that weekend when Hamilton was killed. Two other people get killed in the three days available and Chan finally traces the murder to an invention Hamilton worked on for the RAF, a way of silencing military aircraft to make them undetectable by an enemy, and reveals that the killer was actually Geoffrey Richmond himself, who in a plot twist screenwriter Philip MacDonald obviously borrowed from the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes story “His Last Bow,” is revealed actually to be a foreign spy named Frank (that’s his last name) — his country of origin is unspecified but it’s not too difficult to tell what a 1934 audience would have guessed it to be — who was after Hamilton’s secret and was willing to murder him to get it. Charlie Chan in London is not an especially well-made movie: director Eugene Forde’s pacing is almost soporific in its slowness, there’s no background music underscoring (a surprise since there was underscoring in Eran Trece, made three years earlier) and, as silly as the comic-relief device of having one of Chan’s sons (Keye Luke as Number One Son in the Oland Chans and Victor Sen Yung as Number Two Son in the Fox Tolers) attempt to help his father solve the case and only screw it up, at least that gimmick provided energy and action in the later films in the series; without it, this one seems dull. What gives Charlie Chan in London its entertainment value is some of the supporting cast — Drue Leyton, whoever she may have been, is excellent, powerfully expressing her torment over the impending execution of her brother, and though I don’t think anyone watching this film would have necessarily predicted future stardom for Ray Milland he’s also quite good as the attorney/boyfriend exasperated by the conflict between his role as Hugh’s attorney and his doubts about his innocence (the scene in which he blurts out his belief that Hugh is guilty and Pamela goes ballistic on him, slapping him and then tearing off his engagement ring and hurling it at his feet, is utterly convincing and far more intense emotionally than one expects from this sort of genteel whodunit), though Douglas Walton can’t decide whether to underact or hysterically overact as the innocent victim facing a date with the hangman — and above all, Oland’s performance. Sidney Toler may have been more credible as a man of action (the point most of the Chanatics who prefer him to Oland cite) but neither he nor any of the other Chans ever matched Oland in portraying Chan’s alienness, his heritage from another culture with a very different philosophical view of time and human nature from those of the West. — 10/9/06 ••••• Charlie Chan in Paris, the next in sequence in the Fox Charlie Chan box after Charlie Chan in London, is actually one of the better entries in the series. For some reason, Hamilton MacFadden started as this film’s director but was replaced in mid-shoot (after one week of a three- to four-week schedule) by Lewis Seiler, a long-time hack mostly known for his work in Warners’ “B” unit — a real pity, since MacFadden’s sense of atmosphere could have benefited this film, and I suspect the almost Gothic scenes in and around the sewers of Paris (“Sing, my angel of music!” Charles couldn’t help but joke, an allusion that wasn’t lost on me either) and some nearby exteriors were MacFadden’s work. (Dan Clark was the cinematographer on MacFadden’s sequences, and Ernest Palmer replaced him when Seiler came in as director.) At least Seiler’s approach gave the film speed, and the film also benefited by the use of a background score and the debut in the series of Keye Luke as Chan’s Number One Son, Lee — not only because Luke was a fast-paced, energetic performer who added excitement to the film but also because his assimilation to Western culture contrasted markedly with Charlie Chan’s resolute alienness, his heritage from a different culture with a very different philosophical sense of time (the part of the Chan character, as I pointed out in my comments on Charlie Chan in London, that Oland caught better than any actor who’s played him since) — and it helped that the script for this one (by Edward T. Lowe, later a Universal horror writer, and Stuart Anthony based on a story by Philip MacDonald) was a good deal better than most of the Chans and was genuinely mysterious. The plot deals with a scandal involving the Lamartine Bank of Paris and a scheme to counterfeit its bonds — which must have at least one “inside” player because the bank’s actual CEO, M. Lamartine (Henry Kolker), is signing the fake bonds as well as the real ones. Chan is assigned to investigate, though he has to pretend to be in Paris merely on a vacation, and he’s supposed to contact a fellow agent, a woman named Nardi (Dorothy Appleby) whose cover identity is as an apache dancer in a local café — only Nardi is stabbed by a weird apparition in a tousled wig, thick shades and walking with a cane, who’s supposedly a shell-shocked and doubly disabled (lame and blind) World War I veteran. The payoff is that the two conspirators in the counterfeit bond racket, “insider” Henri Latouche (Murray Kinnell) and “outsider” Max Corday (played by the fine farceur Erik Rhodes, best known for his comic-relief parts in the Astaire-Rogers films The Gay Divorcée and Top Hat, and surprisingly good as a serious suspect), took turns wearing this disguise and eliminating the people who might threaten their counterfeit bond scheme (though since Rhodes was at least a head taller than Kinnell one would think the changes in the height of the fake “veteran” would have tipped Chan and the other characters off well before the end) while providing each other with alibis for the murders. This is certainly one Chan film for which William Everson’s rather snotty remark about the series as a whole (especially in Oland’s years) — “There was never much mystery about any of the ‘hidden killers’ in the Chan movies, nor much variety in their unmasking” — definitely does not apply! — 10/11/06 ••••• The film was Charlie Chan in Egypt, hailed as the best of the Warner Oland Chans by William K. Everson — he called it “one notable exception to the rather disappointing overall quality of the series” and hailed it for having genuinely suspenseful and even horrific moments, including “some genuinely nightmarish sequences which are still chilling today” — and while I think he overrated it a bit and that some of the other films in the series (notably the rarely seen The Black Camel and the far better known Charlie Chan at the Opera) are even better, it’s still a good entry even though it’s somewhat derivative not only of previous films in the Chan series (Charlie Chan in London in particular) but of other things Hollywood was putting out at the time, especially The Mummy (almost inevitably for a film set in Egypt and dealing with archaeology in the tombs of the Pharoahs and their closest advisors). Charlie Chan in Egypt is also one of those movies that’s especially intriguing from a degrees-of-separation perspective, since the cast includes not only Warner Oland but also Rita Hayworth (using her original name, Rita Cansino, and playing a rather anonymous Egyptian maidservant — she’s O.K. but no one seeing this film would have been likely to predict that in less than a decade this woman would be a superstar) and Stepin Fetchit, the most unwatchable Black comedian of the 1930’s. At least Mantan Moreland and Eddie “Rochester” Anderson were able to play streetwise as well as stupid, and Willie Best — as put-upon as he was by the same shuffling dumb-Black stereotype — was able to put a little genuine wit in the characterization; Fetchit (it’s noteworthy that, unlike Best, who fought back against producers who wanted to bill him under the equally demeaning sobriquet “Sleep ’n’ Eat,” Fetchit proudly accepted such a ridiculous name) has become emblematic of the whole stereotype and his shaved head, whiny voice and shaky acting skills even within the bizarre limits of his characterization make him awfully hard to take today (though he’s at least dressed appealingly, in a white linen shirt and white shorts, and one can imagine a bulked-up version of his basic physical type on a “Naked Black Men” calendar today). Charlie Chan in Egypt has lost its original titles and the ones it has now, probably shot for a TV release in the 1950’s, Latino-ize the first name of its director, Louis King, as “Luis” (!). King and cinematographer Daniel Clark manage to evoke the mood of The Mummy in some quite good scenes set in and around ancient Egyptian tombs, including an arresting opening shot in which one member of a party of archaeologists led by Professor Arnold (George Irving) is overcome by fumes as they open the tomb of the high priest Ameti, a major advisor to the Pharoahs of the 20th (or was it the 21st?) dynasty. Then the film cuts to the unlikely sight of Warner Oland as Charlie Chan flying into Egypt in a two-seater plane (obviously used as an excuse to use some aerial stock footage of the Pyramids and Sphinx) and the plot kicks off with Arnold’s daughter Carol (Pat Paterson) and her fiancé, Tom Evans (Thomas Beck), worried that they haven’t heard from Arnold père in over a month, and the only clue they have as to his whereabouts is a letter he allegedly sent them from his next dig site. From that point on Charlie Chan in Egypt follows the blueprint of Charlie Chan in London pretty closely (the scenarists this time were Robert Ellis and Helen Logan) with a bit of admixture of King Solomon’s Mines (the daughter worried about her dad’s disappearance in the middle of an exotic African country). Most of the film takes place in and around the lavish home of Arnold’s archaeological partner, Professor Thornton (Frank Conroy) — a quite impressive set that may have been recycled from a previous Fox epic set in ancient Egypt (and the tomb sets also looked way too lavish to have been constructed especially for this film) — and the writers introduce a motive for the murder (a French archaeological society that originally underwrote the Arnold-Thornton expedition and later withdrew their financial support nonetheless claims that all the finds not retained by the Egyptian government should go to their own museum, and has assigned Chan to investigate once relics from Ameti’s tomb start turning up in other musea and private collections). The film also includes a wide gallery of other potential suspects, including Carol Arnold’s brother Barry (James Eagles), who seems to do nothing but get himself photographed Sternberg-style behind the gratings and lattices in the house and play morbid Egyptian melodies on the violin; Dr. Anton Racine (Jameson Thomas), an Egyptian physician who’s been lacing Carol’s cigarettes with a drug called mapouchari, supposedly discovered by the ancient Egyptians and in use since; Racine’s delivery person, Edfa Ahmad (the cadaverous-looking Nigel de Brulier), who when he isn’t running prescriptions for the doc is denouncing Western interlopers digging up the tombs and stealing the national treasures that should belong to Egypt (he sounds awfully modern to me!); and Thornton himself, who to no particular surprise turns out to be the murderer, having discovered a cache of treasure inside Ameti’s tomb and determined to knock off Arnold so he can keep it for himself. There’s also an intriguing scene in which Barry dies suddenly in the middle of his violin solo and Chan finds a hole drilled into the soundboard of his instrument, through which the murderer introduced a vial of poison gas in a thin glass ampule that shattered and delivered the gas full-force into Barry’s nose once he played a note of the right frequency to break it. The tomb scenes are still genuinely suspenseful and frightening, though Fetchit’s “comedy” — he’s supposedly in Egypt seeking his ancestors (almost 40 years before Alex Haley!), though why he thought his ancestors would have come from an Arab country remains a mystery in the heads of Robert Ellis and Helen Logan — and the leads (personable enough but no match for Ray Milland and Drue Leyton in the almost identical roles in Charlie Chan in London) take this one down a couple of notches despite Clark’s marvelously atmospheric cinematography and the visual magnificence of the sets — and the intriguing battle of wits between Chan and the local Egyptian detective, Fouad Souetda (Paul Porcasi, who usually portrayed the sympathetic owner of the Italian restaurant at which the romantic leads were regulars), who unlike most of the local cops in the Chan adventures not only doesn’t want him involved in helping solve the case but can’t wait to get rid of him. When Chan told him that they had a lot in common, I couldn’t help but joke, “That’s right! We’re both portly First World actors playing Third World policemen!” — 10/15/06 ••••• The film I picked was Charlie Chan in Shanghai, fourth and last of the Warner Oland Chan movies included on the recent 20th Century-Fox DVD box. Dully directed by James Tinling from an original script by Edward T. Lowe (on his way up from Monogram to Universal) and Gerard Fairlie, Charlie Chan in Shanghai took a potentially fascinating pair of premises — the most famous fictional Chinese of the time visiting his homeland in the real China (though, unsurprisingly, the real China is represented here only by some pretty grainy stock footage and process work) and trying to break a worldwide opium smuggling ring — and did all too little with them. The Chan movies were already hardening into formula (the fact that of the first five Oland Chans all we have are number two, The Black Camel, and the Spanish-language version of number one, Eran Trece a.k.a. Charlie Chan Carries On, makes it virtually impossible to judge the series from its beginnings, though if The Black Camel is indicative of the quality of the first five generally, all of which were based on Earl Derr Biggers’ Chan novels instead of other writers riffing on Biggers’ character, the remaining films are sorely missed): the young couple, with the male (secretary to the heroine’s father, who’s the murder victim in the first reel) being the unjustly accused suspect; the various suspects, most of them rather venerable; and the sinister figure who at first seems an agent of good but ultimately ends up revealed as the mastermind behind the whole plot. The unjustly accused young man is played by Charlie Locher, who later (like Ray Milland from Charlie Chan in London and Rita Cansino, later Rita Hayworth, from Charlie Chan in Egypt) became a major star, in his case after a name change to Jon Hall and a showcase role in Sam Goldwyn’s 1937 special-effects extravaganza The Hurricane, but all too often he looks like he just stumbled in from the Harbor Inn in his other pre-Hall role in the serial The Clutching Hand. The Lowe-Fairlie script makes too little of the exoticism of the location (a far cry from the work of Robert Ellis and Helen Logan on Charlie Chan in Egypt, which for all its deficiencies at least tapped into the strangeness — to a Western audience — of both ancient and then-modern Egypt) and offers too few chances for Oland to speak Chinese and interact with Chinese characters (other than Keye Luke, providing reliable comic relief as his Number One Son), at least partly because Shanghai in the 1930’s apparently still was largely governed extraterritorially: much of the movie takes place in the British enclave and the police officials Chan works with in solving the case are British, not Chinese. What makes this film less interesting than it could have been is partly the elaborateness of the gimmicks (the initial victim is killed when he opens a box in which a gun has been placed, set so that the act of opening the box fires the trigger — but the fatal heart wound suffered by the victim depended on his being hunched over the box when he opened it, and if he’d opened it any other way the shot would either just have wounded him or missed him completely) but mainly the dullness of Tinling’s direction; he gets some nice atmospheric shots of the villain’s secret hideout but he’s utterly unable to bring any excitement or pace to the film. It’s reliable series entertainment, and some of the other Chans around this time are even duller (notably Charlie Chan’s Secret) — and at least it has the quirky appeal of both Warner Oland (with his own voice, presumably — in his role as Al Jolson’s father in The Jazz Singer Oland has the odd distinction of having been the first actor in history whose singing voice was doubled) and Keye Luke singing (for a while it seemed to be turning into Charlie Chan: The Musical), but a lot more could have been done with this concept and even with this script. Incidentally, there’s a quirky mistake in the film: on board the ship to Shanghai Chan receives a note telling him not to get off the ship, or else — but when we see the note again it’s in a different handwriting. — 10/23/06 ••••• I chose the DVD of Charlie Chan’s Secret, a 1936 series entry which the last time I was involved with the Chan movies en masse — when American Movie Classics showed most of the Fox Chans in the early 1990’s and I taped them — had struck me as one of the duller films in the cycle. It still does, despite the promise of its haunted-house setting. It begins in the waters off Chan’s home town of Honolulu, with a team of divers (represented mostly by stock footage) searching a wrecked boat for the remains of Alan Colby, who seven years previously had left his comfortable life as the heir to a fortune in San Francisco to join the French Foreign Legion, had been held prisoner by the Riffs (in other words, he was a member of an occupation coalition in the Middle East who had been apprehended by the resistance!) and had just escaped and was making his way home to reclaim his family’s fortune from his aunt, Henrietta Lowell (Henrietta Crossman, the star of John Ford’s marvelous 1933 film Pilgrimage), and her family: her daughter Alice Lowell (Rosina Lawrence), Alice’s fiancé Dick Williams (Charles Quigley), her accountant Fred Gage (Edward Trevor), his wife Janice (Astrid Allwyn), Henrietta’s long-suffering butler Baxter (Herbert Mundin) and a husband-and-wife team of mediums (media?), Professor Bowan (Arthur Edmund Carewe, who played the undercover cop, “The Persian,” in the silent Phantom of the Opera) and Carlotta (Gloria Roy). The conceit of this film’s writing committee — Robert Ellis and Helen Logan are credited with the story and co-credited with Joseph Hoffman on the script — is that she’s a genuine medium unknowingly being exploited by her husband, who’s a fake. Another conceit is that the Lowell house is clean, modern and well-maintained, while the Colby house is your standard-issue Universal-style haunted house — decayed, crumbling, full of sinister shadows and secret passages. A Universal director like James Whale could have made something of this setting; alas, the director of Charlie Chan’s Secret, Gordon Wiles, gets one actually effective suspense scene (when Alan Colby returns to the family manse only to be killed when a knife is thrown at him) but otherwise just plods through the filming, wasting the marvelous haunted-house atmospherics of cinematographer Rudolph Maté (a surprisingly prestigious name to see on the credits of a Chan film!). Both Charles and I were having trouble staying awake for this one, no matter how stunning some of Maté’s shots were, and by the time this film lurched to its end and Fred Gage turned out to be the murderer (he’d been cooking the books of the Colby estate and was worried Alan would catch him if he inherited), neither of us really cared. — 8/30/07 ••••• The film I picked was Charlie Chan at the Circus, the first in sequence of the four Chans with Warner Oland in the volume 2 boxed set I just ordered. (I also got volume 4, containing the first four Chan films with Sidney Toler, and given their format of including four films in each box I’m not sure how they’ll manage the rest of the Tolers, since there are only seven of them remaining!) It turned out to be a pretty good movie, a comfortable and well-done whodunit even though “who” dun it wasn’t especially mysterious (indeed, my one doubt over whether the snake-charmer character played by J. Carrol Naish would turn out to be the murderer was a suspicion that writers Robert Ellis and Helen Logan wouldn’t make it that obvious — but they did!), and directed by Harry Lachman, who in a sense was revisiting the territory he’d explored the year before in a more prestigious Fox release, Dante’s Inferno, since the film begins in Dante’s Inferno territory — with a barker hawking the carnival side show at the circus. Chan arrives with his wife and 12 children (one of the few times we got to see Chan’s entire famously huge family on screen all at once — the only other time I can recall is in The Black Camel, which used the Chan family the way Chan creator Earl Derr Biggers had: as an audience while Chan explained his progress with the case and gave us the exposition needed to keep us abreast of the plot) to a circus merged by the previous owners Joe Kinney (Paul Stanton) and John Gaines (Francis Ford, John Ford’s older brother making one of his rare appearance as an actor in a film not directed by his more famous sibling!). The personnel of the circus come mostly from Gaines’ old show, and recall that they were treated respectfully and paid on time until Kinney bought into the enterprise two years previously, and Kinney holds some of Gaines’ notes and is threatening to foreclose on Gaines’ half of the circus and take the show over completely after the current season. In an interesting Ellis-Logan variation on the locked-room mystery, Kinney (who had actually been the partner to consult Chan based on some threatening letters he had received — though after Kinney’s death the letters are not found and this part of the plot just gets dropped) is killed inside the locked railroad car that contains the circus’s business office, and it turns out the killer is Caesar, an ape who was falling so far out of control that the circus’s animal trainer, Hal Blake (John McGuire), had recommended that he not be allowed to perform in the big top — which Kinney, of course, ignored. There are an awful lot of plots and counter-plots going on, including Kinney’s attempt to marry aerialist Marie Norman (Maxine Reiner) despite the fact that he’s already married to the circus’s wardrobe woman, Nellie Farrell (Drue Leyton, playing a disappointingly small role after the marvelous impression she made as the ingénue in Charlie Chan in London), and the motive turns out to be that on May 30, 1935 Kinney witnessed a murder in El Paso committed by Holt (J. Carrol Naish), which was also the date Kinney married Nellie in Ciudad Juárez — and since both claims can’t be true, Chan deduces that Kinney really didn’t marry Nellie and that Holt shot through the trapeze bar from which Marie was performing her act, causing her to fall and get seriously injured (since she was performing without a net), in order to shut her up. Chan announces that Marie needs an immediate operation and they can’t wait for her to be moved to a hospital, so they have to perform it then and there — and lo and behold, Caesar the ape crashes the impromptu operating room and tries to kill Marie, only the “patient” is a dummy and the whole thing a sham designed by Chan to flush out the killer — who turns out to be, not Caesar the ape, but Holt dressed in an ape costume (an interesting authorial reflection on the fact that the “ape” is pretty obviously a man in an ape suit even in the scenes in which we’re supposed to believe it’s a real ape! Incidentally, did J. Carrol Naish play the “real” ape as well? No other actor is listed for the ape role) — while the real Marie is alive, well and undergoing the operation she needs in a real hospital. Charlie Chan at the Circus also has some other quite delicious divertissements, including a quite good tango done by real-life little-person couple George and Olive Brasno (who actually get billing on the main title card along with Oland and Keye Luke; Olive Brasno looked enough like Shirley Temple I wondered if she’d been one of the little people who stood in for Temple and thereby sparked the urban legend, which persisted for years, that Temple had actually been an adult little person posing as a child) in the roles of “Col. Tim” and “Lady Tiny,” a nice scene in which Lee Chan (Keye Luke) traces a couple of the baddies by disguising himself in drag and posing as the mother of an “infant” played by Col. Tim (whose cigar smoking gives them away — had Ellis and/or Logan seen the Laurel and Hardy film Sailor, Beware!, which also had a little person, Harry Earles, disguised as a baby and blowing it by smoking a cigar?), and a young Chinese contortionist, Su Toy (Shia Jung), to provide a love (or at least lust) interest for Luke (though we never actually see her contort herself, meaning she was an actress and not an actual circus performer, unlike some of the other cast members recruited from the A. G. Barnes Circus, whose tents, cars and equipment were used while the circus was laying off for the winter), who got to perform a stronger action role than usual in the series. Charlie Chan at the Circus is also noteworthy for the better-than-usual direction by Lachman, who got some nice atmospheric effects into it (the opening scene shows the shadows of three of the sideshow performer while in the front the barker is hawking their acts) and moving-camera shots (Daniel Clark was the cinematographer), though he couldn’t do much about the script or the performance by Warner Oland, who by this point in the series (it was the11th of his 16 appearances as Chan) had pretty much hardened into clichéd schtick. — 2/28/08 ••••• When we got home Monday night I ran Charles the next Charlie Chan movie from volume 2 of the Fox boxed-set series with Warner Oland: Charlie Chan at the Race Track. Noting that the next one in the box was Charlie Chan at the Opera, Charles noted the coincidence that Chan went to the same two destinations that the Marx Brothers had in their adjoining movies from the same period — though the Marxes went to the opera before they went to the race track. It was also the first Chan film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone (the “H.” — as Carol Easton found out when she interviewed him for her biography of Sam Goldwyn, for whom he directed Wonder Man — stood for “Harry”) and, though it didn’t have any major guest stars (no established horror icons like Bela Lugosi in The Black Camel or Boris Karloff in Charlie Chan at the Opera and no stars-to-be like Ray Milland in Charlie Chan in London or Rita Hayworth in Charlie Chan in Egypt) it turned out to be one of the better entries in the series, less of a whodunit than usual (there is a typical “puzzle” but for much of the action our attention is kept off the whodunit aspect and on the known baddies, a gang of gamblers stretching nationwide who are involved in a plot to fix a big horse race at “Santa Juanita” — just take the first two letters off the last name and you have the real racetrack where the racing scenes were shot!) and a flatly directed but well-paced, exciting thriller in which Chan is surrounded by a swirl of activity. The story (by Lou Breslow and Saul Elkins, adapted into a script by Robert Ellis, Helen Logan and Edward T. Lowe) begins in Australia, where horse breeder Major Gordon Kent (George Irving) has just sold his star horse, Avalanche, to his son-in-law, George Chester (Alan Dinehart). Avalanche is scheduled for a big race in Australia and is favored to win, but loses when his jockey, “Tip” Collins (Frankie Darro, who seemed to be playing nothing but crooked jockeys during this period: he was one in the Marx Brothers’ A Day at the Races and in Thoroughbreds Don’t Cry), deliberately fouls another horse because the gambling syndicate has paid him $5,000 to do so. He’s caught, ruled out of racing for two years, and stiffed by the gamblers; understandably miffed at having lost his livelihood for nothing, he threatens to go to the authorities and they quietly kill him (indeed, his fate is disposed of in a few lines of dialogue and he never gets within hailing distance of Charlie Chan or anybody else who might actually have been interested in his story). Meanwhile, Major Kent, George Chester, his wife (Kent’s daughter) Catherine (Gloria Roy) and assorted hangers-on Warren and Alice Fenton (Jonathan Hale and Helen Wood), Bruce Rogers (Thomas Beck), Bagley (Gavin Muir), and Denny Burton (G. P. Huntley, Jr., who had played in Fred Astaire’s stage show Gay Divorce in the part Edward Everett Horton played in the movie) take an ocean liner that stops in Honolulu on its way to Los Angeles — where Charlie Chan receives a ship-to-shore telegram from Kent that he fears for his life and hopes Chan will investigate. By the time the ship docks in Honolulu, Kent is already dead, apparently kicked by Avalanche in the horse’s stall — but Chan goes on board and dedices Kent was murdered by a human being who clubbed him with a winch that would heave a horseshoe-shaped imprint on his body. From then on the film features a lot of skullduggery on board the ship, including a plot to swap Avalanche for another horse, Gallant Lad (the idea is for the gamblers to bet on Gallant Lad and make a killing when the faster Avalanche, running under Gallant Lad’s name, wins the big handicap at Santa ‘Ju’anita) which Chan sees through when the pet monkey belonging to the Black stable boy, “Streamline” Jones (John Henry Allen, who was obviously being groomed by Fox to take over the Stepin Fetchit roles in case the original started demanding too much money), reacts violently to the supposed Gallant Lad. (It’s previously been established that the monkey was friends with Gallant Lad and it was Avalanche the primate hated.) There’s also a series of threatening notes, all typed with the same typewriter (its “e” is filled in and its “r” hits above the baseline) and dropped seemingly at random in the laps of all the principals — later it’s revealed that Chan wrote all the notes but the first one, in an effort to find out who wrote the original by how they reacted when they got them — and a final fillip involving the camera mechanisms at the track that give the results in so-called “photo-finish” races, Director Humberstone was apparently given to explanations of the high-tech of his day — there’s a brief (half-hour) documentary on him as the “special feature” on the Charlie Chan at the Opera disc and his daughter explains that he was a gadget freak and loved to stop his films in their tracks to insert an account of the workings of some new high-tech gizmo — though in this movie the gimmick also relates to the plot: one of the guys operating the camera is in the pay of the gamblers and he’s substituted a drugged dart in the camera at the three-quarter mark so if Avalanche, despite the crooks’ best efforts, is leading then the baddies can shoot him and render him unconscious before the finish line. There’s also a kidnapping in which the gamblers (led by director Humberstone in a cameo) hold Chan in a hotel room, but he escapes in time to get to the track for the big race and, using his son Lee (Keye Luke, who has more to do than usual in this movie — including carrying on long conversations with Chan in Chinese so the others around them can’t understand) as a distraction (he has Lee fill a laundry truck with fireworks and sets them off so he can sneak into the paddock and switch Avalanche and Gallant Lad back to their real identities), Chan witnesses the race. Jockey Eddie Brill (Frank Coghlan, Jr.), sidelined from racing by a previous injury, emerges to ride Avalanche after all the other jockeys at the track are scared away by the death threats, Avalanche gets stuck with the dart but still wins, and in the end Chan establishes that Major Kent was killed by his son-in-law George Chester, who was in cahoots with the gamblers (he went along with switching the horses because then he could bet on his own horse under the underdog’s identity and get a bigger payoff) and had to kill Kent because he would have instantly recognized which horse was which. Charlie Chan at the Race Track is actually one of the better series entries; though not a particularly atmospheric director (Humberstone’s daughter said he particularly loved film noir and I Wake Up Screaming was his favorite of his films, but the movie is plodding and not alive to the potential of the marvelous story and cast), at least knew how to keep a story moving, and Charlie Chan at the Race Track, though it lacks the wonderful atmospherics of The Black Camel, also isn’t as dull as some of the other entries in the series (notably Charlie Chan’s Secret) and, as Charles pointed out, offered a large enough pool of suspects so the denouement was genuinely mysterious — though I had my suspicions about the husband through much of it and should have been able to nail it down, if only because Alan Dinehart’s portrayal was at his most unctuous! — 3/5/08 ••••• Last night Charles and I followed up Charlie Chan at the Race Track with Charlie Chan at the Opera, which was long my favorite film in the series partly because Boris Karloff was in it and partly because of its operatic setting. It was the only one I actually purchased on VHS (as opposed to recording off cable), in an edition by a short-lived Fox subsidiary called Key Video that was actually better packaged than the current DVD, with a clever fold-out cover listing the whodunit elements of the movie — “The Case,” “The Suspects,” “The Motives,” “The Clues” and “The Questions” — to challenge the viewer to solve the mystery ahead of the characters. (When I searched for it on imdb.com, the image illustrating their page on it was from the Key Video VHS edition, not the current DVD.) Scripted by Charles Belden and Scott Darling from a story by Bess Meredyth (a somewhat more prestigious writer than usually represented in the Chan series), Charlie Chan at the Opera begins by a direct reference to Charlie Chan at the Race Track — the head of the Los Angeles Police Department personally thanks Chan for busting the gambling syndicate behind the killings there — though the actual opening scene takes place in the sort of weather Karloff’s movies usually began in, the proverbial dark and stormy night, at a sanitarium in which a patient who was suffering from amnesia and has never revealed (or himself discovered) his own identity in the seven years he was there is suddenly jogged back into consciousness of who he is by the sight of a picture of prima donna Lilli Rochelle (Margaret Irving) in a newspaper announcing her coming Los Angeles appearances with the touring San Carlo Opera Company. (At the time touring opera companies actually existed in the U.S. and made enough money at least to stay in business and pay their personnel.) Before that we see the (presumed) madman — Boris Karloff, of course — sitting at a piano in the asylum’s rec room and singing in a baritone voice (Karloff’s own, according to his biographers) that, though it wouldn’t have kept Nelson Eddy awake at nights worrying about the competition, was not only competent but surprisingly strong. The police, headed by Sergeant Kelly (William Demarest, thinner and lankier than we remember him from his later films or My Three Sons but still a quite effective comic foil for Chan) and Inspector Regan (Guy Usher), can’t figure out what story in the paper set off the escapee, but Chan figures it out and hangs out at the San Carlo Opera Company, which is performing a piece called Carnival (written especially for the film by Oscar Levant, with a libretto by William Kernell — the text was written in English but is sung in the film in Italian, and Levant said he never found out who did the translation) when its personnel aren’t engaging in enough off-screen intrigues that their private lives could be turned into an effective opera themselves. Rochelle is having an affair with baritone Enrico Borelli (Gregory Gaye), whose wife Anita (Nedda Harrigan, later Mrs. Joshua Logan) is understandably miffed — as is Lilli’s husband, Whitely (Frank Conroy). Seven years previously, Rochelle had been married to another company baritone, Gravelle; she and Enrico Borelli had plotted to kill him by locking him inside a burning building — only he was rescued in time, alive and well physically but with no memory of who he was. Naturally, this is Karloff’s character. During the night’s performance of Carnival, Gravelle dresses up in the costume of his old role — as the Devil! — intending to put Barelli out of commission, take over the role himself and thereby shock Lilli into confessing her role in his attempted murder. Both Lilli and Barelli are murdered during the course of the first act, and not surprisingly the rest of the cast wants to call it a night and go home, but the police announce that they’re not letting anyone leave the theatre and the performers might as well go on to finish the opera since both they and the audience (who, peculiarly, are never seen or heard from during the film!) are literally captive. There’s a scene featuring one of the technological gizmos director H. Bruce Humberstone was so fond of — this time a detailed explanation of how a wire photo is transmitted and developed — as Chan sends to a Chicago newspaper for a photo of Gravelle and thereby establishes the identity of the Karloff character. (Interestingly, 12 years later another 20th Century-Fox mystery film, Call Northside 777, prominently featured a wire photo transmission in its climax.) The second act goes on with Anita Borelli filling in for Lilli Rochelle and Gravelle singing his original role, and when it concludes with the investigation still inconclusive Chan ends up asking the company to sing the first act again. The police shoot Gravelle but fortunately the bullet only grazes him — fortunately because Chan deduces that the real killer of Lilli Rochelle and Enrico Borelli was Anita Borelli, who had never forgiven them for their affair and saw a way to knock them both off and frame the “escaped lunatic” for the crime. Gravelle ends up on the road to recovery, both physical and mental, and reunited with his daughter Kitty (Charlotte Henry), who had been hanging around most of the movie with her on-screen boyfriend without us having a clear idea who she was or why she was there. Charlie Chan at the Opera has some intriguing connections with other films; it’s a “doubles” movie, for one (both Warner Oland and Boris Karloff had played Dr. Fu Manchu); and at least two of the cast members put everybody else in the film one degree of separation from several superstar comics: Margaret Irving had portrayed Margaret Dumont’s social rival in the Marx Brothers’ Animal Crackers and Charlotte Henry had acted with W. C. Fields in the 1933 Paramount Alice in Wonderland (a much better film than its reputation and an obvious precursor to The Wizard of Oz) and with Laurel and Hardy in the 1934 Babes in Toyland. Interestingly, the title card actually bills the lead actors as “Warner Oland vs. Boris Karloff in Charlie Chan at the Opera,” but there’s no real confrontation between the two: they don’t appear together until 52 minutes into this 72-minute movie and they can hardly be said to be at cross purposes since the denouement is Chan proving Gravelle innocent of the murders. It’s a reliable Karloff performance rather than a brilliant one (he certainly doesn’t add as much to this movie as Lugosi did to The Black Camel!), but he acts with his usual power and authority — and his singing voice is quite good, far better than the one belonging to Boretti (whether Gregory Gaye’s or a double’s). Oscar Levant’s faux opera is also quite entertaining — certainly a lot better than the Tchaikovsky pastiches Nelson Eddy got stuck with in several of his films (for Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald the MGM music department had to come up with fake operas because almost no real ones feature romantic duets for soprano and baritone!) — and director Humberstone actually gets some nice atmospherics into the dark-stormy-night scene of Karloff’s escape before settling into his sprightly slovenliness. The “special feature” mini-doc on Humberstone on this DVD did its best to establish him as at least a major second-tier director (wisely they didn’t try to put him on the pedestal along with his former employer, John Ford!) but it was hard for them to get away with that: Humberstone’s movies are always entertaining and rarely dull, but William K. Everson said of him that “through his career [he] was always to be too relaxed when handed a murder mystery, even so heady a one as I Wake Up Screaming” (given the marvelous performance Josef von Sternberg got out of Victor Mature the same year in The Shanghai Gesture, it’s fascinating to imagine I Wake Up Screaming with Sternberg as director!), and Carol Easton was even harder on him in her Goldwyn bio: “Actors who have been directed by Humberstone contend that he hustled them so hard that they didn’t know what they were doing. His pictures were assembly-line productions from start to finish. Which is precisely why he was in such demand. There was an enormous market for low-budget ‘B’ pictures, companion features for the biggies, and somebody had to direct them. Who? John Ford wasn’t about to, not for any amount of money — nor was Willy Wyler or King Vidor or any other aesthetically oriented director. But more often than anyone cares to admit, artistic talent was subsidized by the commercially profitable hack work of the Lucky Humberstones, who could turn out a feature-length picture using less than 200,000 feet of film, retakes and all [though John Ford made How Green Was My Valley, a prestigious ‘A’ picture that beat out Citizen Kane for the Academy Award, with only 100,000 feet of film — which astonished his cinematographer, Arthur Miller, when the Fox lab informed him after the shoot that he had drawn so little raw stock on the project — M.G.C.] — as opposed to a George Stevens, whose artistic discrimination might require a million. “’I don’t know why they call him Lucky,’ a producer said to me. ‘He’s always been such a loser.’ The nickname took hold after Humberstone miraculously survived a horrendous car accident. But on reflection, it’s not at all inappropriate. For a man of average intelligence, without noticeable talent or charm, to have directed six-figure productions starring Betty Grable and other household words — what better name than Lucky? … I did not have the courage to ask H. Bruce Humberstone whether he considers himself a success, or what he did with all that money, or even how he spends his time. I did ask, as he stood there expectantly with that terrible two-o’clock-in-the-morning look in his eyes, what the H. stands for. “It stands for Harry.” — 3/5/08 ••••• When we returned I ran him the final Warner Oland Charlie Chan DVD we hadn’t screened previously, Charlie Chan at the Olympics, a 1937 release that used official footage of the 1936 Berlin Olympics provided by the German government (which meant that H. Bruce Humberstone essentially had Leni Riefenstahl as his second-unit director!) for the climax of a tale involving a robotic control mechanism for airplanes whose inventor, Cartwright (John Eldredge), expresses the hope that the device would enable future wars to be fought entirely by machinery without the loss of actual human life. Needless to say, there’s a lot of skullduggery surrounding the invention, including sinister arms dealer Arthur Hughes (C. Henry Gordon); his vampy girlfriend Yvonne Roland (Katherine DeMille, you-know-who’s niece); Richard Masters (Allan Lane), the fine, upstanding test pilot and Olympic athlete she was assigned to seduce; Richard’s understandably jealous girlfriend, Betty Adams (Pauline Moore); Hopkins (Jonathan Hale), owner of the airplane company testing the device; Edwards (David Horsley), the pilot who takes up the plane with the robot device on the test flight in which it’s hijacked and he’s killed; and Miller (O. G. “Dutch” Hendrian), the hijacker who is eventually killed himself, his body found in Yvonne’s room, which kicks off Chan’s investigation. Chan’s son Lee (Keye Luke) is a swimmer on the U.S. Olympic team and so he’s sailing to Berlin on the S.S. Manhattan with the other principals, and Chan charts out a way to catch up with them by flying from Hawai’i to the U.S. mainland on the China Clipper, then on another airliner from San Francisco to New York and finally on the Hindenburg (which had already crashed and burned on its infamous final flight by the time this film was released) to Germany. While there Chan allies with sympathetic Captain Strasser (Fredrik Vogeding) of the Berlin police (he’s dressed in a Kaiser-era dress uniform and presented as a good guy, a surprise to anyone who’s seen the film Casablanca, in which the character named Strasser was a black-hearted Nazi villain played by Conrad Veidt in his last role!) to trace the sinister Charles Zaraka (Morgan Wallace), who’s after the device and who himself gets killed. There are a lot of bullets fired through the windows of the people who presumably hold the device, and a plot in which Chan supposedly recovers the device but in fact keeps it and fakes a package to send to Zaraka as a trap — and the ridiculous denouement reveals that Cartwright, the inventor, is the killer (if he wanted to sell the invention on the open market and make himself a killing — which was supposedly his motive — why didn’t he simply do so instead of going through the whole rigmarole of supposedly offering it to the U.S. government through Hopkins’ company?). Despite that lapse, the script by veteran Chan scenarists Robert Ellis and Helen Logan (from a story by Paul Burger) is exciting and keeps the interest, and Humberstone was a stronger director than anyone assigned to the Chan films since Hamilton MacFadden; though he lacks a sense of atmosphere and doesn’t have much of a flair for composition (when the film starts cutting in some of the stunning images from Riefenstahl’s Olympia towards the end the gulf between the two directors in terms of visual imagination is all too apparent), he does know how to keep a script like this moving and maintain excitement instead of letting the film degenerate into a dull talk-fest the way some of the Oland Chans (notably Charlie Chan’s Secret) did — and there’s a cute but still reasonably astringent performance by Layne Tom, Jr. as Chan’s second son (a part that would be played by Victor Sen Yung in the Sidney Toler Chans to come). Overall, the Humberstone-directed Chans do seem to stand a cut above some of the others in the Oland series (the way the Toler Chans directed by Norman Foster did above his others), and as Charles pointed out it was probably because he took them quite a bit more seriously than the other Chan directors did: though he wasn’t an especially creative director (not even an especially creative “B” director the way Robert Florey or Edgar G. Ulmer were!), he did have a real sense of commitment to his films and a flair for a kind of insouciant approach to action and thrills that stood him well in the Chan assignments. — 3/9/08 ••••• I picked out Charlie Chan on Broadway, a relatively late (1937) entry in the Warner Oland phase of the series and a pretty good movie. The writing committee on this one — Art Arthur, Robert Ellis and Helen Logan, story; Charles Belden (later The Strange Mr. Gregory and House of Wax) and Jerry Cady, script — actually gave it a flavor of screwball comedy as well as murder mystery, and whoever cast it did so majorly against type — one of the thugs, Buzz Moran, is played by paternal Leon Ames; while Harold Huber, usually cast as a gangster, this time plays a cop, Inspector Nelson, the white guy who makes all the mistakes and has to rely on Chan to find the killer. The victim this time around is Billie Bronson (Louise Henry), a Broadway entertainer who was jilted by a gangster, Hottentot Club owner Johnny Burke (Douglas Fowley) and paid by him to leave the country, only she’s sneaked back — on the same ship as Chan and his number-one son Lee (Keye Luke) — and a rat-faced man (Marc Lawrence) locks her in her bathroom on board ship and searches her room frantically for a diary which, if it becomes public, will expose the major organized criminals in New York City. Needless to say, she gets killed, though not before she’s hidden the diary in Lee Chan’s trunk. There’s a wide variety of gangster characters and also a couple of ingénues, aggressive reporter “Speed” Patten (Donald Wood) and paparraza Joan Wendall (Joan Marsh), who got a picture of Billie sneaking off the boat when she was supposed to be out of the country, and Patten’s editor Murdock (J. Edward Bromberg) — an ironic character name indeed for a newspaper editor in a movie now owned by media über-tycoon Rupert Murdoch! In the end it turns out that “Speed” is the murderer — he wanted to kill Billie before her diary exposed his practice of shaking down the rich and famous — an ending which certainly gives the lie to William K. Everson’s claim that there was never any particular mystery about whodunit in these films. I probably would have liked Charlie Chan on Broadway better if I’d been more awake and alert (as it was it kept me up until midnight), but as it was it seemed appealing even though a bit routine. Incidentally, the print we were watching was prefaced with a warning that it had been pieced together from the best available sources, and both Charles and I groaned in grim anticipation of what that usually means. Surprise: aside from a couple of scenes that showed just the beginning of nitrate dissolution, the film as a whole was crisp and clear, an impeccable transfer of a 1937 original in remarkably good shape. — 8/29/07 ••••• The film we picked was the last one in the Charlie Chan boxed set, volume 3 (and, interestingly, this and its two predecessors contain all 12 of the Chans with Warner Oland known to exist): Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo, a 1937 production (released 1938) and not only Warner Oland’s last Charlie Chan film but his last film, period. (He began production on another Chan, Charlie Chan at the Ringside, in January 1938 but had a dispute with Twentieth Century-Fox, quit the film, went to his native Sweden and died there in August 1938 as he was scheduled to return to Hollywood. Charlie Chan at the Ringside was later rewritten as a Mr. Moto vehicle, Mr. Moto’s Gamble, and after Oland’s death Fox revived the series a year later with Charlie Chan in Honolulu, casting Sidney Toler in the role after having tested Leo Carrillo — who would have been terrible — and Cy Kendall, who’d already played Chan on a radio series and would have been great. Incidentally, Oland and Toler both appear in Josef von Sternberg’s films with Marlene Dietrich: Oland as an Austrian in Dishonored and a Chinese in Shanghai Express and Toler as a detective in Blonde Venus — and Shanghai Express also features the wife of a third Chan, Sojin.) William K. Everson, who didn’t think much of the Oland Chans in general, called Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo “by far the weakest of his group, possibly due to his own ill health, but largely because of the excessive footage given to the overacted French [sic] policeman of Harold Huber, and perhaps too because the old team was getting a little bored,” but I found the film quite engaging and enjoyable even though the comic relief — not only Huber’s foofiness as Joubert, chief of the Monaco police, but Keye Luke’s stumbles with the French language and Louis Mercier’s comic taxi driver whose cab is given to minor explosions that stall it completely — seems at times to overwhelm the mystery plot. Also, precious little is made of the potential of Monte Carlo as a location — the casino looks like they simply used one of Fox’s standing sets of a high-class restaurant and moved in one table each for roulette and baccarat (one wishes they could have done what RKO did for the ending of Stingaree and rented from Universal the spectacular set of the Monte Carlo casino Erich von Stroheim had had built for Foolish Wives) and the intrigue doesn’t have anything to do with gambling, as Charles had (not surprisingly) expected. It opens at the baccarat table, surely enough, but it’s really about finance as two of Europe’s greatest stock speculators, Paul Savarin (Edward Raquello) and Victor Karnoff (Sidney Blackmer), are equally vicious rivals at the card table and in the market. The plot hinges on Karnoff’s plan to dump his $1 million worth of “metallurgical bonds” on the market and therefore drive the price down so Savarin’s holdings of the same investment become virtually worthless, and the murder — which Chan and his Number One Son Lee stumble on while walking through the Monegasque countryside after their cab has broken down (again) — is of Karnoff’s bank messenger, who was transporting the bonds to the stock market in Paris for sale. Naturally, the bonds themselves are stolen — though Karnoff files an insurance claim and receives their value almost immediately — and they’re recovered in the hotel room of bartender Al Rogers (George Lynn), who’s been blackmailing Karnoff’s wife Joan (Kay Linaker) because they were actually married earlier; she assumed he had divorced her and therefore married Karnoff, but then he turned up, alive and still legally her husband, in Monaco and forced her to steal $25,000 in the metallurgical bonds for him as his pay-off. Also among the red herrings is Evelyn Grey (Virginia Field), a gold-digger who has been dating Karnoff’s secretary, Gordon Chase (Robert Kent), but also seeing Savarin on the side. From the opening reel it was all too easy to peg Gordon as the murderer -— if only because he had his hair combed so differently from any of the other male characters and he presented an overbearing manner that made him seem capable of violence — though it’s not until the very end that the writing committee, Robert Ellis and Helen Logan (story) and Charles Belden and Jerry Cady (script), bother to explain his motive: at an earlier time he’d stolen $200,000 worth of the metallurgical bonds himself and sold them to lavish the money on Evelyn, only to have her desert him for the genuinely rich Savarin, so he stole the bonds and killed the bank messenger intending to replace the $200,000 worth he’d previously stolen from the issues Karnoff had marked for sale — only Karnoff still had the record of the issue numbers (which Gordon had tried to destroy by burning a trash can full of papers, which he thought contained that record but did not) and therefore the plot unraveled. Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo isn’t especially mysterious, but much of the “comic relief” is genuinely funny (for a change), Joubert turns out to have a brain behind all the foofiness, and the final scene is a quite moving leave-taking in which Joubert says his good-byes to Chan … which, given that this was in fact Warner Oland’s last film, comes off as a heart-rending tribute to the actor as well as his character, a rare moment of frame-crossing beauty in a series that for the most part was enjoyable formula entertainment but little more. — 9/8/07 ••••• Afterwards I told Charles I wanted to run us another movie just as a palate cleanser, and so I broke open the fourth Charlie Chan boxed set from 20th Century-Fox and brought out Charlie Chan in Honolulu, released January 13, 1939 and the first film in the Chan series in which Sidney Toler replaced the late Warner Oland as Chan. H. Bruce Humberstone returned as director, which helped (the much weaker Eugene Forde had done the last two Oland Chans, Charlie Chan on Broadway and Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo) and screenwriter Charles Belden ramped up the camp aspects of the series, replacing the usual dumb Black servant with dumb white servant Al Hogan (Eddie Collins), who’s in charge of a large shipment of animals bound for the San Francisco Zoo on the freighter Susan B. Jennings — including a lion named Oscar whom he not only lets runs loose but actually sleeps with. Also ramping up the camp level are the long scenes in which Chan’s Number Two Son, Lee Chan (Sen Yung — in his other films he was usually billed as Victor Sen Yung but Fox generally left his Anglo first name off the credits of the Chans) impersonates Charlie Chan when he takes the call from police inspector Rawlins (Paul Harvey) to investigate a murder aboard the Susan B. Jennings of a man whose identification tags were systematically stripped from him after he was killed. Also on board the ship are Dr. Cardigan — a mad scientist who’s kept alive a severed human brain and is played by George Zucco as a parody of the roles he was usually associated with — as well as a pair of ingénues, Judy Hayes (Phyllis Brooks) and ship’s officer George Randolph (John King) and an unscrupulous widow, Carol Wayne (a dark-haired Claire Dodd), as well as a pair of crooks fleeing Chinese justice, one of whom (Richard Lane) is masquerading as the cop who’s arrested the other (Marc Lawrence). The gimmick is that Judy was supposed to be carrying $300,000 in cash to be paid to a mysterious contact who’d be giving her a wedding ring as a signal, and the contact she was supposed to give the money to was the man who was later murdered — and turns out to be the still-alive husband of Carol Wayne, whose real name is Elsie Hillman and who is murdered before she can tell the secret. The secret is that the ship’s captain (Robert Barrat — we should have known!) was really the killer; he decided to steal the $300,000 by killing its rightful owner and then put back $10,000 of it in Judy’s room to frame her for the crime. As usual in a Humberstone Chan, the villain is unmasked with a technological gimmick — Chan rigs up a camera to take a flash photo in the dark of the criminal reaching for a gun which supposedly contains fingerprints which will incriminate him or her (though the fingerprints were actually too smudged to be of use — which given the way we’ve seen Hogan handle the gun in an earlier scene is not at all hard to believe!) — and Cardigan emerges on the side of good when he helps Chan develop the incriminating photo. Charlie Chan in Honolulu was well received when it was new — audiences quickly found they could accept the new actors and not pine for the absences of the dead Warner Oland and the departed Keye Luke — and though at times it’s too funny for its own good, it’s a nice bit of casual entertainment and Toler, though not in Oland’s league at playing an alien from a different culture with a very different idea of time, is still a good Chan and well worth watching in the role. — 3/26/08 ••••• I ran him the second 20th Century-Fox Charlie Chan movie with Sidney Toler, Charlie Chan in Reno, which had its moments but was hardly the film it could have been with a basically interesting (though way too convoluted) story and a good cast. Interestingly, three of the supporting cast members themselves played famous movie crimefighters: Ricardo Cortez was Sam Spadein the 1931 Maltese Falcon, Morgan Conway was Dick Tracy in the first two of RKO’s four mid-1940’s “B”’s (Dick Tracy and Dick Tracy vs. Cueball) and Robert Lowery was Batman in the second (and far inferior) of the two Columbia serials, The Adventures of Batman and Robin, in 1948. The story draws Chan to America’s divorce capital, not because he’s jettisoning his own spouse (after she gave him 12 kids, I would hope not!) but to try to save Mary Whitman (Pauline Moore), wife of his friend and Honolulu resident Curtis Whitman (Republic serial veteran Kane Richmond — who, come to think of it, played the Spider and therefore adds yet another famous crimefighter to the résumés of this cast!), from the charge of murdering obnoxious drunk divorcée Jeanne Bently (Louise Henry) after Jeanne served notice on Mary that she planned to marry Curtis as soon as Mary’s divorce went through. The story had its basis in a tale called “Death Makes a Decree” by a semi-major writer, Philip Wylie, but it rather plods along and the scenarists, Albert Ray, Frances Hyland and the ubiquitous Robert E. Kent (who got so many credits over the years I had no trouble believing the anecdote about him by cinematographer Richard Kline in the winter 2007/2008 issue of Films of the Golden Age: “As fast as he could type, that’s how fast the script came out. I’d walk by his little office, the door would be open, and he’d say, ‘Oh, hi, Richard!’ and we’d talk about [say] a ballgame from the night before, and he’d still keep typing while we were talking about the ballgame!”), throw us way too many characters and red herrings — including a man at the “Hotel Sierra” where most of the action (such as it is) takes place, who may or may not have killed Jeanne in the process of robbing her of her winnings at the hotel’s casino) — and cut to a plodding, ridiculous scene set inside a ghost town which gives director Norman Foster a chance at some night atmospherics but otherwise offers little and pretty much stops the plot dead in its tracks (its only point is to establish that one of the characters is a mining engineer and therefore has access to nitric acid, which one of the characters wanted to use to ruin another’s face and the other — Miss Vivian Wells, the hotel’s terminally chirpy social director, played well by Phyllis Brooks in an otherwise pretty anonymous cast — killed her to keep this from happening). Charlie Chan in Reno spared us (for the most part) the camp that weakened the first Toler Chan, Charlie Chan in Honolulu, though it still offered an especially embarrassing introduction for Victor Sen Yung as Chan’s Number Two Son: he’s portrayed as a student at USC and, when he hears his father is coming to Reno, borrows a car from a classmate and drives it there — only to be robbed by two hitchhikers he made the mistake of picking up, who steal not only his money but his (borrowed) car and even his clothes, so he’s picked up by the police wearing nothing but his undies and Chan, sitting in on the lineups of the Reno police, suddenly recognizes his son and mumbles a Chanorism about how he is “embarrassed to admit same” when his son asks Chan to confirm his identity and their relationship. (Then a drunk in the same lineup who doesn’t look at all Chinese adopts a mincing pidgin voice and even pushes up his eyelids manually in an attempt to convince the dumb police that he’s Chan’s number three son.) Charlie Chan in Reno has its moments — Toler, though not as good in the role as Warner Oland, is still good; Cortez has a wonderfully oily role as the hotel’s in-house doctor (who regards romancing the divorcèes-to-be as a perk of his job); Phyllis Brooks manages to do a credible scene at the end when she finally confesses; but the rest of the cast is pretty mediocre and the writers don’t even nail down completely whether the estranged Whitmans get back together at the fadeout or not. Fortunately, better was on the way: Fox’s next Chan film, Charlie Chan on Treasure Island, was by far the best of the Toler series, with Cesar Romero a powerful and charismatic villain. — 4/21/08 ••••• I ran us the film Charlie Chan at Treasure Island, the next in sequence in volume four of 20th Century-Fox’s DVD reissues of the Chan movies and, to my mind, the best of the Sidney Toler Chans even though the first time I saw it I guessed the identity of the villain midway through. Directed by Norman Foster from an “original” story and script by John Larkin, Charlie Chan at Treasure Island was set against the backdrop of the 1939-40 World’s Fair in San Francisco, actually held on an artificial island built in San Francisco Bay between San Francisco and Oakland and accessible only via the recently completed San Francisco Bay Bridge. (During World War II the island was appropriated by the U.S. Navy for a base, and they’ve been on it ever since, so it’s been inaccessible to the general public.) The characters begin the movie by flying in from Honolulu on the China Clipper — in a nice ironic touch, Charlie Chan is reading Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel Treasure Island during the flight — with Chan’s Number Two Son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) alternately getting airsick and having dire thoughts of the plane crashing and taking them all down with it, and Larkin’s script effectively introducing us to the other principals on board the plane: Thomas Gregory (Douglass Dumbrille — billed here without the final “s” on his first name), an insurance actuary and quite obvious red herring; and Paul Essex (Louis Jean Heydt, whose blond good looks and interesting personality should have given him a bigger career than he had), a friend of Chan’s and a mystery novelist who’s just completed his latest book, an exposé of phony spiritualists in the guise of suspense fiction. Essex receives a radiogram aboard the plane threatening him if he denounces San Francisco’s reigning fake psychic, “Dr. Zodiac” — and sure enough, he dies on board the plane and Chan has the task of breaking the news to his widow Stella (Sally Blane, real-life sister of Loretta Young) when they land. Gregory steals the attaché case in which Essex was carrying the manuscript of his novel (which he was actually shown finishing on a portable typewriter on the plane), Chan is the victim of a mock “kidnapping” by two of his old friends in the San Francisco Police Department, and the other dramatis personae include reporter Pete Lewis (Douglas Fowley, in what was probably the most sympathetic part he got until he played the male lead in Lady in the Death House), who’s also trying to expose Dr. Zodiac; and Rhadini the Great (Cesar Romero), a stage magician who performs at the Temple of Magic at the World’s Fair and, like his real-life namesake Houdini (obviously John Larkin’s inspiration for this character), has offered a large reward to any spiritualist who performs a feat Rhadini can’t duplicate with the skills and equipment of a stage magician. Chan, Lewis and Rhadini (in disguise) visit Dr. Zodiac’s séance room — investigating the mysterious deaths of four of Zodiac’s clients, which Chan suspects are due to Zodiac’s having blackmailed them with revelations they gave him during their readings — and Chan eventually discovers that Zodiac’s costume is padded inside to make him look like a larger man than he really is. Meanwhile, though Rhadini is in the business of exposing fake mystics, his act includes his girlfriend Eve Cairo (Pauline Moore), a real mind-reader, and it all comes to a climax at the Temple of Magic, where Chan — having in the meantime raided Zodiac’s home and burned the files of information with which he was blackmailing people (apparently his reading has encompassed not only Stevenson but Dashiell Hammett’s “The Scorched Face,” which has a similar denouement) — stages a confrontation between Rhadini and Zodiac. The person in the Zodiac costume is killed and turns out to be Zodiac’s servant Abdul , and though Rhadini is supposedly wounded in the confrontation it turns out that he is Zodiac and had used Abdul to wear the Zodiac costume and thus make it seem as if they were two different people, then faked the wound with a knife concealed in his magic wand. Charlie Chan at Treasure Island is way ahead of its two predecessors in the Toler Chan series for several reasons. First is Cesar Romero’s marvelous portrayal of the villain, even though he’s so smarmy and self-righteous throughout the whole movie that even when he’s being portrayed as a sympathetic character you still get the impression that he’s up to no good. It also helps that the director is Norman Foster (a cut above the hacks like Eugene Forde and Louis King that directed most of the Warner Oland Chans) and that most of the action takes place at night. There’s comic relief but at least it’s controlled — it doesn’t seem to take over the whole movie and turn it into a camp-fest the way it did in the scripts for Charlie Chan in Honolulu and Charlie Chan in Reno — and for once even Victor Sen Yung (a perfectly competent actor but hardly at Keye Luke’s level) is genuinely funny, especially when he assumes a preposterous disguise in a doomed effort to fool his dad as to his true identity. My recollection of the rest of the Toler Chans is that they were quite entertaining even though they slipped into formula pretty quickly (especially Sen Yung’s antics) and they were probably better movies than the Oland Chans — certainly directors like Foster and H. Bruce Humberstone (who I believe was the only person who directed both Oland and Toler as Chan) made the films faster-moving and got the draggy exposition parts out of the way relatively quickly — though Oland remains the best Chan precisely because he was the most successful at creating the impression that he was a different sort of person from a very different culture with a different sense of time, and the clashes between him and Luke (between the immigrant and the U.S.-born and assimilated generation which followed) seem more effective than those between Toler (who simply doesn’t look or act as convincingly Asian as Oland had!) and Sen Yung. The Chans have been raked over the coals for their stereotypical depictions of Asians and the refusal of Fox (and, later, Monogram) to cast an Asian actor in the role (though the two Chan films made in the silent era, The House Without a Key and The Chinese Parrot, did use Asian stars — Japanese actors George Kuwa and Kamiyama Sojin, respectively), but frankly they hold up quite well and it’s hard to accuse them of racism since in every film it’s the Asian detective who’s the smart one and the white cops who reach to the most obvious, but incorrect, conclusions about the cases. — 4/27/08 ••••• The night before Charles and I had watched Charlie Chan in City in Darkness — that being what it said on the DVD box, a rather awkward title and not necessarily the best transcription of what the opening card actually said (“Charlie Chan in City in Darkness, with Sidney Toler”); the American Film Institute Catalog listed it simply as City in Darkness. It’s the last movie in the fourth volume of Charlie Chan DVD’s from 20th Century-Fox Home Entertainment (and the first one with Toler rather than Warner Oland as Chan) and it’s a potentially interesting movie that could have been a lot better than it was. Though not released until November 1939 — after World War II had started, which makes the supposedly prescient last line (the French police officials are high-fiving each other at how the agreement between Hitler and Chamberlain at Munich has averted war and Chan says, “A wise man once said, ‘Beware of spider who invites fly into his place for tea’”) not quite as prescient as it sounded; most likely it was added to an otherwise finished film after the war began, like the endings of The Four Just Men and Foreign Correspondent — the movie is actually pretty dramatic when it opens with newsreel footage of Hitler, Chamberlain, French president Edouard Daladier and others, along with scenes of the Sudetenland and the German tanks rolling in to occupy it. (After reading Leonard Mosley’s history of this period, On Borrowed Time, it was especially thrilling to see this footage, even in the ahistorical context of opening a Charlie Chan movie.) The scene then shifts to a French hotel room, where villainess Charlotte Ronnell (Dorothy Tree) is arranging a delivery of French munitions to
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"https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?v=noscript" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2019-07-07T19:25:11+00:00	Posts about Film lists written by cacb3995	en	https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/bfeadefb9b3e5712df2c2c0653ae8e4ea308f5373d39acead926d6d161fb8171?s=32	Breaking the Fourth Wall	https://breakingthefourthwallsite.wordpress.com/category/film-lists/	So we are already into the second half of the year (time flies) and we’ve already seen a few very interesting new releases. While not as exciting as this time last year in my opinion, there has been some films that are very worthy of discussion. Some of these were actually released during the festival circuit last year, but they entered major distribution this year – the only exception to this criteria I’m not including is “Birds of Passage”, which I actually caught mid summer last year in my home country, and since it was our net at the Oscars for 2018 I still consider it a 2018 release. Also, I’m mainly considering films that were released from January to June, so no “Midsommar” (which sadly hasn’t been released yet where I live). I also haven’t been able to watch “Toy Story 4” yet, but from what I’ve heard it might be the only fourth part in a movie franchise that is actually good. Anyway, usually I would now talk about some honourable mentions, but I don’t think I’ve seen enough films this year that deserve this categorization to actually make a whole session. There are still, however, a couple that were or almost were pretty good and I’ll discuss them briefly: “Brightburn” – some great acting and cool scenes, but ultimately disappointing considering the potential of its premise, needed to flesh out Brandon’s character more; “The Beach Bum” – unique, funny and some times straight up outrageous, while boasting an excellent performance by Matthew McConaughey but kind of feels hollow at the end (though you could argue it was done in purpose to reflect the main character); “Booksmart” – probably gonna get criticized for this, but this movie didn’t do much for me, it’s well vast and Olvia Wilde does a great job directing, but the humour was very hit and miss and for all its progressive ideas it does lack nuance ; and of course there’s “Avengers: Endgame”, which I reviewed earlier, a film that brings the Infinity Saga to an end, but also goes a little too much into nostalgic territory (albeit doing it right for the most part), and it takes Marvel’s greatest villain and doesn’t do him enough justice. Also, for kids stuff I really enjoyed both “Shazam!” And ” Detective Pikachu”. Okay, so with that out of the way, let’s get started with the top 10 Films of the first half of 2019: 10. The Dead Don’t Die (Jim Jarmusch) An excellent cast and a very talented auteur at the helm, even with all its great moments one can’t help but feel somewhat disappointed by Jarmusch’s latest film. A zombie flick doesn’t sound like your standard material for an indie director, but after what he did with vampires in “Only Lovers Left Alive” I had high hopes for this. It tells the story of a zombie outbreak from the perspectives of several residents in a small town. It has some very hilarious scenes, there ‘s some unexpected stuff going on, and it’s wonderful cast all give excellent performances all around. The thing is, the film has too many characters for a runtime of around 100 minutes. You could cut out a couple of the subplots to better focus on some of the most interesting characters (I’d day Driver, Murray, Swinton and Waits were the most interesting aspects), or alternatively make the film’s run to be up to two hours maybe, and you’d have a better movie all around. Regardless, the film is a very entertaining piece and does deserve your time. 9. The Perfection (Richard Sheppard) Perhaps somewhat ironically, “The Perfection” is far from perfect. A psychosexual thriller about musical prodigees years after they’ve left a shady music academy. The film seems that it kind of struggles to decide what type of story it wants to be, it twists and turns in many unexpected ways, some lackluster but some devilishly good. I’ve seen people criticize this film because it isn’t “realistic”, but this isn’t the type of movie you should judge on its level of realism. It is convoluted and far fetched, but it still does achieve what it sets out to do: to be a disturbing and provocative mindf*ck of a movie. Also, Allison Williams’ performance deserves a shout out. It has tonal and pacing issues (another example of a film that could’ve benefited from an extra 10-15 minutes), and like I said it is somewhat convoluted, but as a thriller in the vein of Korean revenge cinema Italian giallos I’d say it is pretty effective. Again, not necessarily a “great” film, but the only reason it sits above “The Dead Don’t Die” is that it doesn’t have a proven outstanding director from whom you’d expect more. 8. Monos (Alejandro Lanés) I may not be considering “Birds of Passage” as an entry for this year, but Colombia has another great recent film among its ranks that hopefully sparks some attention. It tells the story of a group of youngsters in a mountain terrain far away from civilization, being trained and indoctrinated to fight an illegal war. The film never specified if they belong to the guerrillas or the paramilitary organizations, and I liked it all the more for not taking a political stance. The film is a surreal fever dream, a descent into he’ll well within the Colombian jungles. The imagery is beautiful and brutal, the sound design is extremely immersive, the story is great throughout and the actors all give their best. If I had to signal one flaw it’d be some of the character’s lack of characterisation, but I’d say it’s not a big issue. I caught the film at the Berlinale earlier this year, and I’d recommend to anyone to go out and see it, the future of Colombian cinema seems bright. 7. The Miracle at the Sargasso Sea (Syllas Tzoumerkas) Another film I caught at this year’s Berlinale, a Greek mystery film with its surrealist moments and an appeal in the tradition of the country’s Greek wave. It tells the story of a detective, played by the great Ageliki Papoulia, who is transferred from Athens to a small coastal town, where, many years later, she must solve the apparent suicide of a local musician, for which she must uncover some of the town’s disturbing secrets. It is a complex film with several heavy topics, but it managed to handle them (mostly) with great care and respect. Papoulia gives an excellent performance in the central role, and her character offers perhaps a new heroine mould in this sort of surrealistic neo-noir genre. I’d say the film’s major weaknesses are its first scene (which isn’t particularly bad but it feels from another movie altogether) and it’s last (which kind of robs the ambiguity of the main character’s arc), but all in all a pretty good and well made film, alas I’d hesitate to recommend it since it is a hard watch and may play out more as an acquired taste. 6. I Am Mother (Grant Sputore) As you may know, I’m a big fan of thought provoking science fiction, and this year’s “I Am Mother” offers exactly that. It tells of an A.I. known as “Mother” (voiced by Rose Byrne), which is activated one day after an extinction event that wiped out humanity, and is tasked to raise a new generation of humans. Years pass and a new offspring, simply known as “Daughter” (Clara Ruggard) starts her path into adolescence, when a mysterious woman (Hilary Swank) appears, meaning that Daughter is in fact not the only human alive, what leads her to ask questions about the nature of her situation. This film poses all sorts of philosophical and ethical questions, is tense and thrilling, extremely well executed, perfectly acted and it develops into very unpredictable territory. Ruggard gives a breakthrough performance, and both Swank and Byrne deserve major recognition for their roles. If you’re a fan of thought provoking science fiction that’s also thrilling and narratively compelling you should check this one out. 5. Her Smell (Alex Ross Perry) A musical drama starring Elisabeth Moss as a troubled rockstar whose self-destructive behaviour compromises her career and personal relationships. A relatively small film, it is in reality a very compelling and at times heart breaking narrative, even if it steps sometimes into melodrama territory. Elisabeth Moss gives what is perhaps the best performance of her career as the troubled Becky, a towering shift that’ll sadly get ignored in the award season since this is a low profile film. The music is pretty great, some sort of mid 2000s rock-pop mixed with some sentimental ballades for good meassure. I once saw a film by Perry starring Moss as well at a film festival (“Queen of Earth”), and after finding out that there was a new collaboration between the two I decided I had to watch it as soon as possible, and I’ve gotta say that “Her Smell” not only lived up to that expectation but also surpassed it. 4. Us (Jordan Peele) Jordan Peele follows up his breakout hit “Get Out” with another smart horror filled with tons of social commentary. Lupita N’yongo stars as Adelaide, a woman who years ago had a disturbing encounter at a house of mirrors at the beach in Santa Cruz as a kid. Now, years later, she and her family visit Santa Cruz again, only to be met by doppelgängers, dark reflections of themselves. Peele’s sophomore effort solidifies him as a true talent to be reckoned with, showing his mastery of the genre and his ability to handle complex social issues. Unlike “Get Out”, which is pretty straight forward with its commentary, I’d argue that in “Us” it is left somewhat more ambigous, albeit such an ambitious and complicated project does leave a sense that it’s reach extended its grasp. I’d argue that his first film is a much tighter outing that knows and embraces its limitations, whereas “Us” does suffer a little from being too ambitious. Regardless, it is still an excellent horror film that comments on the american reality and issuses such as inequality, social mobility and gaining social status at the expense of others. 3. Ash is the Purest White (Jia Zhangke) I came into this film expecting a gangster/crime drama from a chinese perspective, but what I got was something much more rewarding. It tells the story of Qiao, whose boyfriend Bin is a mob boss with a lot of influence. One night, a biker gang attacks them in attempt to dethrone Bin, so Qiao steps in, firing a gun into the sky, what scares them off but also calls the attention of the police; Qiao is arrested. She’s released after five years and here’s where the real drama begins: we see from her perspective how she’s unable to adapt to a rapidly changing world. China’s development as a country has been one of the fastest ones in history, and this film thematizes that with particular care for the people who aren’t really able to keep up. If anything, the film plays out like a gangster film for the first 30 minutes, but afterwards it becomes a deeply personal drama about this woman trying to understand this world. A character study which pays careful attention to the small nuances of interpersonal relationships in such an environment, which effectively shows why Zhangke is one of China’s most celebrated modern auteurs. 2. Long Day’s Journey into Night (Bi Gan) The director of 2015’s surprise film “Kaili Blues” is back with another exploration of cinematic time that boasts great technical prowess. The film tells the story of a man who returns to his home town for the funeral of his father, while reminiscing about an old friend called Wildcat, and starts searching for a long lost love. This film had a particularly interesting marketing campaign in China: it was released at New Year’s eve and it was marketed as the ultimate romantic film, with special interest on the final scene as the clock would strike midnight and signal the beginning of 2019. It became the highest grossing opening for a chinese film, yet the box office returns decreased afterwards because, as it turns out, the film was something completely different to what was marketed. Viewers expecting a romantic drama were flabbergasted by an out of the ordinary and far from straight forward art film that played with time perception and memory. The last hour of the film is a single continous shot that flies through different locations, meetings with characters from different eras, and defies traditional story expectations. This final sequence alone makes it worth while, if anything because of the great technical aspect (not to mention its in 3D), but also how the film handles its themes and the particular way it tells its story makes this an unforgetable film experience. 1. High Life (Claire Denis) In what is perhaps my favourite film of the year as of now, Claire Denis directs a talented cast that includes Juliette Binoche, Robert Pattison and Mia Goth in a nightmarish mix of science fiction, horror and art house sensibilities. A group of criminals are sent to space as a punishment in a mission to harvest energy from a black hole. Unbeknownst to them, they are there to be used as guinea pigs for sexual and reproductive experimentation, in an effort by Dr. Dibs (Binoche) to achieve artificial insemination. This is a very disturbing film that may appear inaccesible at first (for the first 40 minutes or so I was struggling to understand what the hell was going on), but once you get a semblance of an idea for what is happening things will start falling into place. The film is full of surreal and nightmarish sequences that make it unforgettable. The performances are all around great, Goth demonstrating she’s excellent for such dark tales as she did in “Nymphomaniac”, “The Survivalist” and last year’s “Suspiria”, and Pattison keeps solidifying his status as an indie star (which does give hope for the future Batman). But of course, the MVP of the picture is Juliette Binoche, twisted as she is sensous, disturbing yet oddly charming, stealing the spotlight in every scene she’s in. Claire Denis has crafted one of the most unforgettable films of the year, bringing her talent and unique vision to the science fiction genre, the result being what could be this year’s best. So there you have it. Thanks for reading and I hope you liked it. If you could share this with your friends and family it’d be of great help, and don’t forget to hit that follow button to keep up to date with this blog’s contents. Also, check out my Letterboxd to see this list develop as the year goes by and I watch newer films. Here’s to hoping that the second half of 2019 brings even more great films. Until next time! Its been over a year since I tackled the arguably 20 Best Science Fiction Films of All Time, so perhaps its a very good time to revisit the genre and talk about the best that the present century has to offer. Being a genre that intrinsically works thematically with human’s relationship to technology, as our own technological development continues to grow so does our understanding of our relationship towards it, as well as our own fears and desires with regards to it. Also, the evolution of science and our comprehension of the universe as a whole and our place within it brings up a series of complicated questions that genre has widely speculated about. For the last two decades science fiction cinema has delved into many of these issues, and many others as well relevant to our present day. Let’s take a look at what could very well be the 10 best science fiction films this 21st century has to offer. Honourable mentions: “A.I.: Artificial Intelligence” (Steven Spielberg, 2001), “Donnie Darko” (Richard Kelly, 2001), “Minority Report” (Steven Spielberg, 2002), “Time of the Wolf” (Michael Haneke, 2003), “Serenity” (Joss Whedon, 2005), “A Scanner Darkly” (Richard Linklater, 2006), “Man from Earth” (Richard Schenkman, 2007), “Wall-E” (Andrew Stanton, 2008) “The Road” (John Hillcoat, 2009), “Inception” (Christopher Nolan, 2010), “Planet of the Apes” reboot (Ruppert Wyatt – Matt Reeves, 2011 – 2017), “Looper” (Rian Johnson, 2012), “Cloud Atlas” (Wachowskis – Tom Tykwer, 2012), “Upstream Color” (Shane Garruth, 2013), “The World’s End” (Edgar Wright, 2013), “Snowpiercer” (Bong Joon-ho, 2013) “Interstellar” (Christopher Nolan, 2014), “Mad Max: Fury Road” (George Miller, 2015), “Blade Runner 2049” (Dennis Villeneuve, 2017), “Annihilation” (Alex Garland, 2018) 10. Hard to be a God (Aleksei German, 2013) Kicking off the list we have a russian black-and-white film based on a novel written by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky (the writers behind the story that inspired Tarkovsky’s “Stalker”), directed by the late Alekei German. Bleak and very brutal, the film tells of a group of Earth scientists that travel to a planet similar to our own with the difference that they are perpetually stuck in the middle ages. The population has prevented the rise of the rennaissance by brutally murdering anyone with intellectual leanings. The plot is hard to follow on first viewing, but the stark cinematography creates a unique visual style that, coupled with a bleak yet thought-provoking narrative, make for a very unforgettable viewing experience. 9. District 9 (Neil Blomkamp, 2009) A film that utilizes its allegorical nature to touch on real world issues like racism and Apartheid. Set in Johannesburg, where 30 years prior an alien spacecraft landed carrying several malnourished extraterrestrials, who are then relocated by the South African governement to an area known as District 9, a slum where unrest and tensions towards the alien population will grow over the years. The protagonist is Wikus (played by an excellent Sharlto Copley), who during a search of an alien home accidentally sprays himself with a mysterious substance that slowly starts turning his biology into that of the aliens. For a film released about a decade ago the visuals hold up today surprisingly well, Blomkamp’s direction is excellent from start to finish and the social commentary, while not really that subtle, remains sharp and relevant even today. 8. Arrival (Dennis Villeneuve, 2016) Dennis Villeneuve’s 2016 “Arrival” gives a unique spin to the classic genre. In the film twelve mysterious spacecrafts arrive on different points of the planet, but the aliens aren’t here to conquer or wage war against humanity, they are here to open a communication channel. Of course, to communicate with an alien species with their own understanding of language is not going to be easy, so the U.S. army employs linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) to try to overcome this language barrier. The film tackles a variety of complex topics such as language, human communication and the nature of time. Villeneuve shows off his expertise as a director and storyteller, developing new aisles in a genre that he handles with utmost respect. 7. Her (Spike Jonze, 2013) Spike Jonze’s “Her” is a love story for the technological era. It follows Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), a lonely man who works writing letters of personal nature for people who find this difficult and is in the middle getting divorced from his wife (Rooney Mara). He installs an AI that names itself Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johanson), which has the ability to develop emotionally and psychologically. After bonding and finding in Samantha a connection that he seldom finds in other people, Theodore soon falls in love with his AI and the two start a relationship. This is a film that delves into human emotions and interpersonal relationships, about the loneliness and isolation of an ever changing world, anchored by an excellent performance by Phoenix and great voice talent by Johannson. 6. Moon (Duncan Jones, 2009) Back in 2009, Duncan Jones’ feature debut “Moon” made somewhat of a splash within the sci fi community. It follows Sam Bell (played by Sam Rockwell), an astronaut on a three year mission by himself on the moon to mine an alternative source of fuel due to fuel scarcity back on Earth. After suffering an accident on an expedition, he discovers that he might not be totally alone as first thought, revealing a dark secret of the company for which he works for. This is a great movie all around: the cinematography is great, the set design is amazing, and Sam Rockwell’s central performance deserves a lot more credit than what it actually gets. Dealing with issues of identity and morality, Duncan Jones’ first film announced him to the world as a very talented filmmaker… a bar that, sadly, he perhaps set too high for himself. 5. Primer (Shane Garruth, 2004) Perhaps the most complicated time travel film to ever be made, “Primer” is an extremely low budget film written, directed by and starring Shane Garruth, a former engineer, who used his scientific knowledge to craft the very well tought out and highly complex mechanics of time travel. It follows two friends and colleagues, both engineers, who by working on their own scientific experiments accidentally discover – or rather invent – a time loop scenario that allows them to travel six hours into the past, while their past selves still exist during this time period. Like stated before, the mechanics are very complicated, and Garruth never dumbs down the scientific terms for the audience’s benefit, so this might be a frustrating watch for some viewers, but it can be highly rewarding by paying close attention and multiple viewings. 4. Under the Skin (Jonathan Glazer, 2013) A low budget scottish production consisting of the simple premise of Scarlett Johanson playing a mysterious alien woman who drives around Glasgow picking up men, takes them back home to apparently sleep with them, what in fact turns out to be a sort of predatory practice. The film may not be big on visual effects or high concept storytelling (though there are some visually striking sequences in there), but it does delve deep into classic sci fi themes such as the question of what it means to be human through an art house lense. Johanson’s performance is very subdued and even tender, her character far from a simple alien monster, is instead a nuanced and complex being that undergoes one of the most interesting developments for a non-human character within the genre. 3. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón, 2006) Dystopian science fiction as bleak as it gets, though its not devoid of a glimmer of hope. In the year 2027 humanity has become infertile, what has lead to a collapse of most global economies, with the UK being the last one standing. An influx of refugees has been pouring into the country. Theo (Clive Owen) is contacted by former wife Julian (Julianne Moore) so he helps a young refugee named Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitee), who just may carry humanity’s last hope in the face of its impending extinction. This is still arguably Cuarón’s masterpiece, an intelligently crafted sci fi thriller, shot through the director’s and Lubezki’s characteristic impressive long takes, and featuring what could be Clive Owen’s best performance. Cuarón presents a very harsh picture of what could be humanity’s future in one of the century’s best efforts in the genre. 2. Ex Machina (Alex Garland, 2015) Alex Garland’s take on Artificial Intelligence is one for the ages. The film follows Caleb (Domhall Glesoon), a programmer who wins an office contest to visit the isolated house of Nathan (Oscar Isaac), the CEO of the company he works for. Nathan has been working on an AI called Ava (Alicia Vikander), and Caleb is there to make a Turing test on her, meaning he has to determine if she could pass as a human or not. Like many other sci fi classics before, “Ex Machina” tackles themes of humanity’s relationship with technology and what it means to be a human being, delving into actual discussions regarding topics of consciousness and artificial intelligence. All the while Garland creates a compelling and thrilling narrative anchored by the dynamic between its three main players, building to a climax that guaranteed won’t be easy to forget. 1. Melancholia (Lars von Trier, 2011) Perhaps not a traditional science fiction film, in that it doesn’t concern futuristic technologies or beings from another world. Instead, Lars von Trier’s “Melancholia” tells an end of the world story but told in a very small scope. It tells the story of two sisters, Justine (Kirsten Dunst), who in the middle of her wedding party suffers a depressive episode, and Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), who sees herself as responsible to care for her sister in this state. All the while, Melancholia, a newly discovered rogue planet, approaches the Earth. For large portions of the movie, “Melancholia” plays more like a psycho-drama than a sci fi ordeal, yet as the impending disaster looms we are treated to classic genre themes like humanity’s reaction on the face of their inevitable doom. Boasting excellent performances by Dunst and Gainsbourg, and shot with the director’s highly stylized visual flair, Von Trier crafts what is definitely one of the best films of the present century (and of his career), let alone the science fiction genre. Thanks for reading and I hope you liked it. Do you agree with these picks? Which other films would you add to the list? If you could leave a like a share this with your friends and family that’d be greatly appreciated. Also, if you want to stay up to date with the contents of this blog hit that follow button. Until next time! Traditionally, the western genre has presented a romanticized image of a particular time period in north american history. The frontier society, somewhere between mid and late 1800s, has been portrayed as the basis of contemporary north american civilization, a place where values like honour, loyalty and justice go a long way. Nevertheless, it is widely accepted that this depictions of the old west couldn’t be further from the truth. During the 60s and 70s, in the midst of great social unrest and political turmoil, a new subgenre of Western arised, which would shed a light and put into question all the myths and legends that the classic westerns of old championed. This current would be known as the revisionist western, also known as late or even anti-western (I previously touched upon this subject in my essay On Classic, Anti and Neo Westerns). Whereas previously the heroes and villains were easily distinguishable and traditional values and individualism always thrived over unfairness and cinicism, now the wild west is painted in a much more ambiguous light. With all this in mind, let’s take a look at ten examples of this category and their revisionist aspects. Note: I’m only including american revisionist westerns, that means that Spaguetti/Italo Westerns such as the ones from Leone and Corbucci don’t really qualify, not because they aren’t revisionistic in their own right (they are and very much so), but because I’m interested in the american perspective towards their own history and legends for this piece. 10. High Plains Drifter (Clint Eastwood, 1973) A film that puts a spin on the classic western plot of a stranger riding into town and joining forces with the townspeople to stop a band of bandits. Its directed by and stars Clint Eastwood as the mysterious drifter, who the people of the town see as their only salvation. Yet, it soon becomes clear that Eastwood’s character is no saint, his actions are far from righteous and he’s driven by a twisted sense of revenge. Eastwood causes more trouble instead of solving it, and the film really shows how this trope of the stoic stranger coming to save the town hides a huge amount of egoism. While the film does ask a little too much of our suspension of disbelief, it is a very well crafted picture and its revisionism hits the nail on the head. 9. Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks, 1974) The one film on this list that’s actually light-hearted and a comedy in essence, it doesn’t openly criticize depictions of the old west as much as it satirizes them. It stars Cleavon Little as Bart, the very first black sheriff in the town of Rock Ridge, and Gene Wilder as Jim, also known as the Waco Kid, the only person in town who accepts him initially. The pair go through lots of over the top adventures and ultimately have to stop the attorney general, who plans to destroy the town so a railroad can be built. This film really fits into the postmodern tradition, constantly engaging in meta humour and breaking every fourth wall in sight. Its revisionism stems from the limited portrayal of black communities in classic westerns, an issue they handled with great charm and wacky situations. 8. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (George Roy Hill, 1969) Paul Newman and Robert Redford star as the infamous outlaw pair Butch Cassidy and Harry Longabaugh, a.k.a. the Sundance Kid, a couple of criminals on the run from the law after a series of train robberies. The two title characters are legends of the west, so the film goes on to deconstruct what makes them legends in the first place. They are supposed to be celebrated gunmen, yet they reject gun violence. When engaged in duels they resort to trickery and conniving, methods that in the classic westerns of old would be considered as dishonourable. Then there’s the famous “Raindrops” scene, which shows a very innocent side to two supposedly hardened criminals. In a very anti-western fashion, the outlaws become the heroes and the law is the corrupt villain. 7. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (Sam Peckinpah, 1973) In the first and certainly not the last film directed by Sam Peckinpah you’ll see on this list, James Coburn stars as Pat Garrett, the sheriff of Lincoln County, who is assigned to track down his old friend Billy the Kid, played by Kris Kristofferson. The conflict between these two men and their ideologies lie in the center of the film, and through this we see a very gritty and cruel wild west, where ideals like friendship and loyalty are rendered irrelevant through a corrupt legal system. The amazing soundtrack was composed by Bob Dylan, who also stars in the film as a member of the Kid’s gang, yet, while the scene featuring “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” is one of the most iconic scenes in film history, seeing Dylan in the film was kind of distracting and it broke with the immersion, his character doesn’t add much to the story and I think he’s better off as a musician as an actor. However, this shouldn’t detract from the film’s overall quality and its thought provoking material. 6. The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik, 2007) Certainly the newest film on this list, you might think that the title reveals everything you need to know about this film, but in truth the story is so rich and nuanced that you have to pay close attention to grasp everything that’s going on. Brad Pitt stars as outlaw Jesse James and Cassey Affleck stars as Robert Ford, a young man whose obsession with the western hero turns deadly. The film is a slow burn, one of the slowest for a western film, yet by the end it becomes clear that Jesse James was not the Robin Hood-type of hero he is made out to be, and Robert Ford is not a coward by any means. A huge staple of the revisionist western subgenre is the deconstruction of legends, and even if this film came out way after the initial wave of anti-westerns, it certainly fits the bill. 5. Ride the High Country (Sam Peckinpah, 1962) A film that can be considered somewhat of an early late-western, this was one of Peckinpah’s first incursions into wild west territory. While aesthetically it differs to most of the later films that fall into this category, thematically it would pioneer many of the issues that would be explored in later years. It tells the story Steve Judd (Joel McCrea), an ex-lawman, Gil Westrum (Randolph Scott), a once legendary sharpshooter, and Heck Longtree (Ron Starr), Gil’s young apprentice, as they are hired to carry a shipment of gold through the mountains. Along the way they meet a young girl named Elsa (Mariette Hartley), run into trouble and incur into moral debates as to what they should do with the gold. Beyond its portrayal of morally ambiguous heroes, the film tackles a subject characteristic of the late-western: that of aging heroes that cannot cope with the new state of the world. 4. Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, 1992) Clint Eastwood’s second entry in this list and probably the greatest western he ever directed. Eastwood stars as Will Munny, an aging former outlaw who takes on a last job to earn a huge amount of money. He’s assisted by Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman), and they’ll cross paths more than once with sadistic sheriff “Little” Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman). As with the previous entry, this film deals with an aging western “hero” that struggles to come to terms with the current state of the west. Munny isn’t a fast shooter, his hands are shaky and struggles to mount a horse, thus is the idea of the gunslinger (popularized by Eastwood himself) demystified. The main representative of the law in the film is Daggett, a psychopathic figure that’s nonetheless a god-fearing citizen. Logan is a pacifist and doesn’t revel in violence. The film takes a number of classic western tropes and ideals and subverts them, painting a much more grounded picture that the ones we may find in the westerns of the 40s and 50s. 3. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962) The case of this film is particularly interesting, since its directed by John Ford, the man who practically edified many of the tropes and conventions that revisionist westerns would seek to subvert and criticize. It tells the story of Ranse Stoddard (James Stewart), a senator who arrives at a frontier town which is being terrorized by bandit Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin); the only man who stands up to him is Tom Doniphon (John Wayne). After a reluctant start, both men will work together to bring Valance down. Much like the aforementioned “Ride the High Country”, this film might be best described as an early late-western: it plays out in a somewhat traditional fashion, yet by the end the central legend is demystified and, perhaps more importantly in its message, it presents in Stewart’s character the idea of a civilized society that works in accordance with a centralized form of government. 2. McCabe and Mrs. Miller (Robert Altman, 1971) Robert Altman famously said once that he despised the western genre, so when he set out to make this film it was no surprise that it would run against all conventions. In the center of the movie is John McCabe (Warren Beatty), a gambler and self-described business man who comes to a frontier town to open a brothel. While his business is doing all right, he meets Constance Miller (Julie Christie), an experienced prostitute who teaches him more than a few things on how to run and expand his business. The pair starts doing pretty well, until a big mining company wants to buy them off. This is probably the film that differentiates itself the most from the rest: its not about outlaws and sheriffs, it doesn’t concern banks or train robberies, nor is it about legends and gunfighters. Instead, it is a film that talks about the economic state of America and how big businesses crush the little man. It is bleak and gritty, yet the cinematography is visually striking and Leonard Cohen’s soundtrack is hauntingly beautiful. I firmly believe that only Altman could’ve pulled off a film like this. 1. The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 1969) Peckinpah’s masterpiece and a masterstroke in western revisionism, 1969’s “The Wild Bunch” concerns an aging group of outlaws, who are forced to flee to Mexico after a railroad robbery goes horribly wrong when a former member of the bunch sets them up. It deals with the classic theme of old heroes struggling with the modernized world that surrounds them and has ots to say about the modernization of western society. On one side of the frontier they face a corrupt railroad owner who wants them dead, a sign of the rising corruption in corporate America, and on the other side they face Mapache, a corrupt leader of the mexican army who also wants them dead, a sign of the corruption of institutions. Peckinpah’s aesthetic tackles violence in a very raw and sterilized fashion, putting into question the whole glorification of violence that the westerns of old championed as necessary for society’s progression. The bunch are relics of a much simpler past, yet they refuse to go down quietly and instead choose to fight against this new corrupt world order until their last breath. Aesthetically accomplished, narratively compelling and thematically very thoughtful, Peckinpah’s film is most likely the revisionist western par excellence. Thanks for reading and I hope you liked it. I recently had to write a paper for university on the subject and learned lots of new perspectives on the matter. There’s certainly many other films that I’ve missed or that I haven’t seen, so feel free to leave your recommendations in the comments. Also, if there’s a good response I could do a similar list for Italowesterns in the future, so do tell me if you might be interested. Anyway, if you could share this with your friends, family or anyone you know that might be interested I would deeply appreciate it, and don’t forget to hit the follow button to stay up to date with this blog’s contents. Until next time! 2019 is already almost a month old and I’ve been delaying this for a good while now. I was waiting to see if I could watch as many films as possible, but of course that is never enough and many great entries get left out. Some of the movies I haven’t had the chance to see yet include: most of the Oscar fare, namely “A Star is Born” (Bradley Cooper), “Vice” (Adam McKay), “Green Book” (Peter Farrelly), “First Man” (Damian Chazelle), “If Beale Street Could Talk” (Barry Jenkins), then there’s foreign contenders “Capernaum” (Nadine Labaki) and “Never Look Away” (Florian von Donnersmarck), as well as “Mirai” (Mamoru Hosada), very sadly “Spider Man: Into the Siderverse” (Persichetti, Ramsay, Rothman), indie darlings such as “Leave no Trace” (Debra Granik) and “Eighth Grade” (Bo Burnham) and my biggest regret, I haven’t watched my own country’s “Pájaros de Verano” (Ciro Guerra and Cristina Gallego). So yeah, with that out of the way, lets get into the honourable mentions: “Upgrade” (Leigh Whannell), “Bohemian Rhapsody” (Bryan Singer), “Thoroughbreds” (Cory Finey), “Everybody Knows” (Asghar Farhadi), “Under the Silver Lake” (John Robert Mitchell), “Mandy” (Panos Cosmatos), “Searching” (Aneesh Chaganty), “Ralph Breaks the Internet” (Moore, Johnston) and yeah, gotta mention it, “Avengers: Infinity War” (Russo brothers). Ps.: given that the Oscar nominations were announced yesterday, I’ll be writing about that on the weekend, though I have something different in mind this time around, so that’s why I’m taking a little more time to put that together. Anyway, without further ado, here are my 20 favourite films of 2018: 20. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Coen brothers) Anthology films can be a hit or miss type of situation, but the Coens never disappoint. Six different tales set in the wild west, ranging from comically silly to action packed to actually quite profound. Maybe not every story is as good as the rest, in particular the fifth one, “The Girl who Got Rattled”, comes to mind as the anthology’s weakest link, but the other five are solid enough to earn this film a spot on this list. I found the title story to be very enjoyable, especially Tim Blake Nelson’s charismatic performance as the outlaw Buster Scruggs, but I’d say y favourite was probably Meal Ticket: perhaps very little happens, but its this character driven narratives that the brothers make shine, not to mention the excellent performances by Liam Neeson and Harry Melling. The film surprised a lot of people by earning three nominations yesterday, myself included, but I’m glad it didn’t get shut out. 19. Suspiria (Luca Guadagnino) I might be in the minority here, but personally I didn’t really like Argento’s 1977 original. Its visually grandiose and the production design is really something, but the acting was pretty bad, the dialogues are cheesy and the climax is really underwhelming. Yet, I was still quite curious when they announced a remake to be helmed by Luca Guadagnino, and I’ve gotta say I enjoyed this one quite a lot. The colour palette may be watered down and it goes in a very different direction than the original, especially by the ending, but I thought this was a very well executed horror film. Dakota Johnson was much more engaging than Jessica Harper, and the elevation of Sara’s character, played by the great Mia Goth, made the story all the more compelling. Yet it was Tilda Swinton, as always, who really steals the show. Then again, I was kind of disappointed that her Madame Blanc dind’t have a more active role during the finale. Either way, the film’s creepy imagery and instances of body horror, topped off with great acting, some very assured camera work and a nicely unsettling score by Thom Yorke make this one a great entry. 18. The Death of Stalin (Armando Ianucci) A historical and political satire about the state of the Soviet Union after the passing of leader Joseph Stalin. A pretty solid movie with a great cast, great production design and a very well written script. it might not be the most historically accurate film ever made, but that’s a usual story with historical dramas. Steve Buscemi is excellent in this film and definitely deserves more recognition than what he’s getting, as do Jeffrey Tambor and Simon Russell Beale as well. Armando Ianucci delivers his characteristic brand of political humour, this time aimed at a specific period in history, and the results were outrageous enough to cause bans in more than a few post-soviet countries. Perhaps they took it too personal there, I’d say this is a film that its at its best when it doesn’t take itself too seriously. 17. Bad Times at the El Royale (Drew Goddard) “Bad Times at the El Royale” finds seven strangers crossing paths at the El Royale hotel exactly by the border between Nevada and California, and when a storm traps them all secrets will be revealed and all hell will break loose. The movie is framed and edited in an interesting way, jumping in and out of different characters’ perspectives and showing their sides of the story. And while this aspect of Goddard’s direction works for the most part, perhaps its biggest problem was that it was too convoluted, and therefore it didn’t land with audiences and critics that well. However, I found it a very well put together film that kept me invested til the end, with an excellent ensemble cast and some very cool twists. Yes, it has its flaws, particularly on the writing department, but that doesn’t detract from this one being one of the most fun experiences I had in a cinema last year. Click here to read my full review. 16. A Quiet Place (John Krasinski) I talked about this film on my best of first half of 2018 list, and here we are, six months later. “A Quiet place” was definitely one of the stand outs of last year, a great monster film but first and foremost a great story about a family’s efforts for survival. Set in a post-apocalyptic world that has been ravaged by extremely sound-sensitive creatures, John Krasinski himself and Emily Blunt are excellent as we see their efforts to keep their family safe. The premise in itself is pretty interesting and the execution was vey well done, though there’s always a couple of small moments that make you question how tight the movie’s inner logic actually is. Regardless, the film is fantastic at capturing the human element of the apocalypse. I was really sad that Emily Blunt got snubbed at the Oscars, I really think she deserved a nomination for this one. Still, they got a deserved nod for Sound Editing, so they didn’t get complete shut out. 15. Hereditary (Ari Aster) Probably the horror movie of last year, Ari Aster’s directorial debut definitely made an impact. The story follows Annie (Toni Colette) right after the passing of her mother. As she and her family try to come to terms with the situation, very strange and increasingly disturbing events begin to take place around them, as lots of dark secrets come to light. The plot takes some very unexpected and bleak twists, and by the end when everything falls into place there’s a lingering sensation of tragic inevitability. Colette delivers a power house performance, if someone deserves to be among the nominees for Best Actress it is her. Her co-stars, Ganriel Byrne and, most surprisingly, Alex Wolff, also deliver great, poignant performances. All in all, a greatly acted, extremely tense and positively disturbing horror film. 14. BlacKkKlansman (Spike Lee) Spike Lee’s new take on the state of racism in America, both back in the 70s and today, is a great achievement that reivindicates Lee’s recent bad spell. It tells the real story of african american police officer Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) as he infiltrates the KuKluxKlan. Adam Driver stars as his white double. The film is very poignant in its criticism while never forgetting the fun of its premise, it shines a light at the omnipresence of racism while at the same time homaging blaxploitation. The characters are very well fleshed out and the actors do a terrific job bringing them to life, newcomer John David Washington doing a solid job and Adam Driver deservedly landing an Oscar nomination. I’ve gotta say that the final resolution felt too cheap for me, they had just raised the stakes and it all solves rather nicely in the next scene. Then there’s this montage that, while I understand its purpose, I think cements the film as a product of our era, something that will be decisive if the film is to pass the test of time or not. But beyond those two points, “BlacKkKlansman” is one of the best of the year. 13. Annihilation (Alex Garland) A film that was released back in february still managed to stay with me until the end of the year (even if many people seem to have forgotten it). Bad returns at the box office (due to Paramount’s stupid decision to pull the film’s international release) and the public’s controversies aside, “Annihilation” was a very well shot film with lots of interesting ideas. It follows a group of five scientists as they investigate a phenomenon known as the shimmer, an area where a meteor fell and now he laws of physics are acting weird. The cast is great, particularly Natalie Portman and Jennifer Jason Leigh, who in my opinion both deserved to be at least in consideration for nominations. The film aptly mixes science fiction and horror, two of my favourite genres, and manages to deliver some of the most unforgettable scenes of the year. It might not have been extremely popular nor did it make big bucks, but it is still a better film than at least half of the Best Picture nominees this year. You can read my review for this film here. 12. Sorry to Bother You (Boots Riley) A surreal dark comedy that critizices capitalism. Lakeith Stanfield stars as Cassius “Cash” Green, a down-on-his-luck type of character who starts working as a telemarketer and soon finds out a loophole that will take him to the top, what takes a toll on his relationships, until he finds out that the company he’s working for has got more than a few shady secrets. Boots Riley’s directorial debut is one for the ages, pointing poignant criticism at the system while it embraces its absurdist nature. Stanfield turns in a very solid performance worth lots of merit, and Tessa Thompson excels as his more radical girlfriend. The rest of the cast also do a very fine job, with Steven Yeun as a union organizer and Armie Hammer as the film’s capitalist villain. Yet, the films biggest strength lies in its writing, a truly original and compelling screenplay with sharp satire that gives lots to think about. 11. Climax (Gaspar Noe) Gaspar Noe is back with his characteristically provocative narratives filled with sex, violence and neon lights. “Climax” tells of a group of dancers in a remote french school as they celebrate a completed tour. Little do they know someone has spiked their sangria with LSD, from which all have drunken from, and before they know it hey initiate a challenging descent into hell. The movie displays a technical prowess with regards to its cinematography, which shares an excellent simbiotic relationship with the dance on screen. The dance numbers are amazingly choreographed and the dancers are really talented. When all the madness begins there’s no stopping it. With all the great horror films of 2018, I think this might have been the most visceral. Noe really has a talent to challenge its audience, has been doing it time and time again, the difference with this one and his previous films being that here he’s packed all the insanity in a limited 96 minute run time, which in turn favours the film even more. A hard watch, but a very rewarding one nonetheless. 10. The House that Jack Built (Lars von Trier) And we’re into the top 10 now, with another film that is hard to watch yet very rewarding. Lars von Trier is back with this story about a serial killer who regarded every one of his murders as art, framed in five different episodes and an epilogue that recontextualizes everything. You know what to expect from a Von Trier film and this didn’t disappoint, for better and for worse. Beyond all its graphic violence (though in all honesty I was expecting something worse), the film has lots to say about society and human nature. There are some very funny moments in there too, to my surprise. Also, Matt Dillon deserves a lot more credit than what he gets for his excellent performance as the derranged Jack. The film gets too pretentious at times (a moment where von Trier inserts clips from his previous three films as two main characters have a discussion about art’s importance to mankind come to mind), and I felt the epilogue dragged a little bit, but overall it is a masterfully crafted dark and yet utterly hilarious film. 9. Isle of Dogs (Wes Anderson) Back in July I listed this one as my favourite movie of 2018, now its shows up in my top 10 once again. This one was my favourite animated film of the year (though I still have to watch “Into the Spiderverse”, and I’ve heard many people say they were expecting “Isle of Dogs” to be their top animated movie of the year, until Spider Man took its place). Set in a dystopian future where Japan makes all dogs illegal and sends them to a trash island, a young boy goes there trying to find his old dog. The movie is really sweet and funny, has an awesome story with awesome characters, and on the technica level it does everything right. Wes Anderson really shines with this one, maybe even making a case to why animation is the medium for him and his peculiar aesthetic. A talented voice cast and a great score by Alexander Desplat round up an excellent animated effort. You can read my full review here. 8. Cold War (Pawel Pawilkowski) “Ida”‘s director Pawel Pawilkowski is back with this lyrical love story based on his parents’ marriage. It tells the story of aspiring singer Zula (Johanna Kulig) and Wiktor (Tomasz Kot), the musical director who discovers her, as the fall in and out of love over and over in Poland after WWII at first. To tell the truth, I wasn’t expecting to like this film as much as I did. “Ida” was great back in its day, but I didn’t think that a romance movie would keep me so interested and moved. Both leads give excellent performances, particularly Kulig, who also gets the chance to wow us with her singing abilities. The cinematography is simply gorgeous, capturing the tragic yet magical beauty of that perod of time aswe jump from one european country to another. The music, composed by Marcin Masecki, really elevates the beauty of what we see on screen. While before watching it I thought it might be on the cheesy side, the narrative really surprised me with its raw portrayal of a destructive relationship. It landed three Oscar nominations to everyone’s surprise, yet they are very well worthy. 7. First Reformed (Paul Schrader) Writer-director Paul Schrader, screenwriter of masterpieces such as “Taxi Driver” (1976) and “Raging Bull” (1980) and helmer of others such as “American Gigolo” (1980), is back this year with a meditation on faith, the church and climate change. Ethank Hawke delivers a career best performance as he stars as Reverend Ernst Toller, pastor of a small church with fading attendance. He’s approached by Mary (Amanda Seyfried), who asks him to give her ambientalist husband some spiritual advice. A riveting drama about a priest struggling with his faith and the role of the church in today’s society, this film can be best described as Bergman’s “Winter Light” (1962) meets Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver”. Schrader’s screenplay might be one of the best of the year, and it very deservingly landed an Oscar nomination, though it hardly has a chance of winning. The ending was controversial, and why I can see the reasons behind people’s criticism and thought that that final shot lasted a little bit too long, I thought it was the best logical conclusion to what had transpired before. 6. Burning (Lee Chang Dong) Lee Chang Dong’s arthouse character piece evolves into a mystery that is never resolved. The film follows Lee Jong-su (Yoo Ah-in), an aspiring writer, as he meets a girl with whom he went to school with named Shin Hai-mi (Jeon Jong-seo), and he quickly forms an obsession. She asks him to feed her cat while she’s in Africa as social aid, and when she comes back she’s with Ben (Steven Yeun), a confident well to-do guy who volunteered as well. Jong-su befriends Ben, but deep down he rescents him because he has the attention of Hai mi. “Burning” is one of those movies you have to see for yourself, because no summary will be able to describe what this movie is about. Based on a short story by Haruki Murakami, its story and character deconstruction are very well written and executed. If I had one complaint, there’s a certain subplot that gets hinted at the beginning, then arises in one scene, only to never be mentioned again afterwards, and for a movie with a 150 minutes runtime it does feel somewhat unneccesary. But other than that, “Burning” is yet another masterpiece of South Korean cinema. 5. The Other Side of the Wind (Orson Welles) Most people seem to have forgotten that one of cinema history’s most respected filmmakers finally had his last film completed, which n turn was a densely packed meditation on the filmmaking craft and art in general. Presented as a documentary-fiction hybrid about the last day in the life of a director as he struggles to complete his latest film, it stars John Huston in a towering performance as director J.J. Hannaford, Peter Bogdanovich as his prodigy and Olga Kojar as the mysterious actress in the film within the film. This film exists in a temporal vacuum: it was released in 2018, but for all intents and purposes it is a 70s movie. Most people seem to be ignoring the film when listing their year’s best lists because it doesn’t align to today’s politics, but it isn’t fair to judge this one by today’s standards. Then again, it probably isn’t fair to judge it by 70s standards either. What one can do is judge it by Orson Welles standards, and in that regard it is a piece of cinema very worthy of belonging to one of history’s greatest filmmaker’s canon. Click here to read my full review. 4. Roma (Alfonso Cuarón) The most beloved film of the year comes from the mind of Alfonso Cuarón, working in his native Mexico for the first time since 2001’s “Y tu mamá también”. “Roma” is set in Mexico City in 1970, a period of political turmoil for the country, and is told through the eyes of Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), a maid for a high society family. This film might just have the most beautiful cinematography of the year, executed by Cuarón himself, every single frame of the film is a marvel to look at, and several of its scenes count as some of the best we saw all year (the forrest fire and the climax at the beach in particular). The story of Cleo is told in a very tender and empathic way, and first time actress Aparicio fits naturally into the role. “Roma” jointly leads the Oscar nominations this year, something very rare for a foreign language film, and it has great chances of winning, something even rarer. Though not necessarily my choice, I would be very pleased if it does end up winning the big prize. Til then anything can happen, but let’s not forget “Roma” already won the Golden Lion at Venice. 3. Shoplifters (Hirokazu Kore-eda) I debated for a long time which one I preferred between this one and “Roma”, but ultimately I decided for “Shoplifters”. Hirokazu Kore-eda’s very human drama tells the story of a poverty-stricken family that relies on shoplifting to survive, as they kidnap a little girl to take her away from her horrible family and welcome her as one of their own. The film can be best described as beautiful simplicity, with a style reminiscent to legendary filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu. The sense of closeness to this family the film achieves within the spectator is something very rare nowadays. The characters feel very much alive, their struggles become the audience’s struggles, and their joys become the audience’s joy. Its a very emotional movie, full of small nuances and subtle storytelling. It might not be as big as “Roma”, but if that were to win Best Picture then maybe “Shoplifters” got a shot in its own category (though there’s always “Cold War” that could run away with the award). 2. You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay) Another film that seems to be completely forgotten by everybody. Back in June I placed this one as number 5 on my list, but the film has grown on me a lot since then, in fact every time I think about it the more am I convinced of its greatness. It tells the story of Joe (a tour de force by Joaquin Phoenix), a suicidal army veteran who works as a mercenary, mainly by tracking down paedophilia rings and rescuing little girls. He’s hired by a politician to rescue his daughter, but this job may be even more sinister than it first appears. This is a very brutal and violent movie, and I can see why many people got turned off by it, but the amount of prowess in directing, writing and acting on display is something to behold. Ramsay executes with chirurgical perfection a violent tale on top of a very deep character deconstruction, held together by Phoenix in what could be the role of his career. Got definitely snubbed in categories such as Best Picture, Director, Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Score (Jonny Greendwood once again composing one of my favourite scores of the year), perhaps even Editing and Cinematography. They’ll say the movie is too small for the Oscars, no money for marketing, I’ll say this one is above them. And now, my favourite film of 2018 was of course… 1. The Favourite (Yorgos Lanthimos) Recently I wrote a review where I explain more about why I loved this film so much, so go check that out. All I can say is that Lanthimos, a filmmaker I’ve been following for a while now, not only met the high expectations I had going into this movie, he surpassed them. Set in 1708 as Britain finds itself in war against France, the film focuses on Queen Anne (Olivia Colman), her confidante and advisor Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz) and Sarah’s cousin Abigail (Emma Stone). The film explores the power dynamics between these three ladies. The first that one has to talk about here is the acting: all three leading actresses deliver performances that rank among the best of the year, I really hope Colman gets Best Actress and one of Weisz or Stone for Best Supporting Actress (I’d go with Weisz tbh). The cinematography is very inventive and unconventional, the production design is a marvel to look at, as so are the costumes. Every single aspect of the film worked in perfect unison with each other. One might think that this being a period piece you’ve got everythign figured out, but trust me, Lanthimos knows how bring something radical to the table, and damn does he know how to craft an ending. Rooting for this one to win big on Oscar night, though somehow I doubt it’ll happen. So that’s that, my top 20 films of 2018. Overall it was a great year for cinema with all sorts of movies coming from all sorts of directions. The year started strong and remained strong overall, these were the ones that I liked the most. There’s still lots of stuff to watch though, and the Academy Awards take place in a month from now. Like I said, I’ll be uploading my take on this year’s nominations later this week, but with a little twist, so keep an eye out for that. As always, thanks for reading and I hope you liked it. You can be of big help by sharing this with your friends and family, and don’t forget to follow to stay up to date with this blog’s contents. Until next time! 2018 is oficially over, that means we now enter this weird period where you don’t know if any film you watch counts as last year’s or this one’s. It is a time to recap what made 2018 such a great year for movies, but before we get to that (since there’s still a lot of stuff out there that I’d like to see before tackling that head on) we should take a look at awaits us in this new year. On the blockbuster front there’s a lot to be excited about: conclusions to both the Avengers saga and the new Star Wars trilogy (the last movie might have divided the fan base, but I’ll be damned if the movie doesn’t kill at the box office), Marvel has also solo outings for its first female-led superhero film “Captain Marvel” and a sequel to Tom Holland’s spidey titled “Spider-Man: Far from home”, there’s also the last 20th Century Fox X-Men film to look forward to, namely “Dark Phoenix”, a new reboot for “Hellboy” (directed by Neil Marshall, who’s directed a few episodes on three series that I love, namely “Hannibal”, “Westworld” and “Game of Thrones”), and Ryan Reynolds stars as Pikachu in a sort of odd-ball detective story set in a world where people and Pokemons co-exist in “Detective Pikachu” (kind of reminds of me of Roger Rabbit). Then there’s “Toy Story 4” of course, but to be honest I’m a little apprehensive towards this one since Pixar doesn’t really have the best track record with sequels, but then again the “Toy Story” franchise is the only exception, so let’s just hope for the best. Disney has also a couple of “live-action” remakes for its classics “Dumbo”, “The Lion King” and “Aladdin”, but while it is true that those films look visually stunning based on the promotional material we’ve got, I don’t think I’ll be attending the theater to see those, mainly because of Disney’s shameless prostitution of its own beloved titles (but I guess that’s a subject for another day perhaps). And how could we forget the sequel to 2017’s surprise horror hit “It”, which has already rounded up a stellar cast to play the grown versions of the children, and there’s even a new Terminator sequel that plans on retconning everything since T2 back in 1991, and if the last Halloween movies is something to go with then this might turn out to be exactly what the franchise needs. All in all, it is an exciting year to be a film fan. Anyway, those are the biggest projects and franchises from the big studios of the industry, however we all know that the very best films of the year will come out of nowhere. In any case, there are five movies that I’m currently more excited to see beyond the ones I already mentioned, so here they are, in order of release. Glass (M. Night Shyamalan, January 18th) This one is dropping pretty soon in a couple of weeks from now, so it is kind of weird to include it on the main list (maybe I should have gone with “Endgame”?), but I wanted to talk about a little before it got released. Now, Shyamalan doesn’t have the best track record, he’s spent the majority of the last two decades putting out bad film after bad film after bad film, but there are a couple of movies in his canon that are really great cinematic pieces, and those are: “The Sixth Sense”, “Unbreakable” and “Split”. This new entry into his filmography is a sequel of the latter two, which makes it exciting enough. The idea of seeing Bruce Willis’ indestructible hero take on James McAvoy’s multi-personality villain, while Samuel L. Jackson’s Mr. Glass is pulling the strings behind their backs, it just sounds too good to miss. Ana Taylor Joy is also back for this one, which is great considering the hot streak of awesome movies she’s been in lately. Of course, this could all backfire, it is Shyamalan after all, but let’s just hope “Split” wasn’t a one-off thing and more of a solid return to form. Us (Jordan Peele, March 15) The mastermind behind “Get Out” is back with another tense, nail-biting thriller. The trailer looks awesome and it promises a ride full of suspense, horror and a good dose of a psychological edge. Its about a family who apparently are being stalked by a group of people that turn out to be their doppelgangers, but if Peele’s last film is anything to go by we can safely bet that there will be a lot more to this under the surface. It stars Lupita Nyong’o and Elizabeth Moss, two actresses that I’m really excited to see work with Peele. The talent is there, the intriguing premise is there, the ambiguity regarding the plot is also there. All in all, the potential for this film to be one of spring’s most important hits is huge, let’s hope it lives up to it. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino, July 26th) Tarantino follows up his 2015 “The Hateful Eight” by tackling the Manson family murders. Based on that sentence alone I’m already sold. Add to that a cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Al Pacino, Burt Reynolds, Kurt Russell, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Dakota Fanning and Luke Perry and how can you resist to that. Now, I do think that Tarantino is a tad overrated by milleannials, and his two previous work have been a little lacking in quality compared to his earlier films (though there’s a clear reason for that: the untimely death of editor Sally Menke, to whom Tarantino himself referred to as his most trusted collaborator), but with a cast like that and a subject matter with which Tarantino can go crazy “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is a film you don’t want to miss. Joker (Todd Philipps, October 4th) If you’ve read my post of a rebooted DCEU you know I’m a big fan of the Joker and that I’m all for giving him his own movie. Nevertheless, I was a little apprehensive when they announced this movie. The painful memory of Jared Leto in “Suicide Squad” still lingered at the time, and Warner Bros. were losing their credibility in all matters DC. However, what really got me curious were the people behind the project: Todd Phillips, director of “The Hangover”, will be helming the project, so you know from he get go that we’ll have some really dark humour in our hands; then there’s Scott Silver, who wrote the screenplays of “8 Mile” (2002) and “The Fighter” (2010), which means he will probably give the film its street edge, so to speak; and there’s of course Martin Scorsese, who is producing, though it is unclear to which degree he will be involved; finally there’s Joaquim Phoenix as the Joker, a prospect that I am really excited about, since just recently he delivered one of the very best perfomances of 2018 in “You Were Never Really Here”, so I’m really looking forward to seeing where he takes the Joker. The Irishman (Martin Scorsese, TBA) A new Scorsese film is always a reason to rejoice, now add to that the fact that he’s reuniting with Robert DeNiro since 1995’s “Casino”; now add to that Joe Pesci who also starred and thrived in “Casino” and, more importantly, in “Goodfellas”; now add to that the first time in history that Al Pacino will be working with Scorsese; add to that a cast rounded by such talents like Bobby Cannavale, Harvey Keitel, Ray Romano and Anna Paquin; and on top of all that the scrip is being written by Steven Zaillian, screenwriter of “Schindler’s List” (1993), “Gangs of New York” (2002), “American Gangster” (2007) and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (2011). Need I say more? Netflix is distributing and they haven’t announced a release date yet, but I’m pretty sure post-production will be completed in the coming months and that it will be ready for an end of year release, just in time for an award push. So there you have it, my five most anticipated upcoming movies of 2019, their releases ranging fromjust in a couple of weeks to we have virtually no idea to when it will drop, so yeah, it already seems that this will be a very exciting year for cinema. Also, regarding the end of the year list, I think I will have it up around the final week of January probably, but until then I’d like to call your attention to Letterboxd: most of you probably already know about it, but Letterboxd is a community for cinephiles where you can rate, review and list your favourite movies. There I have an ever changing list of the best of 2018, as well as a list for my all time favourites, so if you’re interested you can always check that out and add me over there, since I’m still new to it and don’t know many people. But the site is awesome, definitely worth checking out. Usually on this blog I keep my focus on feature length films, with the exceptions being when I talk about film festivals (sometimes). Yet, there are whole aspects of the filmmaking world that go well beyond features, and to claim that the real cinematic art lies purely on over an hour long movies that would be an utter farce. That’s why today I want to talk about short films and their place in film history. These ten shorts are not only great and acclaimed world wide, but they have the very special honour of being very influential to the history of movies, more so than many well beloved feature length films. Unlike my other lists, where I usually rank the movies in question in order of how I personally appreciate them, today I’ll list these shorts chronologically, since we’re focusing on their degree of influence and not necessarily their quality (though all of them very well deserve to be considered among the best that cinematic art has to offer). So here they are: 10 historically influential short films. 1. A Trip to the Moon (George Méliès, 1902) Everybody knows this one, and for good reason. It wasn’t Méliès first film, but it is definitely his most well known, even today after more than a century has passed. Inspired by Jules Verne novel “From the Earth to the Moon”, Méliès timeless classic is widely considered to be the very first science fiction film of all time. In the very best spirit of the early period known as cinema of attractions, Méliès employs all his experience and power as an on-stage magician to create illusions with moving images, bringing an almost surrealistic world to life like it had never been seen before and thus creating the very first classic in film history. 2. The Great Train Robbery (Edwin S. Porter, 1903) While Georges Méliès was making the very first science fiction film in history, american Edwin S. Porter was creating the very first western. Many consider this to be the first truly narrative film in history (since “A Trip to the Moon” is more in the vein of attactions cinema): it tells the simple story of a group of bandits as they attempt to rob a train. Still, the film pioneered many techniques still used today such as cross-cutting, constant camera movement and in-location shooting. Such techniques have been further developed in the years after, but needless to say, this short helped establish one of the most important genres in film history. 3. The Tramp (Charlie Chaplin, 1915) Chaplin’s character the Tramp is undoubtly one of the most recognizable and important figures of the medium, appearing in well over a dozen films of Chaplin’s filmography, including some of his most reknowned such as “The Kid” (1921), “The Gold Rush” (1925), “The Circus” (1928), “City Lights” (1931) and “Modern Times” (1936). The character made his debut in 1915 with the eponymous film, where in the space of 30 minutes he works in a farm, falls in love with a girl, helps defend the farm from bandits, and after realizing he doesn’t belong he takes off in the search of new adventures. An unforgettable character, just as sincere in his first outing as he would always be. 4. Steamboat Willie (Walt Disney, 1928) Speaking of iconic characters, there’s no way that Mickey Mouse’s first ever screen appereance would be left out of this list. Even though it wasn’t the first ever short to feature Disney’s icon to be produced, it was the first ever to be distributed to the public. Notable here is also the use of sound in the film (presumably the very first animated film to use it): Mickey’s crazy musical adventures on this short helped creat the term “mickey mousing”, used to describe when image and sound are fully synchronized. So there are two main reasons why this film is influential: it is Mickey Mouse’s debut and for its clever and revolutionary use of sound. 5. Un Chien Andalou (Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí, 1929) Probably one of the most acclaimed short films ever made, this was legendary director Luis Buñuel’s first ever cinematic endeavor. Pairing up with fellow surrealist Salvador Dalí, the two created a film that goes beyond simple comprehension. Dream-like sequences, a messed-up chronology, no discernible plot whatsoever and a series of unsettling and suggestive images build up the core of what is probably the most important cinematic entry of the surrealist movement. Over the years it has inspired countless artists and filmmakers, who weren’t able however to replicate the brilliance of Buñuel’s and Dalí’s original. 6. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943) Maya Deren’s “Meshes of the Afternoon” is widely regarded to be one of the building blocks of the american avant-garde film movement of the late 40s, 50s and early 60s. With an unconventional narrative and a vertical concept of time as Deren herself puts it in her essay “Cinematography: the Creative Use of Reality”, the film repeats images and motifs that somehow add to a bigger picture even if a wider sense of reality gets muddier time and time again. In regards to experimental and avant-garde cinema, Deren’s works (especially Meshes) has been cited as an inspiration, including the films of a certain David Lynch, not to mention the whole movement that blossomed out of it. 7. La Jetée (Chris Marker, 1962) Keeping up with the experimental spirit (and we still have a few other entries to go), we’ll now be looking at Chris Marker’s sci fi short “La Jetée”: told entirely through still fotos and with a voice over narration, it focuses on a time travel experiment in the aftermath of World War III. Marker, a member of the Left Bank group of filmmakers, a movement parallel to the French New Wave, created a unique film that explores deep ideas such as free will and our relation to the past. A number of hugely popular modern films have credited “La Jetée” as an influence, such as “Terminator” (James Cameron, 1984), “Back to the Future” (Robert Zemeckis, 1985) and “12 Monkeys” (Terry Gilliam, 1995), and its not difficult to see why. 8. Mothlight (Stan Brakhage, 1963) As far as influence on mainstream cinema goes, this one may not appear to be the most obvious choice. However, it does have a right to be considered as influential for one of the most experimental types of cinema: the one that dispenses of the camera. With “Mothlight”, Brakhage, a central figure of the american avant-garde, took several moth limbs and flower petals and compressed them between two strips of 16mm splicing tape. The result is a collage film of sorts, rapidly edited, displaying a variety of everyday objects that we’re quick to disregard. It may not seem like the most glamorous project, but as far as experimental films go this one has the highest spirit. 9. Lucifer Rising (Kenneth Anger, 1972) Kenneth Anger, another prominent figure of the american avant-garde movement and a precursor to queer cinema, directs this hellish tale about the summoning of the devil by a group of egyptian gods. Accompanied by a mystical soundtrack with rock n’ roll moments by Bobby Beausoleil, we see rituals and odd indivuals juxtaposed with images of nature, both beautiful and terrifying. Anger’s film boasts with several experimental techniques and visceral satanic imagery, something that would be replicated by both experimental and horror filmmakers as well as for music videos in the years since. 10. Luxo Jr. (John Lasseter, 1984) Returning now to more “normal” cinema, I saved the last entry for the very first short of one of today’s biggest animation empire, Pixar. “Luxo Jr.” presents two desk lamps, a big one and a small one, as they play with an inflatable ball. These lamps would become Pixar’s own icon. Owned by LucasFilms at the time, it wasn’t the first short they produced, but it was the first to ever be released theatrically, and every year the theatrical runs for each Pixar film makes a big splash at the box office and award season. As a first of a long series of great cinematic outings and first building brick of the powerhouse that Pixar is today, “Luxo Jr.” earns its place on this list. And that’s that, 10 influential short films that have carved their place in film history. Do you agree with this list or are there any others that you feel have been left out? Do leave a comment telling me what you think, and if you could share this post with your friends and family it would be of great help. In the meantime I just wanna say thanks for reading and I hope you liked it. Until next time! It is already that time of the year again, Halloween is upon us and that means its time to talk about horror cinema. Last year I made a list of what I consider to be the best horror movies of all time, and while I have watched plenty of other films of the genre since then, both old and new, and the idea of making a revised version of the list was really tempting, I decided to go modern and focus on the great horror pieces that this new century has to offer. I’ve said before that mainstream american horror has found a sort of revival in the last few years, and beyond that there are plenty of gems from all over the world in the genre. The 21st century has a lot to offer with regards to the genre, and here we’re goinna discuss 10 of the very best. Of course there are still several worthy movies that I haven’t had the pleasure of watching yet, so probably some of the best may be missing. I’ve left out movies such as “Shaun of the Dead” (Edgar Wright, 2004) and “The Cabin in the Woods” (Drew Goddard, 2012) since I consider them to be more comedy than horror. I was also tempted to include Haneke’s “Funny Games” (2007), which is very well horror, but since I believe it not to be a remake but rather a companion piece to the 1997 one, even if its almost identical on a shot-for-shot level, I decided against it. Also I left out movies such as “Insidious” (2010) and “The Conjuring” (2013, both by James Wan), which are pretty decent horror movies but in all honesty I find them to be a tad overrated. And I would like a very special honorable mention to Takeshi Miike’s “Audition”, which premiered originally in Japan in 1999 but came to the west in 2000, placing the film on a limbo that makes it difficult to include in such a list. Other great movies that didn’t make the cut: “The Devil’s Backbone” (Guillermo del Toro, 2001), “The Others” (Alejandro Amenabar, 2001), “The Ring” (Gore Verbinsky, 2002), “The Descent” (Neil Marshall, 2005), “The Host” (Bong Joon-ho, 2006), “1408” (Mikael Hafström, 2007), “The Mist” (Frank Darabont, 2007), “The Orphanage” (Juan Antonio Bayona, 2007), “Drag Me to Hell” (Sam Raimi, 2009), “Sinister” (Scott Derickson, 2012), “Oculus” (Mike Flanagan, 2013), “It Follows” (David R. Mitchell, 2014), “The Invitation” (Karyn Kusama, 2015), “Hush” (Mike Flanagan, 2016), “It Comes at Night” (Terry Edward Schults, 2017), “Hereditary” (Ari Aster, 2018), “A Quiet Place” (John Krasinski, 2018). And now, these are the imo the 10 best horror films of the 21st century: 10. Raw (Julia Doucournau, 2017) A movie that certainly indulges into its own appetite, this french-belgian co-production works as an allegorical coming-of-age tale about a girl’s sexual awakening as well as an effective horror about cannibalism. Justine, a lifelong vegetarian, begins her studies at veterinary school, where her older sister Alexia also studies. After basically being forced to eat meat for the first time in her life at a freshman ritual, she starts developing a craving for flesh that goes well beyond just the animals. there are some pretty gory and disturbing moments sprinkled throughout, but the film’s real strength lies in the twisted tenderness of the story. Garance Marillier delivers an excellent performance as the confused Justine, making her character one of the main reasons to watch this movie, and that’s saying a lot considering all the blood and sex to be found all over the place. 9. REC (Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, 2007) “Paranormal Activity” might be the film that ushered a new era of found-footage films in the late 2000s, but the one that truly deserves the label of the scariest of the lot is 2007’s spanish film “REC”. A television reporter and her camera tag along with a group of firefighters as they get a call about an old woman being trapped in her apartment, but as they arrive the woman becomes aggresive and attacks them. Turns out she’s been infected by some sort of virus that soon starts turning everyone into zombies, and we as an audience are in for the ride through the subjective view of the camera man. I remember watching this as I was 14 or 15 and how it scared the hell out of me. The shaky cam effect really takes you into all the horror, achieving levels of claustrophobia and paranoia that wouldn’t have been possible if it’d been handled with a more traditional approach. As far as zombie-movies and found-footage-movies go, “REC” is definitely one of the best. 8. Thirst (Park Chan-wook, 2009) Back in the late 2000s as vampires became popular in mainstream media again, korean auteur Park Chan-wook tried his hand at the (sub)genre and achieved great results. The movie follows a priest by the name of Sang-hyun, who volunteers for an experimental treatment against a disease knwon as the Emmanuel Virus. The experiment fails and he is infected fatally. However, he soon recovers in record time and becomes somewhat of a celebrity becase of this. As he’ll soon find out, he’s actually been turned into a vampire, what ultimately makes him lose what little remained of his faith and intensifies his feelings of existential loneliness, that is until he meets Tae-ju, the wife of a childhood friend of him with whom he quickly falls in love. The director’s mastery for brutal and bloody stories is in top form here, creating a modern vampire story that poses existential questions about faith and morality while always delivering on its blood-thirsty premise. 7. Get Out (Jordan Peele, 2017) Last year hit-horror, filled with poignant social commentary, outstanding performances and a very well crafted screenplay, Peele’s directorial debut is without a doubt one for the ages. It follows Chris as he goes to his white girlfriend’s family house to meet her parents. Worried about what they’ll think when they find out he’s black, to his surprise they’re actually very thrilled upon his arrival. Nevertheless, as things start to unravel and all the farcical amability starts wearing thin, Chris realizes that his fears weren’t actually wrong at all and he would have probably been better off had he never accepted the invitation in the first place. Praised worldwide and flooded with awards, “Get Out” is one of those rare horror movies that’s commercially succesful, artistically accomplished and socially relevant. 6. Goodnight Mommy (Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, 2014) An austrian horror film that definitely doesn’t receive the credit it deserves, it tells the story of twin boys Elias and Lukas as their mother comes home after an operation. Her behaviour is somewhat weird and temperamental, what leads the boys to believe that she isn’t really their mother and is actually an impostor. The movie is tense and unsettling from start to finish, from the get go you simply know that there’s something twisted going on below the surface. It takes its time to establish and develop its quite simple story, and the payoff is huge when it all comes crashing down. It aptly delves into psychological territory and even has its moments of body/torture horror, never releasing the tension for the audience until the end when all the pieces fall together. It is a slow burner, but boy do I love it when a horror movie take sit time to set everything up and it pays off wickedly by the end. 5. 28 Days Later (Danny Boyle, 2002) The movie that redefined the zombie genre for a generation, Danny Boyle’s vision of a post-apocalyptic Britain may look dated but its impact still lingers on. Cilian Murphy stars as Jim, who one day awakens from a coma in a hospital just to find everything in ruins. After exploring a little and being saved by two strangers he realizes that the world has been infected by a virus that turns people into zombies (who, for the first time in cinema history, are able to run!), thus signifying the fall of society. Boyle’s chosen aesthetic may be somewhat B-moviesh, but the struggles of its characters are extremely real and human and thematically the film is bolder than most zombie movies have ever been, before or since. Add to that great performances from its cast and the aforementioned small change to the zombie mythology that ultimately makes them way scarier and you have one horror movie for the ages. 4. The Babadook (Jennifer Kent, 2014) Jennifer Kent’s feature debut is one of the creepiest and tensest psychological horror films of the century. It tells the story of Amelia and her six year old son Samuel, who have recently experienced the loss of their husband and father, respectively. Samuel has a very active imagination and has a knack for getting into trouble, what is slowly withering down Amelia mentally. One night, when Samuel asks her to read him a bed time story, Amelia discovers a pop up children’s book that she hadn’t seen before. This book, however, is filled with disturbing content about a “spirit” called The Babadook. Soon the book starts taking a toll on both Amelia’s and Samuel’s psyche. The two main reasons why this movie is so great as it is are Jennifer Kent’s excellent, assured direction and Essie Davis tense and complex performance. Many viewers felt disappointed about this film because it was marketed as a traditional supernatural monster movie, instead what they got was a smart, extremely well crafted and unsettling psychological horror, that very well counts as one of the best this century has to offer. 3. The Witch (Robert Eggers, 2015) As far as period supernatural horror films go, Eggers’ 2015 “The VVitch” is without a doubt one of the best. It tells the story of a New England family as they’re cast out of their puritan community for a difference in believes and try to build a new life in a farm. When the youngest son Samuel disappears while being in the care of the eldest daughter Thomasin, the whole family spirals into a web of religious paranoia as they encounter forces that are seemingly out of this world. Another slow burner, one that keeps its focus on the characters (especially Thomasin) and masterfully plays with its horror elements, imbuing them with enough delicious ambiguity. Anna Taylor-Joy is a delight in the central role, as so are Ralph Ineson and Kate Dickie as their parents. The film manages tension and suspense extremely well, all the time tackling real world issues that might be more relevant today than we’d wish to admit. 2. Antichrist (Lars von Trier, 2009) Lars von Trier might be one of the most gifted directors still working today, but he’s also one of the sickest. 2009’s “Antrichrist” tells the story of a husband and a wife, played by Willem Defoe and Charlotte Gainsborough, whose infant son dies when he falls out of a window while they were having sex. Afterwards she’s extremely depressed; he, being a psychiatrist, decides that the best treatment for his wife is for them both to retreat to the woods and deal with it together. Once they’re there, the behaviour of the woman starts to become ever more unsettling, culminating in one terrifyingly unforgettable final act. The film was controversial upon release because of its extreme graphic violence, though to say that a von Trier film is controversial is somewhat redundant. It is heavily astheticized and there’s some heavy use of symbolism that sometimes doesn’t quite fit, but still, “Antichrist” is without a doubt one of the most disturbing film experiences you’ll ever see. 1. Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008) Without a doubt one of my favourite vampire movies of all time, and most certainly the one that most aptly balances a tender coming-of-age story with chilling horror. Alfredson’s beautiful masterpiece tells the story of Oskar, a socially awkward 12 year old boy with an appetite for the macabre who lives in a Stockholm suburb with his mother. He faces constant bullying from classmates and has a tough time dealing with his parent’s divorce. It all changes when he meets Eli, a mysterious girl of apparently his same age that moved into their appartment complex. Shot with gorgeous cinematography of cold swedish landscapes, Alfredson knows where the heart of the story lies: not in the horror, though he does manage these elements outstandingly (unlike Matt Reeves in the american version, who does not only focus heavily on this but does so in an unsatisfying fashion), the true heart lies in the relationship between the two leads, two tormented souls that hate what they are but that ultimately find solace in each other. Beautifully bleak and extremely heart touching while at the same time managing to be very horrifying, “Let the Right One In” might very well be the very best horror movie the 21st century has to offer. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a like and share this with your friends and family if you like this blog, I’d really appreciate it, and don’t forget to follow to stay up to date. Until next time and happy Halloween! The Film Noir tradition lived its classic era in the 40s and 50s. Great directors like Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, John Huston and Orson Welles made some of the most iconic and unforgettable films that deserve this label. Today, we’re listing down ten of my favourite noirs of the classic era. Note that this list focuses mainly on the Hollywood noirs of this period, not on the neo-noir revivals nor its original french designation. A little bit of history: the first movement to be considered as film noir was what we know today as french poetic realism, where directors such as Jean Renoir and Marcel Carné worked on social dramas that often revolved around a criminal world and the fall of a hero. This influence came to America, accompanied by the aesthetic principles of german expressionism (after all, due to the extreme migrations out of the third reich many of the great directors the Weimar republic came to Hollywood and left their own print), and that coupled with the angst and anxiety felt on the post-war era, a new film tradition was born. Wheather its a genre, a style or a movement, no one can agree on that. Lets take a look at these 10 noir films and see if we can get our own definition out of it. Please note: the following films I have not yet seen, though I do intend to in the future, and therefore they won’t feature on the list – “The Killers” (Robert Siodmak, 1946), “In a Lonely Place” (Nicholas Ray, 1950), “The Asphalt Jungle” (John Huston, 1950), “The Big Heat” (Fritz Lang, 1953), “Kiss Me Deadly” (Robert Aldrich, 1955), among others. And some honourable mentions: “Laura” (Otto Peminger, 1944), “Detour” (Edgar G. Ulmer, 1945), “Notorious” (Alfred Hitchcock, 1946), “The Lady from Shanghai” (Orson Welles, 1948), “The Killing” (Stanley Kubrick, 1956). And now without further ado, here are my 10 favourite film noirs: 10. Rebecca (Alfred Hitchcock, 1940) Hardly as noir-esque as the other films on this list, since back in 1940 it was still early days for the movement/style/tradition, but still boasting some of the main themes and classic tropes. The film follows a young woman played by Joan Fontaine, who meets and quickly falls in love with Maximilian de Winter (Laurence Olivier), a rich aristocrat with a troubling past. They get married and the new Mrs. de Winter goes to live in her new manor, but the memory of the first Mrs. de Winter, Rebecca, still remains quite vivid for most of the inhabitants of the manor. As it turns out, there are more than a few missing pieces of the puzzle that’ll shed a light on Rebecca’s untimely death. It does not follow the classic noir plot, but it does delve into a pessimistic mood and world view, plays cleverly with its black-and-white cinematography and different women may play he part of the femme fatale at different stages of the film, without fully embracing this persona. Not as great as Hitchock’s later films -and later noirs- but still a worthy addition to this list. 9. Out of the Past (Jacques Tourneur, 1947) Considered as a classic example of what a noir narrative should look like, with virtually every trope being on fantastic display: the stoic hero whose past comes back to haunt him, the complicated conspiracy that drives the plot, the letal femme fatale pulling the strings, you’ve got it all. The film tells the story of Jeff Markham (Robert Michum), now going by the name of Jeff Bailey, a previous private detective who retired after a job involving the mysterious Kathie Moffat (Jane Greer) went wrong. He now owns a gas station and wants to marry Ann, a good local girl (Jane Huston). Sadly, this has to wait, as he is contacted by Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas), his former employers, who still believes Jeff owes him a result after that last job. It is a great example of a noir story and all of its players. The performances are spot on, the dialogues are sharp and witty, and even if it has a slow start once the story picks up momentum there’s nothing that can stop it from reaching its explosive finale. 8. The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941) John Huston’s directorial debut was one for the ages with this crime mystery that quickly established itself as one of the best entries the noir canon has to offer. Humphrey Bogart stars as Sam Spade, a private investigator who gets thrusted into a hunt for an ages old relic known as the Maltese Falcon by the duplicitous Ruth Wonderly (Mary Astor). A thriller about conspiracies, murder and a treasure hunt, Huston’s first picture is one of the immediate titles that jumps to the head when someone says film noir. Bogart fits into his role seamlessly and embodies the noir detective perfectly, something that he’d do and refine more than once later in hs career. Also great in their supporting roles were Peter Lorre, Walter Huston and of course Mary Astor. The Maltese Falcon may be one of the earliest examples of a McGuffin in action (though I believe Hitchcock was already using it, at least as far back in 1939 with “The 39 Steps”), and it is a perfect example of how to execute such a plot device and get the best out of your narrative and characters through it. 7. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955) This was sadly the only film that Charles Laughton got to direct in his life before his untimely death. What could have been if he’d been able to build upon the greatness of his debut feature? Now, the status of “The Night of the Hunter” as a film noir is indeed often discussed and controversial. On the surface it doesn’t appear to be your typical noir: the setting is rural instead of the bleak urban landscape we get in most films of the tradition, there’s no classic noir hero and instead we rely on two children to solve the mystery, neither is there a femme fatale pulling the strings of everything going on. Still, if we take these tropes to be rather cosmetic instead of definitory, and if we go by the premise that the essence of film noir rather lies on its themes and atmosphere, then Laughton’s masterpiece may very well fit the bill. The tone is as bleak as any other film in this list, and while it may delve into religious themes, something a little unusual for noir at the time, it manages to tell its story about deceit and moral corruption in spectacular fashion -and that, in essence, is what constitutes film noir. 6. Shadow of a Doubt (Alfred Hitchcock, 1943) One of Hitchcock’s most underrated films, “Shadow of a Doubt” starts Joseph Cotten as Charles Oakley, a man who’s in Santa Rosa for a visit to his family. His young niece, Charlie Newton (Teresa Wright), has deep love for her uncle. However, as the police start looking for the Merry Widow Murderer, suspicion begins to boil in her that her uncle may not be as wonderful as she thinks. Unsurprisingly, the film is an excellent exercise on suspense and built of tension. Hitchcock slowly feeds the audience with new information, letting them put the pieces together, and even if the answer may seem obvious we , as Charlie, don’t want to believe it. Cotten’s performance finds the perfect balance between charismatic and mysterious, likeable and ominous. And Wright’s young unlikely hero is one that seems to sadly been forgotten by most. She asserts herself as a curious and nobly tenacious character, and is ultimately a true hero, even greater than many other less shiny examples in the genre. 5. Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958) Considered by many as the very last noir of the classic period, and one of Orson Welles greatest features, “Touch of Evil” certainly caputred the zeitgeist and marked the close of a very interestig period of american cinema. Charlton Heston stars as Mike Vargas, a police officer stationed at the mexican border. After a bomb explodes on the US side of the border, being planted on the other side, Vargas takes an interest in the investigation. Unfortunately for him, this puts him at odds with police captain Hank Quinlann (played monumentally by Welles himself). Their morality and honour codes could not be further apart from one another, and their conflict may put the entire investigation in jeopardy. Excellently plotted and executed, delving into complex moral ambiguities, and spear headed by the juxtaposition of its two central characters who are played by excellent ctors on their prime, “Touch of Evil” remains without a doubt a quinessential addition to the classic noir canon. 4. Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944) Billy Wilder’s “Double Indemnity” is certainly one of the first titles that springs up in our heads when we think of film noir. Indeed, its machiavellian murderous plot, its anti-hero lost in a web of deceit, the femme fatale that ultimately causes his downfall, it all fits into the noir bill. The film tells the story of Walter Neff (Fred McMurray), an insurance salesman, as he is seduced by Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) to assist her in the murder of her husband. Yet, what at first seemed like a pretty straightforward ordeal is complictaed when Walter’s coworker and friend Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) starts putting the pieces together. Wilder shows his prowess at crafting mischievous plots and capturing the audience’s breathe and not letting go until the last second. The lighting on display is very characteristi
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It is literally a few blocks away from my apartment building, yet I almost never go. It's proximity to my home makes me take it for granted because I know it's convenient and that's its always there for me. The last time I went to the Capitol was also the first time I went and that in October of 2008 when I saw the remake of The Women (1939) with Kevin. A return visit has been long overdue. Walking home one day, I saw this signage on the door of the Capitol. Hitchcock? On the big screen? Just a few blocks from my apartment? And I don't even have to worry about parking? Huzzah! It's been years since I've seen Vertigo (1958) and while visually it's stunning, at that time I didn't much care for the story. I thought I'd give it another try. Initially, I had planned to go by myself but Carlos begged me to take him with me. He loves Hitchcock as much as I do, so date night was set. We had dinner then walked to the Capitol. We were a bit early so we stopped in on there ice cream shop and had a few pre-movie treats. While we were indulging in Maine Black Bear (raspberry ice cream with chocolate pieces) and Purple Cow (blackberry ice cream with white chocolate chips), Carlos asked me a question completely out of the blue... What if Alfred Hitchcock directed Dr. Strangelove (1964)? At first I brushed off the question but then I took a moment to think about it. Hitchcock would have never directed Dr. Strangelove because there are no no prominent female characters in it. Hitchcock REALLY loved his women. And he had a particular appetite for blondes. In Hitchcock films, the camera is constantly making love to the female lead. Our eye is drawn to her instinctively. It's as though we are borrowing Hitchcocks POV for a few moments. However, it's always the female lead and never the other actresses. For example, in Rear Window (1954), the viewer is in a state of constant adoration for Grace Kelly but our eyes do not rest for very long on Thelma Ritter. So when we watched Vertigo on the big screen, I kept an eye out for this detail (tee hee). And sure enough, Kim Novak is lovingly adored by Hitchcock's camera. I must not have paid much attention the first couple of times I had watched the movie because there were a lot of great plot points I was missing. Watching it on the big screen, forced me to pay closer attention. Vertigo has everything. Great actors, stunning visuals, a plot that keeps you guessing, action, drama and romance. Plus a Jimmy Stewart with an excessive amount of make-up on. I love how Hitchcock uses structures to represent different things. Brassieres and bridges hold things up and represent stability. Windows and door frame paint idyllic pictures but are often misleading. Ledges, rooftops and towers (heights) mean danger. The museum, cemetery, church and hotel are all purgatories for people in the present who are stuck in the past. There is enough meat in this film for an English major like me to feast on. Watching Vertigo this once on the big screen is not enough. I need to own this film, watch it several times at home, take notes and break it apart. I need to watch it to analyze and watch it for fun. Have you watched a Hitchcock film on the big screen? If so, which one? Did it change the way you watched the film or what you thought of it? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Hasty conclusion like gunpowder. Easy to explode. - Charlie Chan Do you ever wonder why TCM won't show a particular movie? Do you ever think to yourself,"How did they pick the movies for that boxed set"? Do you find that your head starts to spin whenever you try to keep all the movie studio names straight? The world of contemporary classic film distribution is complicated. Before I start, let me just clarify that when I say "classic film distribution", I mean the system in which current movie studios distribute classic films on DVD and license those same films to be shown on television channels such as TCM, AMC and Fox Movie Channel. Trying to figure out who owns what rights, who can show what, who can sell what and what studios have merged together is no easy task. Having tried to figure it out myself, I have come to the conclusion that it's pretty impossible to understand the whole system. However, a basic understanding of some key facts can help you understand the availability of certain films and the unavailability of others as well as how the system works. It's like the saying goes, in order to eat an elephant you have to go at it one bite at a time. Let's start understanding the classic film distribution by understanding how one particular boxed set came together. The Charlie Chan Collection is a boxed set I recently reviewed. Note the language on the box indicates that it's part of the TCM Spotlight collection and it's presented by Warner Home Video. A few things to know... Time Warner merged with Turner Broadcasting System. Time Warner owns both TCM and Warner Bros. The pre-1986 library of MGM films is controlled by Warner Bros. MGM is currently owned and controlled by Sony Pictures. Monogram films, post-1936, are controlled by Warner Bros (classified under the MGM library). Pre-1936 films are owned by Paramount which is controlled by Viacom. Fox Entertainment Group owns all the various Fox studios (20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures, etc.) and has full control over the distribution of all of their films. They will sometimes allow channels like TCM to show films in their library. Universal Studios is owned by NBC and they control the distribution of their library of films with some notable exceptions. They also own distribution rights to films by other studios, including 5 out of the 6 Hitchcock films that Paramount released. Pathe Studios merged with RKO. The library of Pathe and RKO films is owned by Time Warner and thus distributed by Warner Bros. Now here is a time line for the Charlie Chan films... 1926 - Pathe releases the first Charlie Chan film The House without a Key. The film is considered lost. 1927- Universal Studios releases the second Charlie Chan film The Chinese Parrot. This film is also considered lost. 1929 - Fox acquires the rights to the Charlie Chan character. 1929-1937 - Fox releases 17 Charlie Chan films. 1 with E.L. Park, 1 in Spanish, Eran Trece, and 15 with Warner Oland. 1938 - Warner Oland dies. 1939 - Fox hires Sidney Toler to play Charlie Chan 1939-1942 - Fox releases 11 Charlie Chan films with Sidney Toler but then decide to abandon the franchise. 1942 - Sidney Toler buys the rights to the Charlie Chan character and starts making pictures with Monogram Studios. 1942-1946 - Monogram releases 11 Charlie Chan films with Sidney Toler. 1947 - Sidney Toler dies. 1947 - Monogram hires Roland Winters to play Charlie Chan 1947-1949 - Monogram releases 6 Charlie Chan films with Roland Winters To put the Charlie Chan franchise in perspective: TCM and Warner Bros. can distribute one lost Pathe film (if it's ever found) and all of the Monogram films (half Sidney Toler and all of Roland Winters). Fox can distribute all of the Warner Oland Charlie Chans and the first 11 of the Sidney Toler Charlie Chans. Universal Studios can only distribute The Chinese Parrot, if they ever find it. Warner Bros. had already released some of their Charlie Chan films. They could not put any Warner Oland Charlie Chans in the set because those are owned by Fox. They put a "new to DVD" spin on the set which would exclude the following films: The Secret Service (1944) The Chinese Cat (1944) Meeting at Midnight (1944) The Jade Mask (1945) The Scarlet Clue (1945) The Shanghai Cobra (1945) With only a few films left, TCM and Warner Bros. chose to create a boxed set with 3 Sidney Toler Charlie Chans and 1 Roland Winters Charlie Chan. And thus we get the TCM Spotlight: Charlie Chan Collection! So next time you find yourself daydreaming about the perfect DVD boxed set and wondering why it isn't available, just know that putting a boxed set together is much more difficult than you think. --------- Quelle Note: I tried to be as accurate as possible in the post above. If you find any errors or want me to include additional information, please e-mail me at Quellelove at gmail dot com. image from Film Noir Photos I've been working my way through the various films in the Bad Girls of Noir collections (Vol. 1 and Vol 2) when I came across this little gem: One Girl's Confession (1953). This film is pretty unusual for a noir in one respect: the story focuses on a female protagonist. If you look at the history of major film noirs, Out of the Past (1947), The Killing (1956), Double Indemnity (1944), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), etc. they all have female characters who play significant roles in the story, but everything revolves around the male lead. So to watch a film noir about a woman was very refreshing. One Girl's Confession is a story about Mary Adams (Cleo Moore), a hardworking girl who seems down on her luck even though her outrageously good looks seem to hypnotize men. She works at a restaurant owned by the same sleazy scumbag that ruined her own father financially years ago. When she sees the scumbag hoarding money, she decides to take revenge and steals the dough and hides it. Fully knowing the extent of what she's done, she happily confesses and is willing to serve out a jail sentence. The only hitch is that she won't reveal where the cash is stashed. It's waiting for her once she gets out of the clink. However, when Mary is put on probation and is released earlier than she thought, the life she was plotting out for herself doesn't quite work out the way she planned. After I watched the film, I headed off to the gym to work off some tension and get some cardio. While on the elliptical, I caught a glimpse of the king of major sleazy scumbags, Joran van der Sloot on one of the gym's televisions. My ire towards that poor excuse for a human being helped me burn off some extra calories. Now you may be asking, so what does that have to do with One Girl's Confession? Here is the asshole in question. Joran van der Sloot has been tied to missing American teenager Natalie Holloway since she disappeared in Aruba on May 30th, 2005. On May 30th, 2010, exactly five years later, he's now tied to the murder of Stephany Flores Ramirez, who was found dead in Sloot's hotel room in Peru. This piece of s**t who is pretending to be a man was tried several times for the Holloway murder but couldn't be convicted. Even though undercover agent Patrick van der Eem got van der Sloot to reveal that he dumped Holloway's body into the ocean, Sloot still got away with his crime. So off he went to the Netherlands to get high and traffic prostitutes. The story of Joran van der Scumbag is a long and complicated one that I won't go into here but at least you get the jist. Now let's compare van der Sloot with Mary Adams: Mary Adams - Committed a crime (theft), confessed and gave herself in, served her sentence, at several times was willing to give away the fruits of her crime ($$$) to help others, faced hardship but learned her lesson. Joran van der Sloot - Committed a crime (murder), kept quiet about certain details and got help from his daddy, never served a sentence, tried to extort money, never learned his lesson and killed again. I came away from One Girl's Confession with a good feeling inside. I came away from all the news coverage of Joran van der Sloot with incredible anger. Mary Adams is poor trying to make ends meet, van der Sloot comes from privilege. Mary tries to be kind while Sloot thinks other people are beneath him. I was so affected by these two stories that I just had to write this post. It's so interesting how both of these stories, of two polar opposite characters (one fictional and one unfortunately real), intersected. It just goes to show how easy it is to relate classic films to every day life.
2205	dbpedia	1	10	https://thepostmanonholiday.com/2023/03/01/mission-improbable-slovakia-the-czech-repubic-to-find-the-four-lost-chan-films/	en	Mission Improbable: Slovakia & The Czech Repubic to find the four lost Chan Films	https://thepostmanonholi…pburn.png?w=1200	https://thepostmanonholi…pburn.png?w=1200	[ "https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/70a85d40a870a5424eebef18d95444559a6b94bba0ab73f27d0bb14ab515b9cf?s=80&d=identicon&r=G", "https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/4f2a3f61c1c9dfb1c449d200b1821158e6c70ebb4cc1ac0de0e571144953b89f?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/70a85d40a870a5424eebef18d95444559a6b94bba0ab73f27d0bb14ab515b9cf?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/7adf8030fc511e71be166f49020d5eb6b7ecf310766bb3cb0193bcd62eb0b18a?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/5ee8b374c594671a61ac1c3fba27003ddf949a9bb2add0ca20557a2176f5f9f0?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/9ff0ed6c3a446ce0325b4e3465d27048dafc32a2de7f7fc51e13eada0c11df8d?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://store.bookbaby.com/Bookshop/CommonControls/BookshopThemes/bookshop/OnePageBookCoverImage.jpg?BookID=BK90076307&abOnly=False", "https://thepostmanonholiday.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/cropped-bird-of-paradise-e1546780213558.jpg?w=50", "https://thepostmanonholiday.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/cropped-bird-of-paradise-e1546780213558.jpg?w=50", "https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?v=noscript" ]	[ "https://www.youtube.com/embed/QhPwhv2aRZc?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en&autohide=2&wmode=transparent" ]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Lou Armagno" ]	2023-03-01T00:00:00	Good morning Mr./Ms. (your name here.) Your mission is to take a team to Slovakia and The Czech Republic to locate and retrieve the remaining lost Charlie Chan films. The following was intercepted surrounding the film Charlie Chan in Paris on Rush Glick's Charlie Chan Family Home site and explains why: "...Charlie Chan in Paris was…	en	https://thepostmanonholi…0213558.jpg?w=32	The Postman on Holiday	https://thepostmanonholiday.com/2023/03/01/mission-improbable-slovakia-the-czech-repubic-to-find-the-four-lost-chan-films/	Good morning Mr./Ms. (your name here.) Your mission is to take a team to Slovakia and The Czech Republic to locate and retrieve the remaining lost Charlie Chan films. The following was intercepted surrounding the film Charlie Chan in Paris on Rush Glick’s Charlie Chan Family Home site and explains why: “…Charlie Chan in Paris was thought to be lost for many years until a print was discovered in Czechoslovakia in the 1970s. Adapted from: AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE CATALOG – Within Our Gates: Ethnicity in American Feature Films, 1911-1960 Until it was found in the former Czechoslovakia, Charlie Chan in Paris (1935) was among those missing-in-action after a 1937 fire at Fox Film Corporation destroyed over 40,000 of the studio’s reels and prints. Today, however, only four Chan films remain lost. The missing films are counted among those comprising the 44-Chan film proper, starring: Warner Oland (16), Sydney Toler (22) and Roland Winters (6). The lost film all starring Warner Oland are: Charlie Chan Carries On (1931). This very first of the film proper was based on Biggers’ fifth Charlie Chan novel, Charlie Chan Carries On (1930). Charlie Chan’s Chance (1932). Based on Biggers’ third Chan novel, Behind That Curtain (1928). Charlie Chan’s Greatest Case (1933). Based on Biggers’ first Chan novel, The House Without A Key (1925). Charlie Chan’s Courage (1935). Based on Biggers’ second Chan novel, The Chinese Parrot (1926). With Czechoslovakia now divided into two countries, you will need two sets of volunteers to conduct simultaneous R&R (reconnaissance and recovery) missions. Each team will require: one makeup-disguise artist, one science-electronic wiz, one strong man, and one seriously gorgeous actress (Hey, it’s in the mission folder!) Everything you need to know will be in this dossier: THE LOST FILMS. Should you decide to accept it (place your name here,) as usual if you or any member of your IMF are caught we will disavow any knowledge of your action. Additionally, you’ll be photographed wearing babushkas while eating onion perogies. Those pictures placed on social media. Here is a classified recording of Mr. Phelps predecessor, Mr. Briggs, picking his IMF team members. It was recently discovered during a search of presidential/vice presidential households on another matter. Note the high tech comm-equipment and the contact’s Cardigan sweater. (Our analysts are trying to interpret why the contact’s tie is outside the sweater?) Good luck (your first name.) I can tell you these films are priceless to 20th Century Studios, now owned by The Walt Disney Company. Should your mission be successful I recommend your team be the first to watch the films before returning them; perhaps with a nice plate of hot onion perogies. To begin your mission strike The Match.
2205	dbpedia	2	12	https://www.worlds-best-detective-crime-and-murder-mystery-books.com/CharlieChanEarlyFilms.html	en	Charlie Chan: The Early Films			[]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	The first three Charlie Chan films were stepping stones toward defining one of the worlds most popular fictional detectives on screen.			World's Best Detective, Crime, and Murder Mystery Books	https://www.worlds-best-detective-crime-and-murder-mystery-books.com/CharlieChanEarlyFilms.html	The Early Charlie Chan Movies There were six Charlie Chan novels by Earl Derr Biggers. The first five were made into the first five movies. The sixth book was never made into a film, although it appeared on stage in a short-lived run. It later became broadcast as a radio drama called “The Landini Murder Case.” The House Without a Key (1926)—Silent (Lost Film)—Pathe The first Charlie Chan novel, The House Without a Key, became the first Charlie Chan movie ever made. Released in 1926, this Pathe film was a 10-episode serial directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet. (Bennet became known for directing B westerns and serials during the sound era, including the two Superman serials (Superman and Atom Man versus Superman), and the second Batman serial (Batman and Robin). Japanese actor George Kuwa played Charlie Chan. Unfortunately, The House Without a Key is lost, but we do have some information about it. The Charlie Chan Family website includes a synopsis of each episode. It is clear from the synopsis that the film was inspired by the book and reasonably faithful to it. (Earl Derr Biggers stipulated that Charlie Chan movies —and, later, radio dramatizations and a stage play—be based on his writing and his stories. Biggers didn’t allow original material about Chan while he was alive.) A two-page advertisement promoting the movie before its release fails to mention Charlie Chan at all. Emphasizing the known popular actors of the day, such as Allene Ray and Walter Miller, and the thrilling action, the studios may have been reticent about bringing attention to an Oriental hero due to contemporary prejudices inherent in the audiences they were reaching out to. Author Earl Derr Biggers was not entirely satisfied with the portrayal of Chan, thinking the film didn’t capture the essence of the character. Not until Warner Oland would portray Chan several films later did Biggers become enthused with how Chan was depicted on screen. The Chinese Parrot (1927)—Silent; lost—Universal Pictures Corporation In this second Charlie Chan movie, the part of Chan went to Japanese actor Kamiyama Sojin. George Kuwa, who had portrayed Chan in The House Without a Key, appeared as Chinese cook Louis Wong in this Universal Studies release. Based on the second novel, this, too, was a silent film and is also lost. This was the only Chan film produced by Universal Studios and its producer Carl Laemmle. After “The Chinese Parrot” film was made, Earl Derr Biggers said, “They botched it again. They just can’t get Charlie Chan right.” (This quote is from Barbara Gregorich, author of Charlie Chan’s Poppa: The Life of Earl Derr Biggers.) Behind That Curtain Biggers’s third Chan novel became the third Chan film, and the first talking Chan film. Made by William H. Fox’s studio (Fox Film Corporation, which later became 20th-Century Fox), and this film is extant. Korean-American actor E. L. Park portrayed Chan in this film, although he didn’t appear until the last few scenes. Inspector Frederic Bruce of Scotland Yard, however, refers to him early in the film as “my friend.” In the book, Sir Frederic Bruce is investigating a murder that occurred in England. Eve Mannering marries Eric Durand. Soon after their honeymoon, Eve discovers that Eric may have been involved in the murder. She leaves him and joins the party of Colonel John Beetham, an explorer who she knows from England and who happens to cross paths with her in India. He also happens to be an admirer and was once her suitor. Inspector Bruce is searching for Eve because he thinks she has information that may help him solve the murder. When she gets wind of this, she slips away from Colonel Beetham’s party and flees to New York City. What does an attractive woman do when she wants to remain hidden? In the book (though left out of the movie), Eve makes the unwise decision to become a model who appears in printed advertisements. Sir Frederic Bruce becomes aware of this and heads for New York, but Eve Durand stays ahead of him and makes her way to San Francisco, where she gets a job as an elevator operator in the Kirk Building. The Kirk Building is owned by young businessman Barry Kirk, who leases office space to businesses. Kirk keeps two floors in the building for himself—one floor for his own office, and another floor for his living quarters (which he calls his “bungalow”). Barry meets and becomes friends with Charlie Chan, who is still on the mainland after his Chinese Parrot adventure. Chan has booked passage for home on an ocean liner, but it sails once a week and Charlie has a few days to wait. Barry invites Chan to his “bungalow,” where he has invited a few guests to attend a slide show that Beetham is presenting. (In the movie, this event takes place at a theater where people can purchase tickets to attend.) Sir Frederic Bruce is in attendance, having tracked Eve Durand to San Francisco but he doesn’t know exactly where she is. In the book, Bruce is murdered and replaced by Scotland Yard’s Inspector Duff; in the movie Bruce is shot but survives. Although there are minor differences between the book and the movie, the film remains faithful to the spirit and to the main incidents as related by Biggers. I find it an enjoyable film, although Chan is not the character that Warner Oland was to portray. Oland became the detective many of us have come to know and love. We learn about Charlie Chan’s friendship with Sir Frederic Bruce of Scotland Yard early in the film. About 20 minutes or so into the film, Sir Frederic Bruce is sitting in his office, conversing with an Inspector: About an hour and fifteen minutes into the film, Eve Durand comes home to her room in San Francisco. She learns from her housemaid that the police had a search warrant and searched her apartment. Her housemaid says, “One of ‘em’s Charlie Chan, whose name is in all the newspapers.” In another scene, Sir Frederic Bruce asks a policeman on the street for directions: When Sir Frederic Bruce meets Chan, he begins giving instructions: At this point, Chan and Sir Bruce are interrupted by the strains of a saxophone coming through the window. Chan goes to the window and speaks to the young man in Chinese. The young man says, “Hotsy totsy, Mr Chan.” This idea of young people using American slang phrases is developed more in the Warner Oland films (for example, in screenplays of the lost Warner Oland films when we see Chan sitting at the table with his wife and children, and they use slang words and phrases such as “You’re full of beans” or “That’s just applesauce”). But this will be discussed later in this series of articles. Even though we don’t get to see Chan’s investigative techniques or participation to the extent they are described in the book we do get to see some glimpses of his personality and his sensitivity to the feelings of others. For example, Sir Frederic Bruce says, “You know, when I learned from Beetham at Teheran what had happened I made up my mind not to move against the guilty until I was sure the innocent wouldn’t suffer any useless scandal.” Chan replies, “I am overwhelmed at your sentiments in the matter.” The following exchange takes place among Eve Durand, Sir Frederick Bruce, and Colonel John Beetham, Regarding her husband Eric, Eve says: “I never want to see him again.” Although we have not seen much of Charlie Chan in this film, and Earl Derr Biggers was not enamored by the portrayal of Chan in these first three movies, we like what we see. And the best is yet to come. . . . (This is a link through which I make a small commission if you buy. See here for more details.) For more information about Charlie Chan, click on the links below to read articles. The Novels by Earl Derr Biggers: The House Without a Key The Chinese Parrot Behind That Curtain The Black Camel Charlie Chan Carries On Keeper of the Keys Charlie Chan Movies The Early Charlie Chan Films Enter Warner Oland: "Charlie Chan Carries On" and "Eran Trece" "The Black Camel" and Three Lost Charlie Chan Movies Charlie Chan's Aphorisms and Sayings Charlie Chan's Family as Described in the Books Charlie Chan's Family as Seen in the Movies Charlie Chan's Travels Charlie Chan Pastiches Death, I Said by John L. Swann
2205	dbpedia	0	70	https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/books-becoming-tv-and-streaming-series/	en	130+ Books Becoming TV Series We Cannot Wait to See	https://prd-rteditorial.…-Kindred-600.jpg	https://prd-rteditorial.…-Kindred-600.jpg	[ "https://graph.facebook.com/v2.2/100001988417196/picture", "https://images.fandango.com/cms/assets/68ffa860-b30f-11ed-9d20-83ee649e98bd--rotten-logo-ko-322x100.png", "https://images.fandango.com/cms/assets/68ffa860-b30f-11ed-9d20-83ee649e98bd--rotten-logo-ko-322x100.png", "https://prd-rteditorial.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/08113552/TV-news-banner.jpg", "https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/wp-content/themes/RottenTomatoes/images/icons/social_twitter.png", "https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/wp-content/themes/RottenTomatoes/images/icons/social_fb_share.png", "https://prd-rteditorial.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/13103739/FXs-Kindred.jpg", 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That list also includes Prime Video's "The Lord of the Ring: The Rings of Power" and HBO's "House of the Dragon." We’ve got details on the hottest books and comics coming to TV and streaming.	en	https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/wp-content/themes/RottenTomatoes/static/images/icons/favicon.ico		https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/books-becoming-tv-and-streaming-series/	(Photo by Tina Rowden/FX) The new Hulu series Kindred is an an adaptation of the hugely popular Octavia E. Butler book about a young woman who learns she has the ability to travel back in time (but doesn’t necessarily know how to control it). This is on the heels of other recent TV series that are adaptations of, or inspired by, beloved literature: Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and The Peripheral, HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon, AMC/AMC+’s Interview with the Vampire and the Starz series Dangerous Liaisons. You may have noticed a pattern: Some of the most talked-about TV series of the past few years are all based on novels and other published works. So what will the next hit be? We’ve rounded up a list of books, comic books, and graphic novels currently set to premiere or are in development as TV or streaming series that have the potential to become the next big Certified Fresh thing. We’ll update our list as new information becomes available on new titles, premiere dates and stars that have been attached. As with all good reading material, make sure to bookmark it. Did your favorite book that is becoming a TV series not make our list? Is there a book you’d like to see made into a show? Tell us about it in the comments! COMING SOON 61% Kindred: Season 1 (2022) Premiere Date: December 13, 2022 Network: Hulu Based On: Octavia E. Butler’s 1979 novel. The Fanbase: People who appreciate how different genres can be used to discuss historical fiction, à la shows like Amazon’s Them or HBO’s Watchmen. What We Know So Far: The show follows Dana, a young Black woman and aspiring writer who has uprooted her life of familial obligation and relocated to Los Angeles, ready to claim a future that — for once — feels all her own. But, before she can get settled into her new home, she finds herself being violently pulled back and forth in time to a nineteenth-century plantation with which she and her family are most surprisingly and intimately linked. An interracial romance threads through her past and present, and the clock is ticking as she struggles to confront the secrets she never knew ran through her blood.” Watchmen’s Branden Jacobs-Jenkins serves as showrunner and Janicza Bravo directed the pilot. Other executive producers include The Americans co-creators Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields. Mallori Johnson is starring with other cast members including Micah Stock, Ryan Kwanten, Gayle Rankin, Austin Smith, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy and David Alexander Kaplan. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: With that pedigree, the show could easily find some kindred spirits among critics. The Lying Life of Adults Premiere Date: January 4, 2023 Network: Netflix Based On: Elena Ferrate’s 2019 novel The Fanbase: Ferrate adaptations are having a moment, so chances are anyone who loved the HBO series My Brilliant Friend or the Netflix movie The Lost Daughter will be into this YA-tinged series. Everything We Know So Far: The six-episode Italian-language series stars Giordana Marengo as Giovanna, who is quickly going from childhood to adolescence against the backdrop of 1990s Naples. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Buono (Photo by AMC+) Mayfair Witches Network: AMC/AMC+ Premiere Date: January 5, 2023 Based On: Anne Rice’s book series. The Fanbase: Horror and suspense novelist Rice was more known for her work in the vampire genre (and AMC developed a series based on her Interview with the Vampire because of it), but her fanbase also knows her history with witches as well. Everything We Know So Far: In August 2021, AMC announced that it had opened a writers’ room to explore developing Rice’s book series, which follows a neurosurgeon who discovers she’s an unlikely heiress to a family of witches. Masters of Sex’s Esta Spaulding and Michelle Ashford are writing and executive producing. The cast includes Alexandra Daddario, Harry Hamlin, Tongayi Chirisa and Jack Huston. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: The witches and vampire craze had a resurgence in the mid-aughts thanks to shows like The Vampire Diaries and True Blood. But they were mostly thought to be campy or for teens. Can prestige television change that? Lockwood & Co. Network: Netflix Premiere Date: January 27, 2023 Based On: Jonathan Stroud’s book series. The Fanbase: Could it be a show with kids that’s not actually a kids’ show like Stranger Things? Or a silly comedy about spooky creatures like What We Do in the Shadows or Ghosts? What We Know So Far: Edgar Wright’s production company has teamed with Attack the Block’s Joe Cornish and others on an adaptation of the book series about a group of kids who fight spirits and other villains. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: This clearly has the power to be very, very funny. The Snow Girl Network: Netflix Premiere Date: January 27, 2023 Based On: Javier Castillo’s best-selling crime mystery, La Chica de Nieve. The Fanbase: Anyone who tries to solve true-crime dramas or high-brow scripted mysteries like HBO’s Mare of Easttown before the detectives working the case can crack it. Also, those who understand Spanish and/or don’t mind subtitles. Everything We Know So Far: A little girl named Amaya goes missing during a parade in Málaga, Spain. When she’s never recovered, her parents fear the worst. Then they receive a mysterious message. That’s when a young journalist gets involved. Milena Smit, Jose Coronado and Aixa Villagrán star. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Netflix has had success with foreign-language thrillers like the Israeli drama Fauda and the Spanish YA mystery Elite. If this is marketed well enough, it could magnífico. Not Dead Yet Network: ABC Premiere Date: February 8, 2023 Based On: Alexandra Potter’s 2020 novel, Confessions of a Forty-Something F*k Up The Fanbase: Despite the harshness of Potter’s book’s title, the series seems a little lighter. It stars Jane the Virgin alum Gina Rodriguez and is created by This Is Us producers David Windsor and Casey Johnson. Everything We Know So Far: Rodriguez plays Nell Serrano, a newly-singled self-described disaster who wants to start her life over. The only job she can get? Writing obituaries. Hannah Simone, Joshua Banday and Angela Gibbs also star. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It could be your new cathartic weeknight cry-session. (Photo by Lacey Terrell/Prime Video) Daisy Jones & the Six Network: Prime Video Premiere Date: March 3, 2023 Based On: Taylor Jenkins Reid’s 2019 novel. The Fanbase: Rock fans who like to go behind the music. What We Know So Far: Partly inspired by Fleetwood Mac, Daisy Jones stars Riley Keough (Elvis’ granddaughter!) as the face of a 1970s rock band that exploded out of the L.A. music scene — and then broke up at the height of their fame. It’s told in documentary style with “interviews” with the band. Other stars include Camila Morrone, Sam Claflin and Suki Waterhouse. Timothy Olyphant also makes a guest appearance as band manager Rod Reyes. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: The show is on many outlets’ most anticipated new releases lists. Plus, the recent passing of Fleetwood’s Christine McVie might garner it more attention. The White House Plumbers Network: HBO Premiere Date: March 2023 Based On: Egil “Bud” Krogh and Matthew Krogh’s 2009 book, Integrity: Good People, Bad Choices, and Life Lessons from the White House The Fanbase: History buffs who still enjoy kicking around Nixon. Everything We Know So Far: Deadline reports that this five-part limited series, which is based on public records as well as the Krough’ book, will look at Howard Dean (Domhnall Gleeson), E. Howard Hunt (Woody Harrelson) G. Gordon Liddy (Justin Theroux) and the men behind the Watergate break-in that led to the end of Richard Nixon’s presidency. Veep executive producers Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck are writing the script with that show’s showrunner, David Mandel, directing. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: With these guys involved, it sounds a lot more enjoyable than Showtime’s The Comey Rule. (Photo by Josh Stringer/AMC) The Walking Dead: Dead City Network: AMC Premiere Date: April 2023 Based On: Characters from Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore’s The Walking Dead comic series. The Fanbase: Those who kept with the original The Walking Dead mega hit long enough to understand the complicated dynamic between Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan and Lauren Cohan’s Maggie (remember that time he killed her husband?). Everything We Know So Far: Making sure to eat every last bite of this zombie apocalypse franchise, this is just one of several upcoming spin-offs of TWD (which itself ends with its 11th season). One other one is focused on Norman Reedus’ Daryl Dixon and another is about Andrew Lincoln’s Rick and Danai Gurira’s Michonne. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: While TWD has been a huge it, it’s unclear if that virus can infect other versions (see also: Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: The World Beyond). American Born Chinese Network: Disney+ Premiere Date: 2023 Based On: Gene Luen Yang’s graphic novel The Fanbase: Mixing in several genres, the action-comedy is about a teen-aged child of immigrant parents who becomes entangled in a battle of Chinese mythological gods after he meets a new foreign exchange student has a lot going for it. Everything We Know So Far: Kelvin Yu (Bob’s Burgers) and Charles Yu (Legion, Westworld), are writing and executive producing with the former serving as showrunner. I Know What You Did Last Summer’s Lana Cho is also working on the project, as a co-executive producer. Shang-Chi’s Destin Daniel Cretton is also involved. The cast includes Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Daniel Wu and Poppy Liu playing characters of Chinese folk tradition. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Comparisons will likely be made to Amazon’s Invincible (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing; the series is Certified Fresh). Little Secrets Network: Peacock Premiere Date: 2023 Based On: Jennifer Hillier’s 2020 novel The Fanbase: It’s a revenge fantasy-come true mixed with a story of scorned women and has a tone reminiscent of the erotic thrillers of the late 20th century. What We Know So Far: Per Deadline, the thriller “follows a desperate mother’s mission for revenge against her husband’s [paramour] after her child goes missing. Told in alternating perspectives between the mother and the [other woman], the story dissects themes of lust, obsession, grief and loss.” Tish Cyrus’ HopeTown Entertainment is producing it with Universal Television and Melissa Scrivner Love is writing it. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Books like Gone Girl and Luckiest Girl Alive had plenty of success with the alternate-storyline take. But their cinematic adaptations didn’t nail that tone. Perhaps a series adaptation would allow that writing style to blossom. (Photo by HBO Max) Love and Death Network: HBO Max Premiere Date: 2023 Based On: Jim Atkinson and Joe Bob Briggs’ true-crime story, Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs, as well as other reporting. The Fanbase: Those who know that salacious gossip isn’t just limited to the church potluck. Everything We Know So Far: Elizabeth Olsen stars in the series about Candy Montgomery, the Texas housewife who took an axe to her church friend, Betty Gore, in 1980. David E. Kelley is writing the project and is re-teaming with his Big Little Lies friend, Nicole Kidman, who is producing. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It has all the allure and sensationalism that made projects like Richard Linklater’s Bernie, a film about a bizarre crime in a small Texas town, a Certified Fresh hit. (Photo by Netflix) Three-Body Problem Network: Netflix Premiere Date: 2023 Based On: Liu Cixin’s book trilogy. The Fanbase: Those searching for extraterrestrial life — and wondering what we do when we find it. What We Know So Far: Netflix announced in 2020 that it was adapting the comprehensive texts as a series through a partnership with Game of Thrones‘ David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and The Terror: Infamy’s Alexander Woo. Casting includes Jovan Adepo, Tsai Chin and Marlo Kelly. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Netflix knows the stakes are high to get this one right. Plus, Benioff, Weiss, and Woo have a lot of Certified Fresh seasons between them. Tom Jones Network: PBS Masterpiece Premiere Date: 2023 Based On: Henry Fielding’s The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling The Fanbase: Anglophiles already obsessed with Fielding’s 1749 novel, a sexy and sassy read that influenced the will they/won’t they of today’s serialized television rom-coms. Everything We Know So Far: Solly McLeod and Sophie Wilde star as hero and heroine Tom and Sophia; young lovers who keep finding — or whose families keep finding — ways to not be together. Because this is a period story, there’s commentary on aristocracy, religion and noble births. So is what would now be considered a shaming of sex shaming. Casting also includes Ted Lasso favorite Hannah Waddingham as the devious Lady Bellaston and James Wilbraham as Tom’s bitter cousin Blifil. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: There’s a reason this book is still remembered nearly 275 years after its publication. And the modern-day popularity of color-blind casting will gain it some interest. But will audiences be sick of these well-known British TV tropes after Downton Abbey, Bridgerton and so many other shows involving corsets and birth rights? *Full disclosure: The writer of this article is married to Woo. They have two cute children and miss their very extremely photogenic cat. AWAITING PREMIERE DATES (Photo by JA/Everett Collection) The Accomplice Network: Prime Video Based On: Lisa Lutz’s 2022 psychological thriller The Fanbase: Those who like murder mysteries; especially ones about secrets that can never stay buried. Everything We Know So Far: There’s always a good reason someone ends up friend-zoned. In this case, Luna Grey and Owen Mann never got together because they were best friends in college when a friend dies unexpectedly. Now they come together again when Owen’s wife is murdered. Variety reported in 2022 that Lily Collins was attached to play Luna and that Olivia Milch (Ocean’s Eight) was adapting the book to TV. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: You can almost see the detailed Reddit fan theories now. Alex Cross Network: Prime Video Based On: Characters from author James Patterson’s books. The Fanbase: Fans of Patterson’s novels and their adaptations, as well as works by similar authors like Jeffery Deaver (The Bone Collector). What We Know So Far: Variety broke the news in 2020 that Prime Video was developing the series. In 2022, City on a Hill actor Aldis Hodge was cast in the lead role. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Morgan Freeman has starred as Alex Cross in two film adaptations — Kiss The Girls and Along Came a Spider — of Patterson’s works, and Tyler Perry played him in one Alex Cross. All are very much not Certified Fresh. TV adaptations of Patterson’s work have fared somewhat better. All Her Little Secrets Network: Showtime Based On: Wanda M. Morris’ 2021 novel The Fanbase: A story of race relations and corporate legal dramas, it could have the sudsy factor of the Shondaland programs on ABC. Everything We Know So Far: Uzo Aduba stars as Ellice Littlejohn, who according to Deadline, is “a Black female lawyer rising to the top of the corporate ladder. When she gets caught up in an affair and a mysterious conspiracy that puts her at risk of being the primary suspect and the next target, Ellice’s perfect façade starts to crumble as she scrambles to hold onto all she has earned, protect her family and stay alive.” Evil’s Aurin Squire wrote the pilot. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It’s a sexy caper with a political message that also could make audiences want to know about each and every one of those secrets. All the King’s Men Network: TBD Based On: Kennedy Ryan’s book series. The Fanbase: The three-book series, which includes the best-seller Queen Move, follows best friends who dedicate their lives to electing leaders who support their visions. Topics like Native rights, missing and murdered indigenous women, climate change, pay equity, and voter suppression make the book series incredibly relevant right now. What We Know So Far: The Traveling Picture Show Company is producing the limited series. More details are forthcoming. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It’s a topical piece and with the right backing (say, a plug from Stacey Abrams or Michelle Obama), it could win in a landslide. All The Light We Cannot See Network: Netflix Based On: Anthony Doerr’s 2014 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Fanbase: Although this limited series will be executive produced, and directed, by Stranger Things’ Shawn Levy and written by Peaky Blinders’ Steven Knight, this is more of a war story with mixes of star-crossed love and something that may be the answer to immortality. Everything We Know So Far: Netflix conducted a worldwide search of blind and low-vision actresses for the female lead, Marie-Laure, finally casting actress Aria Mia Loberti. The character is a French teenager who is blind and who is caught with her father in Nazi-occupied France during World War II. Through her dad, a master locksmith at Paris’ Museum of Natural History, she hears stories of the Sea of Flames, which will grant immortality. Her path collides with Werner, a German soldier who becomes smitten with her. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It’s a great move in favor of representation that Netflix cast such a wide net to find Marie-Laure. But there also needs to be a way to make Werner sympathetic. And then there’s the risk of making this story appear more than just a hokey take on a Dan Brown novel or an Indiana Jones movie. Anansi Boys Network: Prime Video Based On: Neil Gaiman’s 2005 novel. The Fanbase: Gaiman’s fans are already fierce devotees, as evident by Amazon’s second-season order of the adaptation of his and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens. This six-part limited series has some character overlap with Gaiman’s American Gods (which had its own Starz adaptation) but is not considered a spin-off or sequel. Everything We Know So Far: The story focuses on Charlie Nancy, a young man who is used to being embarrassed by his estranged father (that would be Mr. Nancy from the Gods universe). When his father dies, Charlie learns that he was Anansi: the trickster god of stories — and that Charlie has a brother named Spider. Now the boys are together, with one determined to make the other’s life more interesting (i.e. more dangerous). Gaiman serves as co-showrunner with Douglas Mackinnon and Hanelle M. Culpepper will direct the pilot. Malachi Kirby will star as both Charlie and Spider and other cast members include CCH Pounder, Whoopi Goldberg and Fiona Shaw. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: We probably should take Good Omens’ 84% Tomatometer rating as a sign that Amazon knows how to handle Gaiman’s work. Baahubali: Before the Beginning Network: Netflix Based On: Indian author Anand Neelakantan’s trilogy. The Fanbase: Fans of Neelakantan’s novels, but also those who enjoy shows about strong female heroines. And maybe also fans of The Crown, Netflix’s hit series about the ascention and reign of a female monarch. What We Know So Far: Meant to run six seasons (two seasons per title), the story follows Sivagami, a character who rises from a defiant girl to a not-to-be-messed-with queen. Set in Mahishmati, the story coincides with a time when that ancient Indian kingdom becomes powerful. Indian actress Mrunal Thakur stars. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Netflix’s original Indian programming like Sacred Games and Leila have gotten fairly strong reviews. There’s a chance for this to do better if it finds an international audience. But it has also already had one do-over with a new creative team after the first iteration wasn’t to the streamer’s liking. Bad Monkey Network: Apple TV+ Based On: Carl Hiaasen’s 2013 novel. The Fanbase: The show is created by Bill Lawrence, who is riding high after the success of his Ted Lasso, and stars Vince Vaughn, who has his own fan base. There’s also a monkey. Everything We Know So Far: Maybe this is the consolation prize for Fletch devotee Lawrence? According to the logline, Vaughn plays a “one-time detective demoted to restaurant inspector in Southern Florida. A severed arm found by a tourist out fishing pulls Yancy into the world of greed and corruption that decimates the land and environment in both Florida and the Bahamas.” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: it’s a quirky, dark comedy that could be a great bookend to Ted Lasso’s quirky optimism. The Ballad of Black Tom Network: AMC Based On: Victor LaValle’s 2016 horror novella based on H.P. Lovecraft’s short story, “The Horror at Red Hook.” The Fanbase: Those who enjoyed Amazon’s Them, HBO’s Lovecraft Country, and WGN’s Underground. What We Know So Far: This is a retelling of a story by noted racist H.P. Lovecraft from the point-of-view of a young Black man from Harlem. AMC announced in 2017 that it was developing the project and then things went quiet, but in February 2021, the cable channel announced that it was partnering with sister channel Shudder on a yet-to-be-titled horror anthology series that would focus on “stories of Black horror from Black directors and screenwriters” — LaValle being one of them. Perhaps his Black Tom adaptation will be part of this? Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Pretty good if it secures the pedigree of those shows that appeal to the same fanbase — or juggernauts like HBO’s Watchmen or FX’s American Horror Story. Beacon 23 (Photo by Danny Moloshok /Shutterstock) Network: AMC and Spectrum Based On: Hugh Howey’s 2015 novel. The Fanbase: Howey already has a huge fanbase and AMC is also adapting his Wool (see below). But the story, which is a sci-fi thriller about two people trapped together at the end of the known universe, could bring in an audience similar to The Expanse or other popular properties. What We Know So Far: Ready Player One’s Zak Penn is creating and adapting the series with Game of Thrones’ Lena Headey (pictured) executive producing and starring as Aster, a woman who mysteriously finds her way to a lighthouse in the darkest recesses of the universe. Homecoming star Stephan James will also star. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Headey’s fanbase coupled with the love of the books could make this a beacon of light for the networks. The series also already has a season 2 renewal with Glen Mazzara and Joy Blake with new executive producers and co-showrunners. The Bends Network: FX Based On: Gerald Seymour’s 1997 novel Killing Ground The Fanbase: Those who want to see a take-down of the one-percent (so, maybe, most everyone?). There are also hints of spy thriller The Americans and the TV adaptation of The Little Drummer Girl. Everything We Know So Far: In 2022, FX gave a pilot order to a script written by Homicide: Life on the Street creator Paul Attanasio and directed by The Handmaid’s Tale’s Mike Barker. According to Deadline, it will focus on “a seemingly perfect American family in Berlin whose secrets come to light when they hire a new nanny, unaware that she is trying to expose the parents’ corrupt financial and familial ties.” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: In addition to Homicide, Attanasio write the screenplays for gritty thrillers like Donnie Brasco and Disclosure. So this could be a high-stakes, adrenaline-rush of a thriller. Black Cake Network: Hulu Based On: Charmaine Wilkerson’s 2022 novel. The Fanbase: Those interested in a globe-trotting adventure story that’s got more twists than an episode of Finding Your Roots. Everything We Know So Far: Women of the Movement creator Marissa Jo Cerar is adapting the story with Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films and Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment also executive producing. Mia Isaac will star. According to Deadline, the plot follows “a runaway bride named Covey [who] disappears into the surf off the coast of Jamaica and is feared drowned or a fugitive on the run for her husband’s murder. Fifty years later in California, Eleanor Bennett, a widow in her 60s, loses her battle with cancer, leaving her two estranged children a flash drive that holds previously untold stories of her journey from the Caribbean to America.” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Despite inevitable comparisons to the movie Titanic this cake sounds delicious. The Bonfire of the Vanities Network: Prime Video Based On: Tom Wolfe’s 1987 novel. The Fanbase: If done well, prestige TV and literary snobs who flock to elite Emmy darlings like AMC’s Mad Men. What We Know So Far: Wolfe’s novel was a scathing attack at the classism and racism of 1980s New York. This project, which was announced in 2016, comes from Chuck Lorre with Boardwalk Empire’s Margaret Nagle writing. While it may seem odd that the guy known for middle-of-the-road multi-camera work like Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory is involved with something like this, remember that he also did critical darling The Kominsky Method for Netflix. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It can’t be any worse than Brian De Palma’s 2008 movie version. With the right casting and prestige-TV production value and storytelling, the novel’s themes may strike a cord with modern audiences. The Border Network: FX Based On: The third book in Don Winslow’s Cartel trilogy. The Fanbase: Audiences who like gritty, topical dramas that depict different perspectives of a complicated issue. Everything We Know So Far: Per Deadline, “The Border is an epic saga that reveals the dark truths about America’s failed 50-year war on drugs. Taking us from the streets of New York to the poppy fields of Mexico, the jungles of Central America, and The White House, The Border explodes the myths of the drug war through the intertwining narratives of characters on both sides of the Mexican-American border: an obsessive Mexican-American DEA agent, a young boxing promoter who inherits a drug empire, a jaded teenager who rises to power in the world of high class escorts, and an Irish kid from the streets of Hell’s kitchen who becomes a ruthless, international hitman.” FX ordered a pilot for the series, which will shoot in 2023 in Mexico. Damages and Bloodline’s Daniel Zelman will serve as showrunner and E.J. Bonilla (The Old Man, The Long Way Home) will star. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: FX’s The Bridge looked at Mexican and U.S. police attempting to track a serial killer. It was a critical hit and is Certified Fresh with a 91% Tomatometer. Series like Netflix’s Narcos and Narcos: Mexico were also well received. The Border seems like a cross between them. A Brief History of Seven Killings Network: HBO or Netflix? Based On: Marlon James’ Man Booker Prize–winning 2014 novel. The Fanbase: Jamaican author James’ book follows the 1976 assassination attempt on Bob Marley through the 1980s crack wars in New York and beyond. Fans who are interested in social justice and those who were drawn to films like Judas and the Black Messiah might come out for this. What We Know So Far: THR reported in 2017 that HBO was adapting the novel as a limited series with Insecure’s Melina Matsoukas on board to direct and James writing the script while Empire’s Malcolm Spellman would executive produce and serve as showrunner. Other reports suggested a move to Netflix. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: With that pedigree, pretty good. The Case of Cyntoia Brown Network: Starz Based On: Cyntoia Brown-Long’s 2019 memoir, Free Cyntoia: My Search for Redemption in the American Prison System. The Fanbase: The limited series is inspired by Brown-Long, who served 15 years of a life sentence for killing a man when she was 16 (something she has maintained was an act of self-defense). The fanbase could bring in true-crime fanatics like those who campaigned for the release of Making a Murderer’s Steven Avery, as well as prison reform advocates like those who watched director Ava DuVernay’s documentary film, 13th. Everything We Know So Far: Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and La La Anthony are executive producing while Power Book III: Raising Kanan’s Santa Sierra is writing. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Given the current political landscape and the focus on police and prison reforms, this could be a major cultural talking point. The Change Network: TBD Based On: Kirsten Miller’s 2022 novel. The Fanbase: The Hollywood Reporter, which announced the deal, describes the book as a “feel-good feminist revenge fantasy” that centers on 40-something women who find that they have unexpected powers — powers they use to hunt down serial killers and settle old scores. Everything We Know So Far: Bruna Papandrea’s production company, Made Up Stories, is adapting the novel with True Blood and Supernatural alum Raelle Tucker writing the script. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: This Change could be good. The Changeling Network: Apple TV+ Based On: Victor LaValle’s 2017 horror-fantasy novel. The Fanbase: The book, which depicts a woman seemingly going through postpartum depression before she commits a heinous act and then disappears into an enchanted world, has won many awards in the horror and fantasy genres. It also could appeal to new parents; both those suffering from postpartum depression and their partners and loved ones who are watching them do so. Everything We Know So Far: After being in development at FX, Apple TV+ ordered it to series in August 2021 with LaKeith Stanfield set to executive produce and star. Cruella’s Kelly Marcel is writing and executive producing and Insecure’s Melina Matsoukas is directing and executive producing. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: This could be a change, both for how we perceive horror series and for how we perceive depression. Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win Network: Prime Video Based On: Jo Piazza’s 2018 novel about a cutthroat and politically ambitious heroine. The Fanbase: People who enjoyed shows like HBO’s Veep, the 1999 movie Election or other sardonic stories about determined people who must weight the consequences of success. What We Know So Far: Deadline reported in 2019 that Julia Roberts — then just coming off of Amazon’s Homecoming — was in discussions to star and executive produce this limited series. It was going to be adapted by playwright and creator of ABC’s Brothers & Sisters, Jon Robin Baitz. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: On the one hand, people may revel in watching Julia Roberts get her hands dirty in a political romp. On the other, we may all be too burned out with actual political mudslinging to invest interest. City on Fire Network: Apple TV+ Based On: Garth Risk Hallberg’s 2015 novel. The Fanbase: It’s a period-set whodunnit (and by “period,” we mean the early aughts) written and executive produced by some folks who know that era better than anyone: The OC and Gossip Girl’s Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage. Everything We Know So Far: Set in 2003 New York, the story follows what happens when an NYU student is shot and killed when she’s alone in Central Park. According to the lonline, “her friends’ band is playing her favorite downtown club but she leaves to meet someone, promising to return. She never does. As the crime against Samantha is investigated, she’s revealed to be the crucial connection between a series of mysterious city-wide fires, the downtown music scene, and a wealthy uptown real estate family fraying under the strain of the many secrets they keep.” Wyatt Oleff is one of the stars and Jesse Peretz will direct, according to Deadline. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Stories told in reverse and with surprise reveals about who people really are have worked wonders for recent dramas like Freeform’s Cruel Summer and HBO’s Mare of Easttown … The Cleaners Network: Prime Video Based On: The Ken Liu short story that appeared in the 2020 fairy tale-themed anthology Faraway. The Fanbase: Although it’s loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Princess and the Pea, it will most likely attract sci-fi fans of shows like Amazon’s The Expanse than those who enjoy battling princesses and witches in ABC’s Once Upon a Time. What We Know So Far: In 2020, Deadline reported that The OA writer Dominic Orlando and Carnival Row star Orlando Bloom were involved in adapting Liu’s near-future set story about inanimate objects that carry their owners’ experiences with them so that they can be re-lived through touch. The eponymous “cleaners” are charged with sanitizing these pieces so as to relieve their own emotional burdens. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It sounds more like Black Mirror meets Beauty and the Beast — both of which have high Tomatometer scores. The Consultant Network: Prime Video Based On: Bentley Little’s 2015 novel, Basgallop. The Fanbase: Audiences who understood the brilliance of the Comedy Central series Corporate and the Apple TV+ series Severance as well as anyone part of 2021’s Great Resignation (or who wished that they could be). Everything We Know So Far: Christoph Waltz stars in this dark comedy that, according its logline is a “workplace thriller that explores the sinister relationship between boss and employee, asking how far we will go to get ahead, and to survive.” Servant’s Tony Basgallop is the creator and showrunner while WandaVision’s Matt Shakman is the director. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Provided it doesn’t bring about too much repressed memories of bad employment, it couldn’t hurt to visit for at least one consultation. A Cool Breeze on the Underground Network: TBD Based On: Don Winslow’s mystery, the first in his five-book series. The Fanbase: Mystery buffs who also enjoy stories of London’s punk scene with maybe a sort-of wink-wink, nudge-nudge to the genre because … Everything We Know So Far: … Knives Out’s Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman are two of the producers of the series, according to Deadline. Bad Education’s Cory Finley will write, direct and executive produce the story of a young private investigator hired to find a prominent senator’s daughter who has gotten involved in London’s violent, drug-fueled punk scene. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: A Cool Breeze could easily be a hot watch with a killer soundtrack. Daddy Network: Prime Video Based On: Jonathan Parks-Ramage’s 2021 novel, Yes, Daddy. The Fanbase: People who enjoy dark psycho-thrillers like Netflix’s You or Elite. What We Know So Far: The series’ lead character is Jonah Keller, a recent New York transplant with dreams of becoming a famous playwright. Until then, he starts dating an older, successful one. Things go awry when Jonah goes to the Hamptons with his beau. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It could easily become a cultural talking point about consent and abuse, à la FX on Hulu’s A Teacher. Dawn Network: Prime Video Based On: Octavia Butler’s 1987 science-fiction novel. The Fanbase: Sci-fi fans who’d like to see more stories of women of color in that space. What We Know So Far: From IndieWire: Heroine Lilith Iyapo was rescued by aliens after a nuclear war wiped out most of the human race, including her husband and son. Now, two centuries later, she must help her saviors resurrect our species.” Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY production company is producing and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s Victoria Mahoney will write and direct. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Butler’s books are beloved and this is the first book in a trilogy, so it’s a good bet that this series could be around for a while. The Day of The Jackal Network: Peacock Based On: Frederick Forsyth’s 1971 political thriller and the 1973 Fred Zinnemann-directed film adaptation. The Fanbase: The book is historical fiction and set around a failed assassination attempt of French president Charles de Gaulle. This take will be, according to the release, a “bold, contemporary reimagining” of that story. This could cause some backlash from devotees of Forsyth’s work. Everything We Know So Far: Ronan Bennett (Top Boy, Public Enemies) is the showrunner and Brian Kirk (Game of Thrones, Luther) will direct the limited series. The official press release is full of buzz words like that it will “delve deeper into the chameleon-like ‘anti-hero’ at the heart of the story” and that it’s “set amidst the turbulent geo-political landscape of our time.” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: History can’t stop repeating itself. So why shouldn’t a known IP capitalize on that? Deadtown Network: Prime Video Based On: Catherynne M. Valente’s 2017 novella, The Refrigerator Monologues. The Fanbase: People who like wry takes on the superhero genre, like Amazon’s The Boys, as well as people who like wry takes on female assassins, like AMC and BBC America’s Killing Eve. What We Know So Far: Deadline reported in 2018 that Whip It’s Shauna Cross was developing the story about five women who meet in purgatory and discover that their entire lives were spent in service to various male superheroes — and died because of it. Now they are discovering their own powers. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It would make a nice companion piece to The Boys, which has two Certified Fresh seasons. The Devil in the White City Network: Hulu Based On: Erik Larson’s 2003 historical non-fiction about the 1893 Chicago world’s fair and H. H. Holmes, a serial killer who was lurking around the city at the same time. The Fanbase: People who enjoy historical drama and true crime. What We Know So Far: Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company bought the film rights in 2010, but it was announced as a limited series for Hulu in 2019. Martin Scorsese is also an executive producer. However, the show has been mired in casting (Keanu Reeves was set to star and then dropped out) and directing (Todd Field was hired to direct the pilot and then left the project) controversies. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Once things get situated, it could make a killing. (Photo by courtesy of the author; Penquin Books) The Downstairs Girl Network: TBD Based On: Stacey Lee’s 2019 young-adult historical fiction. The Fanbase: Those who loved Netflix’s Bridgerton and The CW and HBO Max’s Gossip Girl series as well as period-set stories of race with an upstairs-downstairs dynamic like Apple TV+’s Dickinson. What We Know So Far: Aminta Goyel is adapting the half-hour series about a Korean teen secretly living in a basement with her guardian in 1890 Atlanta. By day, she’s a maid to one of the city’s wealthiest families. By night, she pens an anonymous newspaper column that discusses race, gender bias and the women’ movement. Bound Entertainment is producing. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: An American Bridgerton? The scandal! (Photo by ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett C) Dune: The Sisterhood Network: HBO Max Based On: Frank Herbert’s book series. The Fanbase: Fans of Dune in all its iterations. What We Know So Far: HBO Max gave a straight-to-series order for the TV series, meant to accompany the 2021 film starring Timothée Chalamet. Showrunner Jon Spaihts left the project in 2019. Then, of course, the coronavirus hit and release dates and schedules shifted. In 2021, <Variety reported that Diane Ademu-John was named showrunner and that it will be a prequel series “told through the eyes of a mysterious order of women known as the Bene Gesserit.” However, Ademu-John stepped down as co-showrunner before the series started production. Travis Fimmel joined the cast in November 2022 while the series stars Emily Watson and Shirley Henderson. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Too early to tell. But it sounds like this story is Dune-d. The Eagles of Newark Network: TBD Based On: James Overmyer’s book, Queen of the Negro Leagues: Effa Manley and the Newark Eagles. The Fanbase: Sports fans, activists and anyone who likes a limited series that (according to the press release) “chronicles the dramatic efforts by tenacious civil rights activist Effa Manley and her husband Abe as they embark upon a risky business venture – starting their own ball club in the raucous world of the Negro Baseball Leagues.” (Manley was the first, and, so far, only woman to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame). Everything We Know So Far: Alcon Television Group has acquired the rights to the book, and to the limited series adaptation written by Byron Motley and Jeffrey Miiller. Anya Adams is directing the pilot. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Very good. But it may have competition. Prime Video had a series version of A League of Their Own, which talked about the sport’s history or racism and sexism, and Apple TV+ is adapting the baseball biography, If You Were Only White: The Life of Leroy ‘Satchel’ Paige. Earthsea Network: TBD Based On: Ursula K. Le Guin’s book series. The Fanbase: Those who enjoy the dense and immersive book series, which includes an array of interesting characters — many people of color. What We Know So Far: Deadline reported in 2019 that film producer Jennifer Fox was working with studio A24 to develop the series. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Fans will be expecting greatness, having been burned before by not-so-great 2004 miniseries that aired on what was then called the Sci Fi Channel. Expats Network: Prime Video Based On: Janice Y. K. Lee’s 2016 novel. The Fanbase: Centered on the close-knit expatriate community in Hong Kong, the series could draw an interest in travelers or even those who relate to series about deep female friendships like HBO’s Sex and the City. What We Know So Far: Nicole Kidman’s production company optioned the book and, in 2019, The Farewell’s Lulu Wang signed on as an executive producer. It’s also been reported that Big Love’s Melanie Marnich and Australian writer Alice Bell will serve as co-showrunners. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: If the series can capture the book’s social satire, it should score with both viewers and critics. The Fall of the House of Usher Network: Netflix Based On: Edgar Allan Poe’s stories. The Fanbase: It’s a Mike Flanagan-created limited series based on America’s most notoriously creepy writer. In short: the fanbase is horror nuts. Everything We Know So Far: Midnight Mass’ Flanagan created the series and will direct four episodes (Michael Fimognari will direct the other four). Stars include Mark Hamill, Bruce Greenwood and Carla Gugino. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It’s based on multiple works from Edgar Allan Poe — but how, and what, that means could be tell-taling. (Is it an anthology? Is it several stories woven together?). Felix Ever After Network: Prime Video Based On: Kacen Callender’s 2020 YA novel. The Fanbase: Trans people, their families and others interested in seeing a love story centered on a Black, queer teen. What We Know So Far: Amazon announced it had bought the rights to the book in August 2020 — just a few months after it was released. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: If done well, it could find a comfortable place in Amazon’s library comparable to the one Love, Victor has at Hulu. The Final Girl Support Group Network: HBO Max Based On: Grady Hendrix’s 2021 novel. The Fanbase: Horror fans who enjoy tongue-in-cheek references to the genre. Everything We Know So Far: Charlize Theron and It’s Barbara and Andy Muschietti are developing the book as a TV series. According to Deadline, it focuses on a “Los Angeles–based therapeutic support group for six ‘final girls’— survivors of mass-murderer rampages whose experiences inspired the slasher franchises that saturated horror cinema in the 1980s and ’90s, earning them minor celebrity.” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It certainly has the right pedigree taking a stab at it. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) The Firekeeper’s Daughter Network: Netflix Based On: Angeline Boulley’s 2021 novel. The Fanbase: Anyone interested in a teen-age (reluctant) super sleuth who takes down authority and who also happens to draw upon her knowledge of chemistry and the Ojibwe traditional medicine to crack the case. What We Know So Far: Barack and Michelle Obama optioned the novel for a TV adaptation before its debut as part of their Netflix-based production company, Higher Ground. The press release notes that “Mickey Fisher (Reverie, Extant) will serve as showrunner, and will co-write with Wenonah Wilms (Horsehead Girls) who will also serve as an executive producer” and that “like author Boulley, Wilms is from the Ojibwe tribe (Sault Ste. Marie and Red Cliff bands, respectively) and will bring her lived experiences to this series.” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Hoping it will be more like Veronica Mars than Nancy Drew. Fledgling Network: HBO Based On: Octavia Butler’s 2005 sci-fi novel. The Fanbase: Butler’s fanbase is a devout one (see other titles on this list). But this project also comes with big-named executive producers like Issa Rae and J.J. Abrams attached. Oh, and this story is about vampires — a genre that just won’t die. Everything We Know So Far: Deadline reported in 2021 that Sonya Winton-Odamtten and Jonathan I. Kidd had a pilot script deal with HBO for an adaptation of the book, with both Rae and Abrams serving as EPs. The story follows a young amnesiac who realizes she’s actually a genetically modified, middle-aged vampire. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Abrams was an executive producer on Lovecraft Country for HBO, which employed both Kidd and Winton-Odamtten and was a hit even if its run was cut short. Rae has also had tremendous success at HBO. This, plus the sci-fi vampire angle could make it a huge draw. (Photo by ) Forever Network: Netflix Based On: Judy Blume’s 1975 novel. The Fanbase: Blume’s books notoriously have a knack for explaining puberty to those who don’t want to suffer the embarrassment of talking with their parents. Forever was different. It’s about older teens and has frank discussions about sex and intimacy. It’s been banned by schools and libraries, which only makes it more enticing to readers. Everything We Know So Far: Mara Brock Akil (Black Lightning; Girlfriends) is offering a reimagining for a new audience; one that Netflix PR said will offer “an epic love story of two Black teens exploring romance and their identities through the awkward journey of being each other’s firsts.” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Netflix has shepherded in great adaptations of beloved YA books (The Baby-Sitters Club; Shadow & Bone). It's also been great at canceling them (again, The Baby-Sitters Club). Friends Like These Network: TBD Based On: Kimberly McCreight’s 2021 literary thriller The Fanbase: Those enjoy the “people locked in a house” trope — especially if those people have lots of dirty secrets about one another. Everything We Know So Far: Amblin TV is developing the series with McCreight. According to Deadline, the plot follows “five friends who gather at a picture perfect country house in the Catskills for a co-ed bachelor weekend.” Except these friends are also bound together by the mysterious death of another member of their circle and they’re also there to stage an intervention for one friend’s opioid addiction. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: This is one of many series that could be part of the trend of bottle TV series (i.e. shows filmed in one location due to COVID and/or costs). It could be a fascinating hit like the film Knives Out. But it’s hard to say how campy and fun a show could be if it’s also discussion serious topics like opioid addiction. Gang Leader for a Day Network: AMC Based On: Sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh’s memoir of the same name. The Fanbase: People interested in what it means to be Black and poor in notoriously racially-divided Chicago. What We Know So Far: Venkatesh’s bestseller chronicles what happened when he, a wide-eyed sociology student, planned to interview members of the nation’s largest public housing project. A gang leader told him that, if he really wants answers, he needs to experience it first-hand. AMC announced in 2017 that it was developing the project with Hand of God’s Ben Watkins writing and serving as an executive producer with others like actor-producer Ed Burns. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Too early to tell. (Photo by WireImage) A Gentleman in Moscow Network: Showtime Based On: Amor Towles’ 2016 novel The Fanbase: It’s a political drama with a commentary on changing times from the point of view of a man who has nothing to do but spend his life as a Boo Radley stuck inside a hotel. Everything We Know So Far: Per Showtime, Ewan McGregor will star as “Count Alexander Rostov who, in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, finds that his gilded past places him on the wrong side of history. Spared immediate execution, he is banished by a Soviet tribunal to an attic room in the opulent Hotel Metropol, threatened with death if he ever sets foot outside again. As the years pass and some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history unfold outside the hotel’s doors, Rostov’s reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery. As he builds a new life within the walls of the hotel, he discovers the true value of friendship, family and love.” Surface and I May Destroy You director Sam Miller is directing the series with Ben Vanstone (All Creatures Great and Small, The Last Kingdom) serving as showrunner and executive producer. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: TK Girl Waits with Gun Network: Prime Video Based On: Amy Stewart’s 2015 novel. The Fanbase: Fans of The Alienist, Miss Scarlet and the Duke, Enola Holmes, Godless, and similar historical fiction featuring fearless, crime-fighting women. What We Know So Far: The book is inspired by Constance Kopp, one of the United States’ first female deputy sheriffs — a title she earned in 1914. If that premise isn’t enticing enough, Deadline reported in 2018 that it will be written by Veep’s Jennifer Crittenden and Gabrielle Allan and produced by Elizabeth Banks and her husband, Max Handelman, who were producers on the Pitch Perfect films and Hulu series Shrill. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: We’ll have to wait and see if it comes in dead or alive, but stories of early gun-toting female law enforcement types seem to be a hit with critics and earn Fresh Tomatometer scores. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Network: Prime Video Based On: Stieg Larsson’s Millenium book series. The Fanbase: Variety reported in 2020 that this series would concentrate on hacker-with-anger-issues, Lisbeth Salander (sorry to fans of the books’ other protagonist, Mikael Blomkvist). What We Know So Far: No writer or cast has been announced, but attached producers include Rob Bullock (The Night Manager) and Andy Harries (The Crown). Variety also noted that this “will not be a sequel or continuation of the story from the books or the films into which they were adapted. It will instead take Salander and place her in today’s world with a wholly new setting, new characters, and a new story.” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Two of the five films based on the series earned Certified Fresh badges, one was Fresh, and two were Rotten. It’s hard to say without actors, writers, or directors attached, but if we trust in trust in the producers’ previous work and Amazon Studios productions based on books like Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Alex Rider, and The Boys, it looks promising. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP via Getty Images) The Girls on the Bus Network: Netflix Based On: A chapter of Amy Chozick’s 2018 book, Chasing Hillary: Ten Years, Two Presidential Campaigns and One Intact Glass Ceiling. The Fanbase: People interested in the unglamorous world of political reporters who spend years on the campaign trail — and the sometimes unlikely allies they make along the way. What We Know So Far: Julie Plec (The Vampire Diaries) and Arrowverse creator Greg Berlanti (both pictured) are executive producing the series with Plec writing along with Chozick. With a title meant to subvert Timothy Crouse’s 1973 book The Boys on the Bus, this story will concentrate on four female reporters. Do note, however: Deadline reported in 2019 that the series will feature fictional candidates. The cast includes Carla Gugino, Melissa Benoist, Natasha Behnam and Christina Elmore. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Could it end up like HBO’s The Newsroom? Or Amazon’s Good Girls Revolt, which fared better, but was (infamously) canceled anyway. Or maybe, with the right cast, it will soar like feature film A Private War, which starred Rosamund Pike as a war correspondent. Plec and Berlanti both have fairly good Tomatometer track records, though this series most likely has no vampires or superheroes. Glowing Up Network: Prime Video Based On: Anne Camlin’s graphic novel, Mismatched (which, in itself, is based on Jane Austen’s Emma). The Fanbase: Not to be confused with the movie Clueless, this modernist retelling of Emma is a queer-friendly half-hour adult animation musical. Most Austen fans would probably be down for this interpretation. Everything We Know So Far: According to Deadline, the story focuses on “Evan Horowitz, an out and proud Latino/Jew amateur matchmaker and wannabe makeup influencer. Evan is an old-school romantic who dedicates himself to getting true love to trend at his high school in Queens — through singing, dancing, and contoured cheekbones.” Gloria Calderón Kellett executive produces through her overall deal with Amazon along with Will Graham and writer-executive producers are Debby Wolfe and Marcos Luevanos. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It could have the appeal of Hulu’s warm teen dramedy, Love, Victor, and teen-set musical movies and plays like Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. Great Circle Network: TBD Based On: Maggie Shipstead’s 2021 novel. The Fanbase: Those fascinated with alternate timelines as well as early 20th Century news stories like aviation, Prohibition and war. Everything We Know So Far: Deadline reported in 2021 that Erik Feig’s Picturestart had optioned the novel, which takes place over two timelines and follows “Marian … an Amelia Earhart-like female pilot whose audacious dream is to circumnavigate the globe north-south over the poles and whose storyline spans from the 1930s to the 1950s” and “Hadley … a present-day disgraced actress offered to play Marian in a biopic to revitalize her career.” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: The book has a huge — and growing –fanbase of literati, which means that this could be the dinner party show for the prestige TV set. Green Lantern Network: HBO Max Based On: The DC Comics character The Fanbase: Shocking no one, the 10-episode series counts Greg Berlanti as a co-writer and executive producer. But the streaming service option means that things can get more creative than they might have been able to on broadcast TV. Everything We Know So Far: According to Variety, Finn Wittrock stars as Guy Gardner, “a hulking mass of masculinity” and “embodiment of 1980s hyper-patriotism.” But, you know, likable. The article also reports that the “story spans decades and galaxies, beginning on Earth in 1941 with the very first Green Lantern, secretly gay FBI agent Alan Scott, and 1984, with cocky alpha male Gardner and half-alien Bree Jarta. They’ll be joined by a multitude of other Lanterns — from comic book favorites to never-before-seen heroes.” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: The mere fact that this show survived the Warner Bro. Discovery blood-letting (er, merger) had to be a good sign. Right? But then shworunner Seth Grahame-Smith left the project. Greyboy Network: TBD Based On: Cole Brown’s 2020 book, Greyboy: Finding Blackness in a White World The Fanbase: Those who understand the struggles and stereotypes that face mixed-raced people. According to Deadline, “through a series of personal anecdotes and interviews with his peers, [Brown] transports us to his adolescence and explores what it’s like to be young and in search of identity. He digs into the places where, in youth, a greyboy’s difference is most acutely felt: parenting, police brutality, depression, and dating, to name a few.” Everything We Know So Far: Grown-ish star Yara Shahidi and her mother/business partner, Keri Shahidi, are developing the book as part of their deal with ABC Signature. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It will be interesting to see how this show compares to what has already been covered in Grown-ish as well its sister shows Black-ish and Mixed-ish. The Gryphon Network: Prime Video Based On: Wolfgang Hohlbein’s 2000 novel. The Fanbase: German author Hohlbein brings with him a huge audience already. But fans of Stephen King’s work will also appreciate it … What We Know So Far: … Because, according to a 2021 Variety article, the plot revolves around three outsiders who deal with a monster. Showrunners Erol Yesilkaya and Sebastian Marka are turning the book into six, 45-minute episodes. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Too early to tell. But executive producers Quirin Berg and Max Wiedemann were producers on 2007 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar winner The Lives of Others, and the series is being made by W&B Television — which produced three-Certifed Fresh-seasons sci-fi hit Dark for Netflix — in cooperation with DogHaus Film for Amazon Studios. (Photo by Warner Bros./Everett Collection) Harry Potter Network: HBO Max Based On: J.K. Rowling’s book series. The Fanbase: Fans of the beloved books and movies (although there still may be some backlash to Rowling from members of the trans community regarding prior comments). What We Know So Far: The Hollywood Reporter broke the news in early 2021 that a live-action TV series based on the Harry Potter series was in extremely early talks and that no writer or cast had been set. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said in 2022 that he planned to make more Potter-themed content for the streaming service. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Every property in the filmed Harry Potter universe, save the most recent, has been Certified Fresh. Protego! Havenfall Network: Prime Video Based On: Sara Holland’s 2020 novel. The Fanbase: Those who enjoy stories of teens who discover they have access to hidden powers or other dimensions, such as Freeform’s Shadowhunters or HBO’s His Dark Materials. What We Know So Far: Deadline reported in 2020 that Amazon was developing the series with Divergent writer Evan Daugherty. The story follows a teenager who discovers the Colorado hotel she’s staying in for the summer has portals to other realms. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It’s too early to tell. But with the right star-powered casting … The Henna Artist Network: Netflix Based On: Alka Joshi’s 2020 novel The Fanbase: Bridgerton buffs who’d also be interested in period pieces that are not set in England. Everything We Know So Far: Freida Pinto stars as Lakshmi, the most in-demand henna artist of 1950s Jaipur. She’s got all the tea on the city’s wealthiest women but she also has some secrets of her own. According to Deadline, Sri Rao is producing the project through his Sri & Company, which has a mission “to tell stories that center on South Asian characters and artists, with a particular focus on women and the LGBT community.” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Period-centric soap fans will want to have the details of this story tattooed all over them. Highfire Network: Paramount+ Based On: Eoin Colfer’s 2020 novel. The Fanbase: Entertainment Weekly described it as “Pete’s Dragon, but, like, an adult thriller version of that.” What We Know So Far: The animated fantasy series from Artemis Fowl’s Colfer was in early development at Prime Video as of 2020, but it reportedly moved to Paramount+ in 2022. Nicolas Cage voices a dragon with interesting tastes in pop culture and a love of vodka. He used to be great, but now lives in a shack in the Louisiana swamp. It’s there that he strikes up a friendship with a young boy from a local moonshine mob. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Hopefully for Cage and his fans, this adaptation will fare better than Artemis Fowl. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Photo by Touchstone/courtesy Everett Collection) Network: Hulu Based On: Douglas Adams’ radio series and reading material. The Fanbase: The cult around this sci-fi story is strong. What We Know So Far: Deadline broke the news in 2019 that Carlton Cuse and Jason Fuchs were adapting the series about Arthur Dent, a Brit and the last surviving human after aliens destroy Earth. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Good, although it would be fitting if it got a Tomatometer score of 42. HOOPS Network: TBD Based On: Kennedy Ryan’s book series. The Fanbase: Set in the world of the NBA, this romance series about three different couples with connections to the sport could bring in fans of series like BET’s The Game. What We Know So Far: News of the rights aquisition only recently hit, with The Traveling Picture Show Company producing the limited series. No development team has been announced yet. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It could be a slam-dunk for romance fans, but it’s still early in the game. If You Were Only White: The Life of Leroy ‘Satchel’ Paige Network: Apple TV+ Based On: Donald Spivey’s 2012 biography The Fanbase: It’s a story not just about the famed baseball player who didn’t get enough mainstream credit, but also about the Negro League Baseball and inherent racism in the sport. This means it could attract history buffs, sports fans and anyone else who wants to learn something. Everything We Know So Far: Variety reports that Apple has acquired the rights to the book and that Earvin “Magic” Johnson is producing. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: When done right (i.e. without relying on tropes like white saviors), projects like this can do very well. The film 42, which is about Jackie Robinson, is Certified Fresh. The Inheritance Games Network: Prime Video Based On: Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ 2020 novel. The Fanbase: Secret passages, puzzles, a surprise fortune and a squabbling rich family? Think: the movies Knives Out and Clue or Peacock’s adaptation of Karen M. McManus’ One of Us Is Lying. What We Know So Far: Deadline broke the news in 2020 that the book had been optioned ahead of its release and that Notorious co-creator Josh Berman was executive producing. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: May the series be the surprise windfall that we all deserve. The Inheritance Trilogy Network: TBD Based On: N.K. Jemisin’s popular sci-fi book series. The Fanbase: Those who enjoy stories of gods battling mortals and the fight to save humanity from a corrupt family that dominates it all. What We Know So Far: Deadline reported in 2021 that Searchlight TV had optioned the series and that Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook Studios would also be producing with the aim of turning the source material into an “epic, live-action ongoing fantasy series.” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Think: HBO’s Game of Thrones meets Starz’s American Gods — between them lies a Certified Fresh score. The Institute Network: TBD Based On: Stephen King’s 2019 novel. The Fanbase: It might sound like an ouroboros given how often this show pays homage to King, but fans of Netflix’s Stranger Things. What We Know So Far: In 2019, writer David E. Kelley and director Jack Bender, who have already worked together on an adaptation of King’s Bill Hodges Trilogy to make Mr. Mercedes, announced plans to adapt the book as a limited series. It follows a boy with special powers who is kidnapped and sent to live in an institute where a staff perform various experiments on him and other students. He escapes and a small-town sheriff is on the case. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Mr. Mercedes has one Certified Fresh season and an overall 91% score. How special are these powers? Interior Chinatown Network: Hulu Based On: Charles Yu’s National Book Award–winning novel. The Fanbase: It’s a story of assimilation, typecasting, and career versus family — one or all which are relatable to most everyone. What We Know So Far: Variety broke the news in 2020 that Hulu was developing a series based on the novel with Yu, who has written for shows like HBO’s Westworld and Facebook Watch’s Sorry For Your Loss. It got a series order in October 2022 with Jimmy O. Yang set to star and Taika Waititi to direct the pilot. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Part of the creativeness of the book is that it’s written like a film script. Half the work is already done! Now it’s just a matter of casting. Joyland Network: Freeform Based On: Stephen King’s 2013 novel. The Fanbase: Given the network, expect PG-13 spooks like Apple TV+’s Home Before Dark. What We Know So Far: Deadline reported in 2018 that Chris Peña (Jane the Virgin) and Cyrus Nowrasteh (The Stoning of Soraya M.) were writing the pilot and that the plot centers on “a college student who takes a summer job at an amusement park in a North Carolina tourist town, confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child and the way both will change his life forever.” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It could bring in the YA crowd à la the network’s smash, Pretty Little Liars. Kay Scarpetta Network: TBD Based On: Patricia Cornwell’s character from her crime book series. The Fanbase: Those who enjoy the best-selling franchise as well as crime buffs and people who enjoy lady crime-solvers like TNT’s Rizzoli & Isles or NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Everything We Know So Far: Jamie Lee Curtis, who is a friend of the author, is working with Blumhouse TV to develop a one-hour series based on the books that follow a a forensic pathologist who — as Variety points — has been at the “center of 24 crime thrillers.” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: This is one of a handful of projects about female detectives that are in the works. It could easily make a killing with the same demographic who came for Rizzoli & Isles. Kinsey Millhone Book Series Network: TBD Based On: Sue Grafton’s murder series, also known as the Alphabet series. The Fanbase: Grafton, who died in 2017, was a best-selling novelist and her fans will want to find a way to stay connected with her. Everything We Know So Far: Deadline reported in 2021 that A+E Studios had landed the rights to adapt the books, which focus on dogged private investigator Kinsey Millhone. Each book was known for starting with a letter from the alphabet, with “Y” is for Yesterday being the final installment. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: H is for hit? Lady in the Lake Network: Apple TV+ Based On: Laura Lippman’s 2019 novel The Fanbase: True-crime fanatics who enjoy period dramas and vigilante heroines. What We Know So Far: Set in 1960s Baltimore, Natalie Portman plays Maddie Schwartz, a housewife and mother who becomes an investigative journalist after a murder goes unsolved. Her actions put her in contact with Lupita Nyong’o’s Cleo Sherwood, a hard-working mother who is also trying to advance Baltimore’s Black progressive agenda. Honey Boy’s Alma Har’el is directing and co-wrote the limited series. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Pretty good. It has the star power to be Apple TV+’s answer to Hulu’s Certified Fresh limited series Little Fires Everywhere. The Last Thing He Told Me Network: Apple TV+ Based On: Laura Dave’s 2021 suspense novel. The Fanbase: Jennifer Garner fans who miss Alias. What We Know So Far: Jennifer Garner will star, replacing Julia Roberts, in this limited series about a woman whose husband unexpectedly vanishes. Other cast members include Angourie Rice, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Aisha Tyler. Dave is co-creating the series with Spotlight writer Josh Singer. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It has a thriller element that could make the Twitterverse — and critics — very happy. The Lost Apothecary Network: Fox Based On: Sarah Penner’s 2021 historical novel. The Fanbase: Those who enjoy a period drama with a feminist bent. Everything We Know So Far: Deadline reported in 2021 that Fox is adapting the book, which “is centered around a secret apothecary shop that caters to an unusual kind of clientele. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well-disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives. But the apothecary’s fate is jeopardized when her newest patron, a precocious twelve-year-old, makes a fatal mistake, sparking a string of consequences that echo through the centuries.” Deadline also reported that the hunt was on for a writer and executive producer. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It could end up like HBO’s The Nevers, which got mixed reviews, or Showtime’s Penny Dreadful, which got a better reception. But it’s hard to know how much edge a show like this could have on broadcast TV. The Maidens Network: TBD Based On: Alex Michaelides’ 2021 novel. The Fanbase: It’s a Cambridge-set whodunnit that could appeal to Anglophiles and mystery lovers. Everything We Know So Far: Deadline reported in 2021 that Miramax Television and Scott Steindorff and Dylan Russell’s Stone Village were adapting the book, which follows “a brilliant, but troubled, therapist [who] travels to Cambridge to comfort her” niece after the girl’s best friend is murdered. But, the article continues, the therapist’s “alma mater has changed, and a cult like group of students led by a new professor has overtaken the culture.” British writer Morwenna Banks is adapting the book. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: The deal was done ever before the book came out, so it will depend a lot on how much buzz the source material can build before the adaptation airs. Malibu Rising Network: Hulu Based On: Taylor Jenkins Reid’s 2021 novel, her follow-up to her best-selling novel Daisy Jones & the Six (which is also being adapted). The Fanbase: The books have a devoted following already and Amazon’s adaptation of Daisy Jones is already highly adaptation. Everything We Know So Far: The Hollywood Reporter broke the news in 2021 that Little Fires Everywhere’s Liz Tigelaar would be adapting the book, which is set in 1983 and follows the four children of famed rocker Mick Riva as they throw their annual end-of-summer party and begin to confront family secrets. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Tigelaar already had success adapting LFE, which is also a period project about a family of four children. A Man in Full Network: Netflix Based On: Tom Wolfe’s 1998 novel. The Fanbase: Those who enjoy the writings of the man in white who don’t know if that Bonfires of the Vanities TV adaptation will ever see the light of day (see above). Everything We Know So Far: The Hollywood Reporter wrote in 2021 that Regina King and David E. Kelley were working on a six-episode adaptation of Wolfe’s second novel. He’ll write and serve as showrunner and she’ll direct the first three episodes. The limited series follows an Atlanta real estate mogul facing sudden bankruptcy. According to THR, “political and business interests collide when he defends his empire from those trying to capitalize on his fall from grace.” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Kelley has called this adaptation “a passion project for me” and King clearly has had success in front of, and behind, the camera. But given the amount of projects Kelley has in the works (gestures at this list), can he have time to do Wolfe’s story justice? Milk Fed Network: TBD Based On: Melissa Broder’s 2021 novel. The Fanbase: Those who enjoy their meet-cutes with a touch of irony. What We Know So Far: Deadline reported in 2020 that Little Fires Everywhere’s Liz Tigelaar had bought the rights to the book and would write the series. According to the article, the plot is about a “love affair between an ambivalently Jewish woman with an eating disorder and the zaftig Orthodox woman who works at her local LA frozen yogurt shop.” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Rom-com enthusiasts could lap this up. Monster of Florence Network: TBD Based On: Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi’s sensational best-selling crime book, The Monster Of Florence: A True Story. The Fanbase: True-crime obsessives who also happen to be interested in governmental surveillance. Everything We Know So Far: Variety reports that Antonio Banderas will star in the six-part limited series that is being produced by Studiocanal. The article says the story follows what happens when “the investigators become the subject of investigation by the Italian police.” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It will depend on the network and marketing campaign, but this one could see a scary high Tomatometer score. Mouthful of Birds Network: Prime Video Based On: Samanta Schweblin’s Spanish-language short story collection, which was published in 2008 and translated into English in 2019 by Megan McDowell. The Fanbase: Horror, traumatic childhood, violence, madness — if it leans into the absurd, it could be a good fit for fans of Noah Hawley’s Legion or maybe Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth. But if drama is more the focus, it might be better suited to fans of Haven or Castle Rock. What We Know So Far: Hala writer-director Minhal Baig is adapting the horror drama, which Deadline describes as one that “circles madness, trauma, and violence in a darkly absurd, profoundly eerie, and ultimately human way, as our protagonist attempts to come to terms with a traumatic event from her childhood that she cannot remember.” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Done right, it could easily be a buzzed-about show of the moment. My Lady Jane Network: Prime Video Based On: one of the three books in coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows’ YA series. The Fanbase: It’s YA meets historical fiction, which means it’s cat-nip for fans of Reign or Becoming Elizabeth (even if some of those viewers watched “ironically”). Everything We Know So Far: Emily Bader (Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin) stars as Jane Grey, the British monarch who only ruled for nine days and was subsequently beheaded. But this fantastical, comedic drama gives the teen monarch another ending, one where — according to the logline — “true love is real, people are not always what they seem and even doomed heroines can save themselves.” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Rosaline, a similarly toned alternate history story of the other woman in the Romeo and Juliet story, has a positive Tomatometer score since its 2022 release on Hulu. Shouldn’t Jane Grey deserve the same respect? My Life With the Walter Boys Network: Netflix Based On: Ali Novak’s 2014 coming-of-age story. The Fanbase: The young-adult novel follows an orphaned, teen-aged New Yorker who finds herself suddenly living in rural Colorado with a new guardian and a dozen rowdy kids. It could relate to anyone who always felt they were the Stacy of their Baby-Sitters Club group. Everything We Know So Far: Variety reports that Melanie Halsall will adapt the book and serve as showrunner and that “the streamer has given the drama series a 10-episode order, with episodes set to be approximately 50 minutes each.” Nikki Rodriguez and Sarah Rafferty star. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Netflix’s track record with YA has been hit-or-miss. For every BSC or Never Have I Ever, there’s been a Grand Army … Never Let Me Go Network: Hulu Based On: Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2005 sci-fi story of star-crossed lovers. The Fanbase: A film adaptation of the book was released in 2010, causing many an audience member to shed tears over Andrew Garfield’s Tommy and Carey Mulligan’s Kathy — friends from a boarding school who, along with Keira Knightley’s Ruth, are actually clones being raised for organ harvesting. Everything We Know So Far: Per the press release, this one-hour drama is “inspired” by the book and isn’t a direct adaptation. Viola Prettejohn plays Thora, a rebellious teen clone who escapes from the boarding school. As she starts living undercover in the outside world, she unwittingly sets in motion events that will spark a revolution and test the boundaries of what it means to be human. Tracey Ullman, Kelly Macdonald, Aiysha Hart, Spike Fearn, Shaniqua Okwok, Gary Beadle, Kwami Odoom, Susan Brown, Keira Chanse and Edward Holcroft also star. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It’s unclear if this version will pull in the YA-tinged romance of the source material, a factor that contributed to the book and movie’s success. But it could also be a series that audiences will never want to let go. NIMH Network: Fox Based On: Robert C. O’Brien’s Rats of NIMH book series. The Fanbase: Those who grew up with the children’s book series as well as devotees to Fox’s already strong animated slate. Everything We Know So Far: Deadline reported in 2021 that Fox had given a script commitment to the animated drama and was searching for a writer. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Who doesn’t want to see a story about a mouse who takes her family on a crazy journey that includes discovering a colony of escaped super-intelligent lab rats? (OK, maybe cats won’t like it). Ninth House Network: Prime Video Based On: Shadow and Bone young-adult author Leigh Bardugo’s 2019 novel. The Fanbase: Ninth House was Bardugo’s first in the adult space. But she already has a loyal fanbase. What We Know So Far: Deadline announced the news of the deal in 2019 and explains that it is “set at an alternate Yale, Bardugo’s real-life alma mater, where the secret societies guard dangerous, magical secrets, and ghosts haunt the campus.” Bardugo will executive produce the series with her frequent collaborator Pouya Shahbazian (the Divergent film series), who is head of film and TV at New Leaf. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Netflix’s Shadow and Bone adaptation was well received, and Shahbazian most recently produced Certified Fresh films Love, Simon and American Honey. In any case, it’d be nice to confirm many assumptions about what Ivy League colleges’ secret societies are really about. Olga Dies Dreaming Network: Hulu Based On: Xochitl Gonzalez’s novel. The Fanbase: It’s about siblings in a gentrifying neighborhood who have issues with their politically absent and distant mother. So, anyone who has ever had an awkward night at the dinner table. Everything We Know So Far: Deadline reports that Hulu has ordered a pilot based on the book, which Gonzalez is writing and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’s Alfonso Gomez-Rejon is directing. Wanda De Jesús and Jesse Williams star. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Feuding families are always interesting to watch, but this one sounds like it could bring in those who enjoyed the conflicts in series like Starz’s Vida. One Day Network: Netflix Based On: David Nicholls’ 2009 romantic drama. The Fanbase: Those who can’t quit their first loves (and who also haven’t seen — of who want a redo of — the 2011 cinematic adaptation of the book starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess). Everything We Know So Far: Per Deadline: This is Going to Hurt’s Ambika Mod stars with The White Lotus season two actor Leo Woodall as Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew. Each chapter of the book (and presumably each episode?) checks in with the couple on July 15, starting with that date in 1988. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Maybe one day serialized dramas can make this kind of idea work. But the failure of similar series like HBO’s The Time Traveler’s Wife as well as the flop of the first film suggest some retooling is in order. One Piece Network: Netflix Based On: Eiichiro Oda’s popular manga series. The Fanbase: Those already devoted to the extensive and elaborate world of the long-running series plus those new to the franchise who are interested in a story of a kid made of rubber who hires a band of pirates known as the Straw Hat Pirates to find a mythical treasure. Everything We Know So Far: The international cast of this live-action series includes Iñaki Godoy, Mackenyu, Emily Rudd, Jacob Romero Gibson, and Taz Skylar. Steven Maeda serves as showrunner and executive producer and Matt Owens serves as writer and executive producer. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: This expensive and elaborate production is one long in the making. It’s also being made for a very niche audience. Here’s hoping that Netflix finds the treasure for which it’s so clearly looking. Oona Out of Order Network: Prime Video Based On: Margarita Montimore’s 2020 novel. The Fanbase: People who are still talking about Sliding Doors or who question whether they’re doing life right. What We Know So Far: Deadline broke the news of the adaptation in 2021, describing the premise as “as a sophisticated love story that chronicles a romance interrupted and a lifetime rearranged” and that “it revolves around Oona Lockhart, who at the strike of midnight on her nineteenth birthday wakes to find she is the surprise new inhabitant of her 55-year-old body.” The Expatriates’ Alice Bell is adapting. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Could be quirky enough to work. Percy Jackson and the Olympians Network: Disney+ Based On: Rick Riordan’s young-adult fantasy novels The Fanbase: Those who loved/love the books as well as anyone who has a connection to the huge cast of famous and funny people (Lin-Manuel Miranda as Greek god Hermes! Jay Duplass as Hades, the god of the Underworld! Megan Mullally as Percy’s strict math teacher/Hades servant, Mrs. Dodds!). Everything We Know So Far: Walker Scobell plays Percy Jackson, the son of the human Sally Jackson and the Greek god Poseidon. His adventures include modern-day run-ins with some of mythology’s most well-known gods and goddesses. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: A movie version of the Percy Jackson universe failed spectacularly. Fans will riot if this one isn’t better. Pineapple Street Network: TBD Based On: Alfred A. Knopf executive editor Jenny Jackson’s debut novel. The Fanbase: It’s a tale about generational wealth and privilege, which are hot topics right now anyway. But it should be noted that one of Jackson’s writers at her day job is Crazy Rich Asians’ Kevin Kwan. Everything We Know So Far: Deadline reported in 2021 that Picturestart had acquired the rights to the book. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Topics like this can be seen in high-brow programming like Succession to teen dramas like the new version of Gossip Girl. It could easily draw in a fascinated audience who want to enjoy hate-watching the rich. The Players Table Network: HBO Max Based On: Jessica Goodman’s 2020 novel, They Wish They Were Us. The Fanbase: Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars fans, but also those who like actress Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria) and/or musician Halsey. What We Know So Far: Deadline reported in 2021 that HBO Max was developing the series. It would star the women (the latter in her TV acting debut) as characters from an affluent Long Island community who are attempting to solve their friend’s murder — which means also questioning what happened to them. Sweeney said in 2022 that they were in the process of writing the scripts. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: The odds seem in its favor: Sweeney has appeared in a good bit of Fresh/Certified Fresh fare, and Annabelle Attanasio (writer-director of 100% Certified Fresh film Mickey and the Bear) is attached to write, direct, and executive produce the series. The Power Network: Prime Video Based On: Naomi Alderman’s 2016 sci-fi novel. The Fanbase: The women’s empowerment story you may not have been expecting. What We Know So Far: According to Elle magazine, the story “takes place in an era where women develop an electrical current within their bodies, aiding their rise to power across the globe.” Pre-pandemic, the show was set to star Leslie Mann and Rainn Wilson. New leads are Toni Collette and Josh Charles, according to Deadline. Raelle Tucker serves as showrunner and executive producer. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: People will like a story about women rising to power. But will they like that these characters have to adapt to do so? Red Rising Network: TBD Based On: Pierce Brown’s sci-fi novel series. The Fanbase: Reviews for the books include comparisons to Hunger Games and Ender’s Game, so people who’d like to see movies like that in TV series form. What We Know So Far: The project, reportedly, has had a lot of stops and starts. Brown told the Orlando Sentinel in 2019 that “I put together a pretty good team” and that “we’ve been developing it in private so that when we take it out, it fully reflects the vision.” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Pretty good if it can ever get made. The Reunion Network: TBD Based On: Guillaume Musso’s 2018 novel, La Jeune Fille et la Nuit. The Fanbase: Those who like their sexy whodunnits about not-so-well-kept secrets to be filmed in the south of France. Everything We Know So Far: Variety reported in 2021 that Ioan Gruffudd, Ivanna Sakhno, and Grégory Fitoussi are among the stars in the English-language series about three friends “bound by a tragic secret tied to the disappearance of a high school girl who went missing 25 years ago in the region” who reconnect at a high school reunion. Bill Eagles is directing for MGM International TV Productions. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It could be a grown-up I Know What You Did Last Summer — in either a good or a bad way. Revelations Network: The CW Based On: Stephen King’s short story, “The Revelations of ‘Becka Paulson.” The Fanbase: A jaded audience who appreciates the dark humor of series like The CW’s Reaper or TBS’s Miracle Workers. What We Know So Far: The CW confirmed it was developing the series in 2020, with Last Man Standing’s Maise Culver serving a writer. The story follows a wide-eyed young woman who accidentally shoots herself in the head with a nail gun, causing an over-it Jesus to force her to be the one to stop the apocalypse by showing why Earth is worth redeeming. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It could work as a snarky take on a procedural, similar to The CW’s iZombie, which has a 90% series score and a Certified Fresh first season. The Ring & The Crown Network: Disney+ Based On: Melissa de la Cruz’s YA novel The Fanbase: It’s about a princess. But not a stereotypical Disney princess. This one isn’t looking for love or escape; just power — and lots of it. It’s also set in the world of King Arthur and the princess’s best friend and coconspirator is the illegitimate daughter of the wizard Merlin. So there’s a lot happening there in regards to feminism, mythology and teen angst. What We Know So Far: Aaron Harberts and Gretchen J. Berg are adapting the book, which Deadline reports is in series development. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It’s tough. Netflix couldn’t work much magic with Cursed, which lasted for a season and dealt with the Merlin of it all. But people are very much talking about HBO’s House of the Dragon, which also starts out as being about a teen-ager, her rise to power, issues with her father, and her relationship with a friend who is an interloper. Ringworld Network: Prime Video Based On: Larry Niven’s sci-fi series. The Fanbase: Devotees of these books have seen many attempted adaptations explode. They want this one to work. What We Know So Far: Prolific writer-director-producer Akiva Goldsman is working on the series, telling Collider in 2020 that Game of Thrones’ Alan Taylor would direct the pilot. Set in the future, the story focuses on Louis Gridley Wu — a bored genius who joins a young woman and a couple of aliens on an adventure to explore, and uncover, the mysterious of an area beyond their world. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It had better be (see “the fanbase” above). The Roald Dahl Story Co. Network: Netflix Based On: The children’s book author’s collection of works The Fanbase: Those who grew up with Dahl’s works like James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory who can also ignore his problematic legacy. Everything We Know So Far: In 2021, Netflix acquired The Roald Dahl Story Co., which manages the late British novelist’s catalogue of work. How this materializes on screen is yet to be seen. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Did Netflix win the golden ticket or will it end up drowning itself in a chocolate river? It’s still too early to tell. Sag Harbor Network: HBO Max Based On: Colson Whitehead’s 2009 novel. The Fanbase: Fans of Whitehead’s work, as well as others interested in depictions of race and class divides in wealthy suburban America. Everything We Know So Far: Set in 1985, the series is told from the perspective of a Black teen who is spending his summer away from his Manhattan prep school and in an enclave of the Hamptons that’s populated by affluent Black families. Deadline reported in 2021 that Laurence Fishburne and producing partner Helen Sugland were executive producing and that Daniel “Koa” Beaty is writing the pilot. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Fox’s Our Kind of People has a similar setting and comparisons will be drawn, but others might look to the long-running ABC comedy Black-ish (on which Fisburne appears and where he and Sugland serve as executive producers). Separation Anxiety Network: TBD Based On: Laura Zigman’s 2020 novel. The Fanbase: The short answer could easily be “moms.” But there’s also something there for dog lovers, people going through a mid-life crisis or who are simply anxious (so, everyone). Everything We Know So Far: Deadline reported in 2021 that Mare of Easttown‘s Julianne Nicholson will executive produce and star in the series about a middle-aged woman going through marriage trouble and empty nest syndrome who decides to wear her dog in a baby sling. Gillian Robespierre and Mathilde Dratwa were brought on as writers and executive producers in 2022. Studio Wiip is developing, but no network or streamer has been announced. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: The book is awkward and darkly funny, but also can be very sad. It could bring in people who enjoyed similarly unique works like Showtime’s Work in Progress or Netflix’s Lady Dynamite. Seven Days in June Network: TBD Based On: Tia Williams’ 2021 romance novel. The Fanbase: Romance lovers, especially those who enjoy steamy sex scenes more than meet-cutes. Everything We Know So Far: Variety reported in 2021 that Will Packer’s production company partnered with Red Arrow Studios’ Kinetic Content to secure the film and television rights to the story about a successful erotica author and single mother who learns her former flame has returned to town. Packer is quoted in the article as saying “the sexiness, the intensity, the unashamed Blackness makes this an ideal project for us at Team Packer. Tia is so incredibly talented and Kinetic Content are such perfect partners, this is the right project for the right team at the right time!” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: The story of mixed connections and honest portrayals of love scenes could bring in audiences who were drawn to Hulu’s Normal People. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle Network: Netflix Based On: Stuart Turton’s 2018 novel. The Fanbase: A whodunnit that mixes Knives Out with a sort of Freaky Friday–like twist. What We Know So Far: Sophie Petzal is adapting the story of a murder mystery at a country estate that would be a lot easier to solve if you didn’t keep waking up in someone else’s body. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: The plot is intriguing, but will the streamer’s binge-watch release schedule ruin the surprise? Seven Wonders Network: Prime Video Based On: Ben Mezrich’s 2005 novel The Fanbase: There are definitely parallels to Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon books. Everything We Know So Far: According to Deadline, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu will executive produce and star as botanist Dr. Nate Grady who “teams up with the slippery international fixer Sloane Seydoux on a breathless race to solve an ancient mystery tied to the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.” Adam Cozad is writing the action-adventure series, which is still in development, and Justin Lin would direct. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: This is a streaming service that went to the extremes to give us a show about seven rings. So why not one about seven wonders too? Shelter Network: Prime Video Based On: The books in Harlan Coben’s young adult series. The Fanbase: Coben’s library of books are beloved (as evident by other entries on this list), but this story of an orphaned teen who discovers his new girlfriend — and late dad — may not be who he thought they were, could bring in a captive younger audience. Everything We Know So Far: Variety reported in 2021 that Amazon Studios was making a pilot based on the first book in Coben’s Mickey Bolitar book series. It was later reported that Colin in Black & White star Jaden Michael will lead this cast and the show got a series order in 2022. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: The show could find an audience akin to other programs that are ostensibly about young adults but also entice people old enough to vote and rent cars (see also: Shadowhunters, His Dark Materials). Slam! Network: HBO Max Based On: Pamela Ribon and Veronica Fish’s graphic novels The Fanbase: Those who enjoy female-centric adult animated series like Harley Quinn. What We Know So Far: Ribon is adapting the half-hour series that Deadline reports is “set in the fast-paced, hard-hitting, super-cheeky, all-female world of banked track roller derby, follows two young women who will have to decide if their budding friendship is stronger than the pull of a team when a win is on the line.” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Too early to tell how long this bout will go. (Photo by Scribner) Sleeping Beauties Network: AMC Based On: The 2017 novel co-written by Stephen and Owen King. The Fanbase: Exhausted women everywhere. What We Know So Far: While no casting news has been announced, the logline is an understandable one: “In a small Appalachian town, there’s a strange mystical occurrence that causes all the women to fall asleep, leaving the men to try and rescue them. But do the women want to be rescued?” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: TV adaptations of King’s projects have been hit or miss, and AMC also couldn’t get a strong audience for the adaptation of his other son, Joe Hill’s, NOS4A2. Read Also: “Every Upcoming Stephen King Movie and TV Adaptation” The Spook Who Sat by the Door (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for TIME) Network: FX Based On: Sam Greenlee’s 1969 novel. The Fanbase: Although this is a work of fiction, audiences who appreciate stories of government corruption and civil rights like BlackKklansman may relate. What We Know So Far: Deadline reported in 2021 that FX had ordered a pilot of the adaptation of this novel about the CIA’s first Black member with Lee Daniels (pictured) producing. In 2022, Deadline reported that the show was getting redeveloped. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Good, given the success of BlackKklansman and similar recent projects like Judas and the Black Messiah. A Spy Among Friends Network: MGM+ Based On: Ben Macintyre’s 2014 novel. The Fanbase: Spy seekers, especially those who want Cold War-era clearance. Everything We Know So Far: Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce star in the story written by Alexander Cary about two spies who were friends — one of whom was deceiving the other the whole time. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: The Americans and Homeland fans will definitely be running surveillance on this show. The Spy Who Came In from the Cold Network: AMC Based On: John le Carré’s 1963 novel. The Fanbase: AMC is hoping to draw an audience similar to those who came out for the Tom Hiddleston–Hugh Laurie adaptation of le Carre’s The Night Manager. What We Know So Far: The project was announced in 2017 with Oscar winner Simon Beaufoy set to write. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: Depends. Night Manager got a ton of buzz. The adaptation of le Carre’s The Little Drummer Girl got good reviews — and a 95% Certified Fresh Tomatometer score — but not as much attention. Also, a German-language adaptation of the late novelist’s A Most Wanted Man is in the works. If that is done first and finds a U.S. distributor … The Stationery Shop Network: HBO Based On: Marjan Kamali’s 2019 novel. The Fanbase: It’s a story of star-crossed lovers in 1950s Tehran who reconnect as adults, meaning it could bring in romance die-hards who still cry if they catch The Notebook while cruising through channels but also those who are politically savvy and care about historical cultural affairs. Everything We Know So Far: Insecure showrunner Prentice Penny and writer-actress Mozhan Marnò are working with author Kamali on the adaptation. Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It’s too early too tell. We’ll know more provided the project doesn’t stay, well, stationary. Stone Junction Network: TBD Based On: Jim Dodge’s 1998 novel. The Fanbase: Set in 1980s California with a sci-fi twist, it clearly draws influence from George Lucas’ work. Everything We Know So Far: Deadline reported in 2021 that Game of Thrones’ Alan Taylor was directing the pilot that “depicts the fantastical childhood and adolescence of Daniel Pearse and culminates with his battle for life against oblivion” that is also “a tall tale of rebellion, romance, revenge, and magic, woven into an American coming-of-age story.” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It really depends on the casting and the channel it’s on, but the same kind of audience that came out for the film adaptation of Ender’s Game could enjoy this. Strange Planet Network: Apple TV+ Based On: Nathan Pyle’s webcomic and graphic novels. The Fanbase: The animated series is based on a beloved comic and is co-created by Rick and Morty’s Dan Harmon. The fanbase is plenty there. Everything We Know So Far: The press release’s logline keeps it simple by stating that Strange Planet “tells profound and heartfelt stories about beings on a distant planet not unlike our own.” Chances It Will Be a Certified Fresh Hit: It may not be a huge windfall for Apple TV+, but it could definitely bring in the cult audience the already obsesses over other projects in its orbit like Rick and Morty. Surviving the White Gaze Network: TBD Based On: Rebecca Carroll’s 2021 memoir The Fanbase: Writer and cultural critic Carroll has cultivated a fanbase though these endeavors as well as through her Tweets and her p
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Andaloro and Kevin Jacobsen", "www.facebook.com" ]	2022-06-23T14:01:23-04:00	Whether it's enemies-to-lovers or complicated love triangles, you'll fall head over heels for our list of the best romantic comedies on Netflix.	en	/favicon.ico	EW.com	https://ew.com/movies/best-romantic-comedies-netflix/	01 of 20 Alex Strangelove (2018) A coming-of-age rom-com that sees a popular teen wrestle with his sexuality may sound like a familiar narrative, but Alex Strangelove adds its own spin. Alex Truelove (Daniel Doheny) lives in an especially progressive and supportive environment for a high school tale, nearly void of the common prejudices against queerness. Still, Alex doesn't know what — or who — he wants, and he has to learn about himself before he can know for sure. Many LGBTQ+ rom-coms tend to focus on protagonists that are working against societal biases, but Alex Strangelove offers a more joyful take on the queer experience. EW's critic praises the film's underlying theme beneath its (occasionally cringey) twist and turns, writing, "It's hard to fault the bigger message here: that we all deserve the right to be true to who we are, even if it takes a few hard turns — and some collateral emotional damage — to get there." —Angela Andaloro Where to watch Alex Strangelove: Netflix EW grade: B (read the review) Director: Craig Johnson Cast: Daniel Doheny, Antonio Marziale, Madeline Weinstein, Joanna Adler, William Ragsdale, Daniel Zolghadri 02 of 20 Along for the Ride (2022) Based on the novel by Sarah Dessen, night owl Auden (Emma Pasarow) displeases her type-A mom (Andie MacDowell) by going to stay with her absentee dad (Dermot Mulroney), his wife (Kate Bosworth), and their newborn over the summer before college. Now on a mission to taste all the teenage experiences she's missed out on, Auden soon makes her first real group of girlfriends and roams the beach town in the wee hours of the morning. Doing so brings her to meet another night-type, Eli (Belmont Cameli), who has a repressed past of his own. Sofia Alvarez is no stranger to teen rom-coms, given that she adapted To All the Boys I've Loved Before into the hit Netflix film franchise. Now, she's made her feature-length directorial debut with Along for the Ride, having collaborated with Dessen, queen of the beach read, on this quintessential summer romance film. "I have always really loved those nostalgic summertime movies that I grew up watching, and I think I immediately saw the potential for this movie to be one of those," Alvarez told EW. "I really wanted it to be the kind of summer movie where you smell the sunscreen through the screen...or it has a soundtrack that everyone is singing in their cars this summer when they're driving to the beach." Spoiler alert: This movie (and its soundtrack by Beach House) achieves all of that and more. —A.A. Where to watch Along for the Ride: Netflix Director: Sofia Alvarez Cast: Emma Pasarow, Belmont Cameli, Kate Bosworth, Dermot Mulroney, Andie MacDowell 03 of 20 Always Be My Maybe (2019) Who says you can't go home again? Ali Wong shines in this romantic comedy about childhood best friends who cross paths as adults after an awkward teenage romance ended badly. Fast forward 16 years, and life has taken celebrity chef Sasha Tran (Wong) and unsuccessful musician Marcus Kim (Randall Park) to some very different places. Much has changed, but their chemistry sure hasn't as the two come face-to-face with their many differences on the road to reconciliation. Costars Wong and Park are also co-writers for the film, and, given the hilarity of Wong's Netflix stand-up specials, it's no wonder Always Be My Maybe was an instant hit. The central lovebirds have a lot of healing to do from their complicated youths before they can live happily ever after, but the laughter makes it that much sweeter. Throw in a disastrous double date featuring Keanu Reeves playing, well, Keanu Reeves, and you've got yourself a chaotic love triangle unlike any you've seen before. EW's critic highlights the film's graceful lack of tokenism as well: "Always Be My Maybe … joins a burgeoning if still too small club of mainstream movies centered without any special pomp or circumstance on Asian American characters." Seriously, what's not to love? —A.A. Where to watch Always Be My Maybe: Netflix EW grade: B (read the review) Director: Nahnatchka Khan Cast: Ali Wong, Randall Park, James Saito, Michelle Buteau, Vivian Bang, Daniel Dae Kim, Keanu Reeves 04 of 20 Anyone but You (2023) Like the beloved '90s rom-coms that transplanted classic stories to modern-day high school, Anyone But You is a modern spin on Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. The charming flick centers on Bea (Sydney Sweeney) and Ben (Glen Powell), a pair of attractive singles whose first date ends poorly. Six months later, they're shocked and dismayed to be in each other's lives again at a destination wedding, and their bickering leads those in the wedding party to try getting them together. A sleeper box office hit, Anyone But You is an earnest throwback where most of the plot is predictable but you don't mind — largely because of its compelling leads. —Kevin Jacobsen Where to watch Anyone but You: Netflix Director: Will Gluck Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell, Alexandra Shipp, GaTa, Hadley Robinson, Michelle Hurd, Dermot Mulroney, Darren Barnet, Rachel Griffiths 05 of 20 Crazy Rich Asians (2018) Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, Crazy Rich Asians made history not only as the highest-grossing romantic comedy of the 2010s but also as the first major Hollywood film set in modern times to feature an all-Asian cast since 1993's The Joy Luck Club. Crazy Rich Asians follows Rachel Chu (Constance Wu), an NYU professor who travels with her dashing boyfriend Nick (Henry Golding) to Singapore for the wedding of Nick's best friend. Rachel soon realizes that Nick comes from an uber-rich family, and finds it difficult to live up to the high expectations of his mother, Eleanor (Michelle Yeoh). While the film has more than its fair share of rom-com tropes (class differences, sassy sidekick, makeover montage, etc.), it's hard to get mad when the ensemble cast is so strong and the visuals are to die for. As EW's critic describes, it's "two hours of romantic fantasy and real-estate porn poured on so thick it’s almost lickable." —K.J. Where to watch Crazy Rich Asians: Netflix EW grade: B (read the review) Director: Jon M. Chu Cast: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Gemma Chan, Lisa Lu, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong 06 of 20 Easy A (2010) Emma Stone achieved full star status with this 2010 teen comedy, which pays homage to The Scarlet Letter. She plays Olive, a California high schooler whose lie about losing her virginity spirals out of control and becomes a school-wide scandal as she comes to embrace her newfound status as a "promiscuous" person. While pretending to have sex with fellow students to boost their reputations, she also rekindles her relationship with Todd (Penn Badgley), her childhood crush who sees Olive for the real her, not people's assumptions of who she is. Stone earned huge raves for her performance, with EW's critic stating, "Stone has a speed and sparkle that may remind you of [Lindsay] Lohan in her Mean Girls prime." She received the MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance and earned her first Golden Globe nomination, while the film won the Critics Choice Award for Best Comedy Movie. —K.J. Where to watch Easy A: Netflix EW grade: B– (read the review) Director: Will Gluck Cast: Emma Stone, Penn Badgley, Amanda Bynes, Thomas Haden Church, Patricia Clarkson, Cam Gigandet, Lisa Kudrow, Malcolm McDowell, Stanley Tucci 07 of 20 The Half of It (2020) In a modern retelling of the classic French play Cyrano de Bergerac, Ellie (Leah Lewis) starts ghostwriting love letters for a jock, Paul (Daniel Diemer), in exchange for some much-needed cash. But as she continues to correspond with Paul's dream girl, Aster (Alexxis Lemire), Ellie finds they have a lot in common and wonders if she's actually her better half. Though the romantic tension between the unknowing Aster and the unfortunate Ellie pushes the film forward, the true heart of this story is the blossoming friendship between Ellie and Paul. He may not be able to write to save his life, but Paul speaks up where it counts, causing an intimate and (somewhat) overlapping love triangle between teens who are just trying to learn what life is all about. The characters' bond is rooted in Lewis and Diemer's genuine affection, too. "Daniel is like my brother now," Lewis told EW. "His belief in me as Daniel definitely translated onscreen where Ellie finds the courage to perform because of Paul's belief in [her]." —A.A. Where to watch The Half of It: Netflix EW grade: B (read the review) Director: Alice Wu Cast: Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer, Alexxis Lemire, Enrique Murciano, Wolfgang Novogratz, Catherine Curtin, Becky Ann Baker, Collin Chou 08 of 20 Hit Man (2024) Talk about an unconventional meet-cute. Glen Powell co-wrote and stars in this darkly comedic romantic thriller as Gary Johnson, a mild-mannered college professor who also works with the police posing as a hitman to bust murder-for-hire clients. He proves adept at his undercover job, but, after a woman named Madison (Adria Arjona) hires Gary to kill her husband, he soon finds himself developing feelings, which complicates matters. Powell delivers his best performance to date as the chameleonic faux-assassin, and his chemistry with Arjona is off-the-charts charming. —K.J. Where to watch Hit Man: Netflix Director: Richard Linklater Cast: Glen Powell, Adria Arjona, Austin Amelio, Retta 09 of 20 The Incredible Jessica James (2017) Jessica Williams (2 Dope Queens, Shrinking) is a relatable force to be reckoned with in her debut lead role. As the uber-confident Jessica James, she's trying to find out what's next in both her work life and her love life, with New York City as the backdrop. However, a blind date throws a wrench in all her plans as she finds herself unexpectedly falling for Boone (Chris O'Dowd) though she's still not quite over her ex, Damon (LaKeith Stanfield). While the love story at the center of The Incredible Jessica James may seem a little trope-y and basic at times, the protagonist is anything but that. Jessica is a joyful, empowered character who faces her mistakes head-on without beating herself up about them. EW's critic celebrates the rom-com for its not-so-delicate balance, writing, "Even when the film falls into indie clichés, Williams keeps things moving with her cleverness and charisma, whether she's chastising man-spreaders on the subway or introducing an as-yet-unborn baby to the fight to dismantle the patriarchy." —A.A. Where to watch The Incredible Jessica James: Netflix EW grade: B+ (read the review) Director: James C. Strouse Cast: Jessica Williams, Chris O'Dowd, Noël Wells, LaKeith Stanfield, Megan Ketch, Zabryna Guevara 10 of 20 Kicking and Screaming (1995) After graduating from college, a group of friends move in together, hoping to delay the start of the rest of their lives. One of them is Grover (Josh Hamilton), who passes on his girlfriend's offer to study abroad with her. Like many of his future works, Noah Baumbach's directorial debut is a meditation on adults trying to figure out what they want in life. Grover and his friends are far from perfect, as they deal with romance and dashed dreams within their limbo period between college and the real world. "What distinguishes Baumbach," EW's critic observes, "is that his cleverness conceals a ruefully romantic temperament." —K.J. Where to watch Kicking and Screaming: Netflix EW grade: B+ (read the review) Director: Noah Baumbach Cast: Josh Hamilton, Olivia d'Abo, Chris Eigeman, Parker Posey, Jason Wiles, Cara Buono, Carlos Jacott, Elliott Gould, Eric Stoltz 11 of 20 Long Shot (2019) Girl babysits boy; boy crushes on girl; girl grows up to become Secretary of State; boy becomes an out-of-work journalist; boy and girl reunite when she hires him on as her speechwriter. While not the most conventional setup, so much of the appeal of Long Shot is in seeing Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron bounce off each other. As EW's critic writes, "Rogen and Theron's chemistry is as fizzy as a Red Bull-and-Champagne cocktail." Even in its raunchier elements, there’s also a poignant story at the film’s core, on the struggles of finding love while in the public eye and staying true to your values. —K.J. Where to watch Long Shot: Netflix EW grade: B (read the review) Director: Jonathan Levine Cast: Seth Rogen, Charlize Theron, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Andy Serkis, June Diane Raphael, Bob Odenkirk, Alexander Skarsgård 12 of 20 The Lovebirds (2020) The relationship between Leilani (Issa Rae) and Jibran (Kumail Nanjiani) is on its last legs and fading fast when the struggling couple is invited to a dinner party. On their way there, a chance encounter with a criminal changes the course of their night — and their separation. If they want to make it out alive and clear their names, the two will have to work together, but not without throwing a few passive-aggressive jabs at each other in the process. The Lovebirds gives viewers a different kind of second-chance romance. It's light on the romance and heavy on the antics, making it an honest portrayal of all that can make or break a relationship — romantic or not. Still, the chemistry between Rae and Nanjiani eliminates any question of their potential as a couple. They bicker in that comfortable, weathered way that shows strain, but that edge may be just what they need to see their situation to the other side. And confronting it all is just as challenging as solving the murder they witnessed. EW's critic notes, "What feels freshest, maybe, is the mere fact of two leads of color taking on all the tropes of the genre and making it feel as modern as they do." —A.A. Where to watch The Lovebirds: Netflix EW grade: B (read the review) Director: Michael Showalter Cast: Kumail Nanjiani, Issa Rae, Paul Sparks, Anna Camp, Kyle Bornheimer 13 of 20 Muriel's Wedding (1994) Toni Collette had her breakthrough role with this quirky Australian dramedy. The actress plays Muriel Heslop, a gawky young woman obsessed with weddings and the promise of escaping her dull life. After being ostracized by her supposed friends, she follows them on a vacation she wasn't invited to, which sets her on a path of finally having the wedding of her dreams — but at what cost? Muriel's Wedding is "an appealing and expressive film that is truly for everyone," writes EW's critic. "But it's the misunderstood who will love it most." —K.J. Where to watch Muriel's Wedding: Netflix EW grade: A– (read the review) Director: P.J. Hogan Cast: Toni Collette, Bill Hunter, Rachel Griffiths 14 of 20 No Hard Feelings (2023) While No Hard Feelings may have been sold as a raunchy comedy, the film has an underlying sweetness that makes it fit nicely alongside others on this list. But don't get us wrong, the film's setup certainly provides plenty of broad, laugh-out-loud humor: Jennifer Lawrence stars as Maddie, a 32-year-old Uber driver who is desperate for money. She finds a Craiglist ad from a wealthy couple who are hoping to hire a woman to date (and perhaps do more with) their inexperienced 19-year-old son, Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman), before he goes to college. Maddie's attempts to court Percy lead to hilarious results, though they soon come to unexpectedly appreciate each other over the course of the summer. The film proves Lawrence's adeptness as a comedic star, fully committing to even the most ludicrous of scenes. "No Hard Feelings is a welcome addition to a dwindling genre," writes EW's critic, "and a reminder that Lawrence is one Hollywood's best (and funniest) leads." —K.J. Where to watch No Hard Feelings: Netflix EW grade: B (read the review) Director: Gene Stupnitsky Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, Laura Benanti, Natalie Morales, Matthew Broderick 15 of 20 Queen Bees (2021) In recent years, older actresses have shown off their comedic chops in films such as Book Club, 80 for Brady, and this charming rom-com. Queen Bees stars Ellen Burstyn as an independently minded widow who accidentally burns down her kitchen and has no choice but to enter a retirement community. She has trouble integrating at first, in large part because of the Mean Girls-esque group of "Queen Bees" who rule the roost, but she eventually develops a relationship with a new resident played by James Caan in his final onscreen role before his death. While not exactly on the level of Burstyn's classic work in films like The Exorcist and Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, the breezy comedy goes down easy on a relaxing afternoon. —K.J. Where to watch Queen Bees: Netflix Director: Michael Lembeck Cast: Ellen Burstyn, James Caan, Ann-Margret, Christopher Lloyd, Jane Curtin, Loretta Devine, Elizabeth Mitchell 16 of 20 Reality Bites (1994) What does it mean to be Gen X? Ben Stiller's feature directorial debut is a pretty good approximation, centering on a group of twentysomething college graduates navigating life's disappointments and minor victories in the early-'90s. Lelaina (Winona Ryder), an aspiring filmmaker, documents her friends' lives post-graduation as they deal with crappy bosses and tumultuous experiences with romance. Decades later, Reality Bites is a potent slice of '90s nostalgia. As EW's critic writes, "Yearning, hilarious, lost within their precocious self-awareness, these slackers have soul." —K.J. Where to watch Reality Bites: Netflix EW grade: A (read the review) Director: Ben Stiller Cast: Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Ben Stiller, Janeane Garofalo, Steve Zahn, Swoosie Kurtz, Renée Zellweger, Joe Don Baker, John Mahoney 17 of 20 Set It Up (2018) Overworked assistants Charlie (Glen Powell) and Harper (Zoey Deutch) have a corporate meet-cute in their shared office building when they bond over their demanding, miserable bosses: venture capitalist Rick Otis (Taye Diggs) and sports media maven Kirsten Stevens (Lucy Liu). Desperate to make their jobs (and lives) easier, Charlie and Harper hatch a plan to merge their superiors into a happy power couple. But playing matchmaker might be way above their pay grade. A romantic comedy in the same vein as The Devil Wears Prada (2006), this film has its fair share of gaslighting, but the twist is its good intentions. Charlie and Harper feel genuine admiration for their successful bosses, and though their motives are self-serving, it's all in the name of love, right? What follows is a satisfying take on the feel-good genre, complete with meditations on work lives, love lives, and everything in between. EW's critic hails Set It Up as the "gold standard for the frothy summer rom-com," and she was right on the money. —A.A. Where to watch Set It Up: Netflix EW grade: B (read the review) Director: Claire Scanlon Cast: Zoey Deutch, Glen Powell, Taye Diggs, Lucy Liu 18 of 20 She's Gotta Have It (1986) Spike Lee exploded onto the scene with his 1986 directorial debut. Made for only $175,000, She's Gotta Have It tells the story of Nola (Tracy Camilla Johns), a graphic artist in Brooklyn who juggles relationships with three men, each with their own distinct personalities. The situation becomes complicated after the men meet and figure out what's happening. Meanwhile, Nola comes to realize the value in her freedom as a sexually liberated person. Lauded for its depiction of a confident Black woman at a time when Hollywood rarely centered such characters, She's Gotta Have It proved to be predictive of the kinds of groundbreaking stories Lee would tell in the decades to come. The Oscar-winning filmmaker also adapted the film into a Netflix series in 2017. —K.J. Where to watch She's Gotta Have It: Netflix Director: Spike Lee Cast: Tracy Camilla Johns, Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell, Spike Lee, Raye Dowell 19 of 20 Someone Great (2019) This charming directorial debut by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson proves that break-up movies can make for great rom-coms. Jenny (Gina Rodriguez) lands her dream job at Rolling Stone, but it costs her her longtime boyfriend (LaKeith Stanfield). Desperate for a last hurrah in New York City before her big move, the new bachelorette rallies friends Blair (Brittany Snow) and Erin (DeWanda Wise) to help send her off, though it proves to be anything but a clean break. The misadventures of their big night out inspire each woman to reflect on whether they've been choosing their relationships over themselves. The result is an empowering, modern spin on what's expected from the genre, placing sisterhood and self-love at the center stage. Ever the rom-com expert, EW's critic heralds Something Great as "... a newer breed of movie: the scrappy female-POV in which the love story at the center is as much about friendship or the face in the mirror as it is about any one man." —A.A. Where to watch Someone Great: Netflix EW grade: B (read the review) Director: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson Cast: Gina Rodriguez, Brittany Snow, DeWanda Wise, LaKeith Stanfield, Peter Vack 20 of 20 To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018) One of the better teen rom-coms for the modern age, To All the Boys I've Loved Before was a smashing success for Netflix upon its 2018 release. Lana Condor plays Lara Jean Covey, a high schooler who secretly pens love letters to crushes but never sends them. Her younger sister finds them stashed away and decides to mail them herself, leading to a fair share of awkward situations. To prevent her current crush from initiating yet another cringey confrontation, she impulsively kisses one of her former crushes (Noah Centineo), which proves to be the catalyst for an ever-evolving relationship. To All the Boys I've Loved Before was very well-received, with EW's critic calling it "breezy and charming." Netflix released two sequels to the film: To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You in 2020 and To All the Boys: Always and Forever in 2021, though the original remains the series' best entry. —K.J. Where to watch To All the Boys I've Loved Before: Netflix EW grade: B (read the review) Director: Susan Johnson Cast: Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, Janel Parrish, Anna Cathcart, Andrew Bachelor, Trezzo Mahoro, Madeleine Arthur, Emilija Baranac, Israel Broussard, John Corbett
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As she casually gazes up, the iconic opening scene of Breakfast at Tiffany’s is underway. But it’s not long before many viewers are jolted out of the film’s transporting charm with the introduction of Mr. Yunioshi, a bucktoothed man with a loud, thick Asian accent played by Mickey Rooney. Rooney’s portrayal of Yunioshi has come to epitomize ethnic stereotypes and often prompts protests whenever the film is screened. But, at the time of the classic film’s release in 1961, Hollywood already had a long history of casting white actors in Asian roles—a tradition known as “yellowface.” Yellowface dates to early forms of minstrelsy when ethnic white actors would darken their faces and use prosthetics and costumes to appear Asian. The term itself came from similar acts of blackface that were popular, when white actors colored their skin to caricature black people and culture. “In minstrelsy, that was part of the performance. Putting on a costume, and everyone knew you were in a costume, and then using that yellowface performance to ridicule or villainize Asians in a way that was entertaining for its audience,” says Nancy Wang Yuen, Associate Professor at Biola University and author of Reel Inequality: Hollywood Actors and Racism. One of the earliest known performances of American yellowface comes from the theatrical show, An Orphan of China, performed in 1767 and based on a play by Voltaire. This early exposure of dramatized Asian culture would persist for centuries, particularly in film. Among the first appearances of yellowface in film was in a work by D.W. Griffith, best known for The Birth of a Nation, a racially-charged epic featuring characters in blackface that became so popular it reignited the Klan. Before that film, Griffith targeted Asians through yellowface in his 1910 short, The Chink at Golden Gulch. “Like a lot of Griffith’s films at that period it was about a white woman in jeopardy and peril, and a white man coming to save them,” says Dr. Daniel Bernardi, author of Classic Hollywood, Classic Whiteness. Yellowface characters would persist through the 1930s, as contrarian and villainous characters in The Mask of Fu Manchu, or in meek and withdrawn roles as in Madam Butterfly. Even as Asian characters became more complex in the 1940s and 50s, the roles were still played by white actors, like Katherine Hepburn in the 1944 drama, Dragon Seed. Why not cast ethnically Asian people in Asian roles? One reason was the Hays Code, an internal set of guidelines that major studios enforced before films could be distributed from 1930 to 1968. The code included an array of requirements that were indicative of society in America, including the prohibition of any sexual encounter between actors of different races. With that restriction, hiring an Asian person as a lead actor in a film would rule out that character having any sexual relations with another unless they were Asian as well. This code could help explain why the 1937 film The Good Earth featured two white actors in the lead roles as Chinese farmers – Luise Rainer would become the first actor to win an Academy Award for a role in yellowface for her performance in the film. Casting white actors was also part of a crude box office calculation. Jenn Fang, founder of the Asian-American blog Reappropriate, explains that since white actors were better known and seen as more relatable to audiences, producers figured featuring them would generate more ticket sales. When white actor Warner Oland replaced Asian lead actors in the Charlie Chan films of the 1930s, the films skyrocketed to success, making it hard to argue with the results. Until the mid to late-1900s, there was also no public outcry over yellowface roles, according to Fang. Actors saw chances to play different ethnicities as a challenge to be taken on and show their versatility, offensive or not. That creative liberty is something that Bernardi explains should be examined thoroughly. “You cannot deny the history of yellowface being patently and overtly racist and painful to a host of people,” says Bernardi. “And actors need to act. And that if we start drawing strict racial lines when it comes to casting, we only redefine the problem that exists now.” Instances of blatant yellowface have become scarcer in recent years, although it has been replaced with another strategy–altering lead characters to allow for white leads without the use of prosthetics and makeup. Whitewashing continues to be common, as in the casting of Scarlett Johansson in the 2017 film, Ghost in a Shell, which was based on a series made up entirely of Japanese characters. The long history of erasing Asian actors in films makes the release of 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians, which features an all-Asian cast, that much more significant. The film marks the first time that Hollywood has produced a movie with an all-Asian cast since the critically-acclaimed film, The Joy Luck Club, was released 25 years earlier. And with growing appetite for diverse representation in media, Crazy Rich Asians could represent just the beginning.
2205	dbpedia	3	7	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Chan	en	Charlie Chan	https://upload.wikimedia…Warner_Oland.jpg	https://upload.wikimedia…Warner_Oland.jpg	[ "https://en.wikipedia.org/static/images/icons/wikipedia.png", "https://en.wikipedia.org/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg", "https://en.wikipedia.org/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-tagline-en.svg", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/94/Symbol_support_vote.svg/19px-Symbol_support_vote.svg.png", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ad/Warner_Oland.jpg/220px-Warner_Oland.jpg", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Dangerous_Money_%281946%29_-_Sidney_Toler_1.jpg/220px-Dangerous_Money_%281946%29_-_Sidney_Toler_1.jpg", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/21/Charliechan060640.jpg", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Nuvola_apps_bookcase.svg/28px-Nuvola_apps_bookcase.svg.png", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e7/Video-x-generic.svg/28px-Video-x-generic.svg.png", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/34px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png", "https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1", "https://en.wikipedia.org/static/images/footer/wikimedia-button.svg", "https://en.wikipedia.org/static/images/footer/poweredby_mediawiki.svg" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Contributors to Wikimedia projects" ]	2002-11-07T13:23:35+00:00		en	/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png		https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Chan	Fictional detective For other people named Charlie Chan, see Charlie Chan (disambiguation). Fictional character Charlie ChanFirst appearanceThe House Without a Key (1925)Last appearanceKeeper of the Keys (1932)Created byEarl Derr BiggersPortrayed byVoiced byKeye LukeIn-universe informationGenderMaleOccupationDetectiveChildren14ReligionBuddhistNationalityAmerican-Chinese Charlie Chan is a fictional Honolulu police detective created by author Earl Derr Biggers for a series of mystery novels. Biggers loosely based Chan on Hawaiian detective Chang Apana. The benevolent and heroic Chan was conceived as an alternative to Yellow Peril stereotypes and villains like Fu Manchu. Many stories feature Chan traveling the world beyond Hawaii as he investigates mysteries and solves crimes. Chan first appeared in Biggers' novels and then was featured in a number of media. Over four dozen films featuring Charlie Chan were made, beginning in 1926. The character, featured only as a supporting character, was first portrayed by East Asian actors, and the films met with little success. In 1931, for the first film centering on Chan, Charlie Chan Carries On, the Fox Film Corporation cast Swedish actor Warner Oland; the film became popular, and Fox went on to produce 15 more Chan films with Oland in the title role. After Oland's death, American actor Sidney Toler was cast as Chan; Toler made 22 Chan films, first for Fox and then for Monogram Studios. After Toler's death, six films were made, starring Roland Winters. Readers and moviegoers of America greeted Chan warmly. Chan was seen as an attractive character, portrayed as intelligent, heroic, benevolent, and honorable; this contrasted with the common depiction of Asians as evil or conniving which dominated Hollywood and national media in the early 20th century. However, in later decades critics increasingly took a more ambivalent view of the character. Despite his good qualities, Chan was also perceived as reinforcing condescending Asian stereotypes such as an alleged incapacity to speak idiomatic English and a tradition-bound and subservient nature. No Charlie Chan film has been produced since 1981. The character has also been featured in several radio programs, two television shows, and comics. Books [edit] The character of Charlie Chan was created by Earl Derr Biggers. In 1919,[1] while visiting Hawaii, Biggers planned a detective novel to be called The House Without a Key. He did not begin to write that novel until four years later, however, when he was inspired to add a Chinese-American police officer to the plot after reading in a newspaper of Chang Apana and Lee Fook, two detectives on the Honolulu police force.[2] Biggers, who disliked the Yellow Peril stereotypes he found when he came to California,[5] explicitly conceived of the character as an alternative: "Sinister and wicked Chinese are old stuff, but an amiable Chinese on the side of law and order has never been used.":[6] It overwhelms me with sadness to admit it … for he is of my own origin, my own race, as you know. But when I look into his eyes I discover that a gulf like the heaving Pacific lies between us. Why? Because he, though among Caucasians many more years than I, still remains Chinese. As Chinese to-day as in the first moon of his existence. While I – I bear the brand – the label – Americanized.... I traveled with the current.... I was ambitious. I sought success. For what I have won, I paid the price. Am I an American? No. Am I, then, a Chinese? Not in the eyes of Ah Sing. — Charlie Chan, speaking of a murderer's accomplice, in Keeper of the Keys, by Earl Derr Biggers[7] The "amiable Chinese" made his first appearance in The House Without a Key (1925). The character was not central to the novel and was not mentioned by name on the dust jacket of the first edition.[8] In the novel, Chan is described as "very fat indeed, yet he walked with the light dainty step of a woman"[9] and in The Chinese Parrot as being " … an undistinguished figure in his Western clothes."[10] According to critic Sandra Hawley, this description of Chan allows Biggers to portray the character as nonthreatening, the opposite of evil Chinese characters, such as Fu Manchu, while simultaneously emphasizing supposedly Chinese characteristics such as impassivity and stoicism. Biggers wrote six novels in which Charlie Chan appears: The House Without a Key (1925) The Chinese Parrot (1926) Behind That Curtain (1928) The Black Camel (1929) Charlie Chan Carries On (1930) Keeper of the Keys (1932) Film, radio, stage and television adaptations [edit] Films [edit] The first film featuring Charlie Chan, as a supporting character, was The House Without a Key (1926), a ten-chapter serial produced by Pathé Studios, starring George Kuwa, a Japanese actor, as Chan.[12] A year later Universal Pictures followed with The Chinese Parrot, starring Japanese actor Kamiyama Sojin as Chan, again as a supporting character.[12] In both productions, Charlie Chan's role was minimized.[13] Contemporary reviews were unfavorable; in the words of one reviewer, speaking of The Chinese Parrot, Sojin plays "the Chink sleuth as a Lon Chaney cook-waiter … because Chaney can't stoop that low."[14] For the first film to center mainly on the character of Chan, Warner Oland, a white actor, was cast in the title role in 1931's Charlie Chan Carries On, and it was this film that gained popular success.[15] Oland, a Swedish actor, had also played Fu Manchu in an earlier film. Oland, who claimed some Mongolian ancestry,[16] played the character as more gentle and self-effacing than he had been in the books, perhaps in "a deliberate attempt by the studio to downplay an uppity attitude in a Chinese detective."[17] Oland starred in sixteen Chan films for Fox, often with Keye Luke, who played Chan's "Number One Son", Lee Chan. Oland's "warmth and gentle humor"[18] helped make the character and films popular; the Oland Chan films were among Fox's most successful.[19] By attracting "major audiences and box-office grosses on a par with A's"[20] they "kept Fox afloat" during the Great Depression.[21] Oland died in 1938, and the Chan film Charlie Chan at the Ringside was rewritten with additional footage as Mr. Moto's Gamble, an entry in the Mr. Moto series, another contemporary series featuring an East Asian protagonist; Luke appeared as Lee Chan, not only in already shot footage but also in scenes with Moto actor Peter Lorre. Fox hired another white actor, Sidney Toler, to play Charlie Chan, and produced eleven Chan films through 1942.[22] Toler's Chan was less mild-mannered than Oland's, a "switch in attitude that added some of the vigor of the original books to the films."[17] He is frequently accompanied, and irritated, by his Number Two Son, Jimmy Chan, played by Victor Sen Yung,[23] who later portrayed "Hop Sing" in the long-running Western television series Bonanza. When Fox decided to produce no further Chan films, Sidney Toler purchased the film rights from the author's widow. He had hoped to film more Charlie Chan pictures independently, to be released through Fox, but Fox had already discontinued the series and had no interest in reviving it. Toler approached Philip N. Krasne, a Hollywood lawyer who financed film productions, and Krasne brokered a deal with Monogram Pictures. James S. Burkett produced the films for Monogram. The budget for each film was reduced from Fox's average of $200,000 to $75,000.[22] For the first time, Chan was portrayed on occasion as "openly contemptuous of suspects and superiors."[24] African American comedic actor Mantan Moreland played chauffeur Birmingham Brown in 13 films (1944–1949) which led to criticism of the Monogram films in the forties and since;[24][25] some call his performances "brilliant comic turns",[26] while others describe Moreland's roles as an offensive and embarrassing stereotype.[25] Toler died in 1947 and was succeeded by Roland Winters for six films.[27] Keye Luke, missing from the series after 1938's Mr. Moto rework, returned as Charlie's son in the last two entries. Spanish-language adaptations [edit] Three Spanish-language Charlie Chan films were made in the 1930s and 1950s. The first, Eran Trece (There Were Thirteen, 1931), is a multiple-language version of Charlie Chan Carries On (1931). The two films were made concurrently and followed the same production schedule, with each scene filmed twice the same day, once in English and then in Spanish.[28] The film followed essentially the same script as the Anglophonic version, with minor additions such as brief songs and skits and some changes to characters' names (for example, the character Elmer Benbow was renamed Frank Benbow).[29] A Cuban production, La Serpiente Roja (The Red Snake), followed in 1937.[30] In 1955, Producciones Cub-Mex produced a Mexican version of Charlie Chan called El Monstruo en la Sombra (Monster in the Shadow), starring Orlando Rodriguez as "Chan Li Po" (Charlie Chan in the original script).[30] The film was inspired by La Serpiente Roja as well as the American Warner Oland films.[30] Chinese-language adaptations [edit] During the 1930s and 1940s, five Chan films were produced in Shanghai and Hong Kong. In these films, Chan, played by Xu Xinyuan (徐莘园), owns his detective agency and is aided not by a son but by a daughter, Manna, played first by Gu Meijun (顾梅君) in the Shanghai productions and then by Bai Yan (白燕) in postwar Hong Kong.[5] Chinese audiences also saw the original American Charlie Chan films. They were by far the most popular American films in 1930s China and among Chinese expatriates; "one of the reasons for this acceptance was that this was the first time Chinese audiences saw a positive Chinese character in an American film, a departure from the sinister East Asian stereotypes in earlier movies like Thief of Baghdad (1924) and Harold Lloyd's Welcome Danger (1929), which incited riots that shut down the Shanghai theater showing it." Oland's visit to China was reported extensively in Chinese newspapers, and the actor was respectfully called "Mr. Chan".[5] Modern adaptations [edit] In Neil Simon's Murder By Death, Peter Sellers plays a Chinese detective called Sidney Wang, a parody of Chan. In 1980, Jerry Sherlock began production on a comedy film to be called Charlie Chan and the Dragon Lady. A group calling itself C.A.N. (Coalition of Asians to Nix) was formed, protesting the fact that non-Chinese actors, Peter Ustinov and Angie Dickinson, had been cast in the primary roles. Others protested that the film script contained a number of stereotypes; Sherlock responded that the film was not a documentary.[31] The film was released the following year as Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen and was an "abysmal failure".[32][33] An updated film version of the character was planned in the 1990s by Miramax. While this Charlie Chan was to be "hip, slim, cerebral, sexy and... a martial-arts master," and portrayed by actor Russell Wong, nonetheless the film did not come to fruition.[33] Actress Lucy Liu was slated to star in and executive-produce a new Charlie Chan film for Fox.[34] The film was in preproduction by 2000; as of 2009, it was slated to be produced,[35] but it also did not come to fruition. Radio [edit] On radio, Charlie Chan was heard in several different series on three networks (the NBC Blue Network, Mutual, and ABC) between 1932 and 1948 for the 20th Century Fox Radio Service.[36] Walter Connolly initially portrayed Chan on Esso Oil's Five Star Theater, which serialized adaptations of Biggers novels.[37] Ed Begley, Sr. had the title role in N.B.C.'s The Adventures of Charlie Chan (1944–45), followed by Santos Ortega (1947–48). Leon Janney and Rodney Jacobs were heard as Lee Chan, Number One Son, and Dorian St. George was the announcer.[38] Radio Life magazine described Begley's Chan as "a good radio match for Sidney Toler's beloved film enactment."[39] Stage [edit] Valentine Davies wrote a stage adaptation of novel Keeper of the Keys for Broadway in 1933, with William Harrigan as the lead. The production ran for 25 performances.[40] Television adaptations [edit] In 1956–57, The New Adventures of Charlie Chan, starring J. Carrol Naish in the title role, were made independently for TV syndication in 39 episodes, by Television Programs of America. The series was filmed in England.[41] In this series, Chan is based in London rather than the United States. Ratings were poor, and the series was canceled.[42] In the 1960s, Joey Forman played an obvious parody of Chan named "Harry Hoo" in two episodes of Get Smart. In the 1970s, Hanna-Barbera produced an animated series called The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan. Keye Luke, who had played Chan's son in many Chan films of the 1930s and '40s, lent his voice to Charlie, employing a much-expanded vocabulary; Luke thus became the first actual Chinese person to portray Chan on screen. (The title character bears some resemblance to the Warner Oland depiction of Charlie Chan.) The series focused on Chan's children, played initially by East Asian-American child actors before being recast, due to concerns that younger viewers would not understand the accented voices. Leslie Kumamota voiced Chan's daughter Anne, before being replaced by Jodie Foster.[43] The Return of Charlie Chan, a television film starring Ross Martin as Chan, was made in 1971 but did not air until 1979. Comics and games [edit] A Charlie Chan comic strip, drawn by Alfred Andriola, was distributed by the McNaught Syndicate beginning October 24, 1938.[44] Andriola was chosen by Biggers to draw the character.[45] Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the strip was dropped; the last strip ran on May 30, 1942.[46] In 2019, The Library of American Comics reprinted one year of the strip (1938) in their LoAC Essentials line of books (ISBN 978-1-68405-506-7). Over decades, other Charlie Chan comic books have been published: Joe Simon and Jack Kirby created Prize Comics' Charlie Chan (1948), which ran for five issues. It was followed by a Charlton Comics title which continued the numbering (four issues, 1955). DC Comics published The New Adventures of Charlie Chan,[47] a 1958 tie-in with the TV series; the DC series lasted for six issues. Dell Comics did the title for two issues in 1965. In the 1970s, Gold Key Comics published a short-lived series of Chan comics based on the Hanna-Barbera animated series. In March through August 1989 Eternity Comics/Malibu Graphics published Charlie Chan comic books numbers 1 - 6 reprinting daily strips from January 9, 1939 to November 18, 1939. In addition, a board game, The Great Charlie Chan Detective Mystery Game (1937),[48] and a Charlie Chan Card Game (1939), have been released. On May 21, 2020 casino video games website Play'n GO released Charlie Chance in Hell to Pay,[49] a slot machine video game, for desktop and mobile browsers. This is not an officially branded game, however, the game's main character Charlie Chance is directly based on the original Charlie Chan character, sharing a similar name, trademark moustache and sharp dress sense. This game was followed by two sequels in 2021, Charlie Chance XREELZ and Charlie Chance and the Curse of Cleopatra. Modern interpretations and criticism [edit] The character of Charlie Chan has been the subject of controversy. Some find the character to be a positive role model, while others argue that Chan is an offensive stereotype. Critic John Soister argues that Charlie Chan is both; when Biggers created the character, he offered a unique alternative to stereotypical evil Chinamen, a man who was at the same time "sufficiently accommodating in personality... unthreatening in demeanor... and removed from his Asian homeland... to quell any underlying xenophobia."[50] Critic Michael Brodhead argues that "Biggers's sympathetic treatment of the Charlie Chan novels convinces the reader that the author consciously and forthrightly spoke out for the Chinese – a people to be not only accepted but admired. Biggers's sympathetic treatment of the Chinese reflected and contributed to the greater acceptance of Chinese-Americans in the first third of [the twentieth] century."[51] S. T. Karnick writes in the National Review that Chan is "a brilliant detective with understandably limited facility in the English language [whose] powers of observation, logic, and personal rectitude and humility made him an exemplary, entirely honorable character."[26] Ellery Queen called Biggers's characterization of Charlie Chan "a service to humanity and to inter-racial relations."[8] Dave Kehr of The New York Times said Chan "might have been a stereotype, but he was a stereotype on the side of the angels."[18] Keye Luke, an actor who played Chan's son in a number of films, agreed; when asked if he thought that the character was demeaning to the race, he responded, "Demeaning to the race? My God! You've got a Chinese hero!"[52] and "[W]e were making the best damn murder mysteries in Hollywood."[21][53] Other critics, such as sociologist Yen Le Espiritu and Huang Guiyou, argue that Chan, while portrayed positively in some ways, is not on a par with white characters, but a "benevolent Other"[54] who is "one-dimensional."[55] The films' use of white actors to portray East Asian characters indicates the character's "absolute Oriental Otherness;"[56] the films were only successful as "the domain of white actors who impersonated heavily-accented masters of murder mysteries as well as purveyors of cryptic proverbs. Chan's character "embodies the stereotypes of Chinese Americans, particularly of males: smart, subservient, effeminate."[57] Chan is representative of a model minority,[58]: 43 the good stereotype that counters a bad stereotype: "Each stereotypical image is filled with contradictions: the bloodthirsty Indian is tempered with the image of the noble savage; the bandido exists along with the loyal sidekick; and Fu Manchu is offset by Charlie Chan."[59] However, Fu Manchu's evil qualities are presented as inherently Chinese, while Charlie Chan's good qualities are exceptional; "Fu represents his race; his counterpart stands away from the other Asian Hawaiians."[45] Some argue that the character's popularity is dependent on its contrast with stereotypes of the Yellow Peril or Japanese people in particular. American opinion of China and Chinese Americans grew more positive in the 1920s and '30s in contrast to the Japanese, who were increasingly viewed with suspicion. Sheng-mei Ma argues that the character is a psychological over-compensation to "rampant paranoia over the racial other."[60] In June 2003, the Fox Movie Channel cancelled a planned Charlie Chan Festival, soon after beginning restoration for cablecasting, after a special-interest group protested. Fox reversed its decision two months later, and on 13 September 2003, the first film in the festival was aired on Fox. The films, when broadcast on the Fox Movie Channel, were followed by round-table discussions by prominent East Asians in the American entertainment industry, led by George Takei, most of whom were against the films.[5] Collections such as Frank Chin's Aiiieeee! An Anthology of Asian-American Writers and Jessica Hagedorn's Charlie Chan is Dead are put forth as alternatives to the Charlie Chan stereotype and "[articulate] cultural anger and exclusion as their animating force."[61] Fox has released all of its extant Charlie Chan features on DVD,[26] and Warner Bros. (the current proprietor of the Monogram library) has issued all of the Sidney Toler and Roland Winters Monogram features on DVD. Modern critics, particularly Asian Americans, continue to have mixed feelings on Charlie Chan. Fletcher Chan, a defender of the works, argues that the Chan of Biggers's novels is not subservient to white characters, citing The Chinese Parrot as an example; in this novel, Chan's eyes blaze with anger at racist remarks and in the end, after exposing the murderer, Chan remarks "Perhaps listening to a 'Chinaman' is no disgrace."[62] In the films, both Charlie Chan in London (1934) and Charlie Chan in Paris (1935) "contain scenes in which Chan coolly and wittily dispatches other characters' racist remarks."[18] Yunte Huang manifests an ambivalent attitude, stating that in the US, Chan "epitomizes the racist heritage and the creative genius of this nation's culture."[63] Huang also suggests that critics of Charlie Chan may have themselves, at times, "caricatured" Chan himself.[64] Chan's character has also come under fire for "nuggets of fortune cookie Confucius" and the "counterfeit proverbs" which became so widespread in popular culture. The Biggers novels did not introduce the "Confucius say" proverbs, which were added in the films, but one novel features Chan remarking: "As all those who know me have learned to their distress, Chinese have proverbs to fit every possible situation." Huang Yunte gives as examples "Tongue often hang man quicker than rope," "Mind, like parachute, only function when open," and "Man who flirt with dynamite sometime fly with angels." He argues, however, that these "colorful aphorisms" display "amazing linguistic acrobatic skills." Like the "signifying monkey" of African American folklore, Huang continues, Chan "imparts as much insult as wisdom." Bibliography [edit] Biggers, Earl Derr. The House Without a Key. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1925. —. The Chinese Parrot. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1926. —. Behind That Curtain. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1928. —. The Black Camel. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1929. —. Charlie Chan Carries On. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1930. —. Keeper of the Keys. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1932. Davis, Robert Hart. Charlie Chan in the Temple of the Golden Horde. 1974. Charlie Chan's Mystery Magazine. Reprinted by Wildside Press, 2003. ISBN 1-59224-014-3. Lynds, Dennis. Charlie Chan Returns. New York: Bantam Books, 1974. ASIN B000CD3I22. Pronzini, Bill, and Jeffrey M. Wallmann. Charlie Chan in the Pawns of Death. 1974. Charlie Chan's Mystery Magazine. Reprinted by Borgo Press, 2003. ISBN 978-1-59224-010-4. Avallone, Michael. Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen. New York: Pinnacle, 1981. ISBN 0-523-41505-2. Robert Hart Davis. "The Silent Corpse". Feb.1974. Charlie Chan's Mystery Magazine. Robert Hart Davis. "Walk Softly, Strangler". Nov. 1973. Charlie Chan's Mystery Magazine. Jon L. Breen. "The Fortune Cookie". May 1971. Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. Swann, John L.. Death, I Said: A Charlie Chan Mystery. Utica, New York: Nicholas K. Burns Publishing, 2023. ISBN 978-0-9755224-5-5. Filmography [edit] Unless otherwise noted, information is taken from Charles P. Mitchell's A Guide to Charlie Chan Films (1999). American Western Film title Starring Directed by Theatrical release DVD release Notes Production company The House Without a Key George Kuwa Spencer G. Bennet[68] 1926 Lost Silent Pathé Exchange The Chinese Parrot Sojin Paul Leni 1927 Lost Silent Universal Behind That Curtain E.L. Park Irving Cummings 1929 Charlie Chan, Volume Three (20th Century Fox, 2007) First sound film in the series Fox Film Corporation Charlie Chan Carries On Warner Oland Hamilton MacFadden 1931 Lost[69] Fox simultaneously filmed this with "Eran Trece," which survives. Eran Trece Manuel Arbó[70] David Howard (uncredited) 1931[71] Charlie Chan, Volume One (20th Century Fox, 2006) [72] Fox simultaneously filmed this with "Charlie Chan Carries On." The Black Camel Warner Oland Hamilton MacFadden 1931 Charlie Chan, Volume Three (20th Century Fox, 2007) Charlie Chan's Chance John Blystone 1932 Lost Charlie Chan's Greatest Case Hamilton MacFadden 1933 Lost[73] Charlie Chan's Courage George Hadden and Eugene Forde 1934 Lost[74] Charlie Chan in London Eugene Forde Charlie Chan, Volume One (20th Century Fox, 2006) Charlie Chan in Paris Lewis Seiler 1935 Charlie Chan in Egypt Louis King 20th Century Fox Charlie Chan in Shanghai James Tinling Charlie Chan's Secret Gordon Wiles 1936 Charlie Chan, Volume Three (20th Century Fox, 2007) Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. Charlie Chan at the Circus Harry Lachman Charlie Chan, Volume Two (20th Century Fox, 2006) Charlie Chan at the Race Track H. Bruce Humberstone Charlie Chan at the Opera Charlie Chan at the Olympics 1937 Charlie Chan on Broadway Eugene Forde Charlie Chan, Volume Three (20th Century Fox, 2007) Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo Oland's last film. Charlie Chan in Honolulu Sidney Toler H. Bruce Humberstone 1939 Charlie Chan, Volume Four (20th Century Fox, 2008) Charlie Chan in Reno Norman Foster Charlie Chan at Treasure Island City in Darkness Herbert I. Leeds Charlie Chan in Panama Norman Foster 1940 Charlie Chan, Volume Five (20th Century Fox, 2008) Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise Eugene Forde Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum Lynn Shores Murder Over New York Harry Lachman Dead Men Tell 1941 Charlie Chan in Rio Castle in the Desert 1942 Charlie Chan in the Secret Service Phil Rosen 1944 The Charlie Chan Chanthology (MGM, 2004) Monogram Pictures The Chinese Cat Black Magic [75] The Jade Mask 1945 The Scarlet Clue Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. The Shanghai Cobra Phil Karlson The Red Dragon Phil Rosen 1946 Charlie Chan 3-Film Collection (Warner Archive, 2016) Dangerous Money Terry O. Morse TCM Spotlight: Charlie Chan Collection (Turner Classic Movies, 2010) Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. Dark Alibi Phil Karlson Shadows Over Chinatown Terry O. Morse Charlie Chan Collection (Warner Home Video, 2013) The Trap Howard Bretherton TCM Spotlight: Charlie Chan Collection (Turner Classic Movies, 2010) Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. Toler's last film. The Chinese Ring Roland Winters William Beaudine[76] 1947 Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. Winters' first film. Docks of New Orleans Derwin Abrahams 1948 Charlie Chan Collection (Warner Home Video, 2013) Shanghai Chest William Beaudine The Golden Eye Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. The Feathered Serpent William Beaudine[76] Charlie Chan 3-Film Collection (Warner Archive, 2016) Sky Dragon Lesley Selander 1949 The Return of Charlie Chan (aka: Happiness Is a Warm Clue) Ross Martin Daryl Duke[77] 1973 TV film[78] Universal Television Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen Peter Ustinov Clive Donner[77] 1981 American Cinema Productions Latin America Film title Starring Directed by Theatrical release DVD release Notes Production company La Serpiente Roja Aníbal de Mar Ernesto Caparrós 1937 Cuban film[79] El Monstruo en la Sombra Orlando Rodríguez Zacarias Urquiza[80] 1955 Mexican film[81] China Film title Starring Directed by Theatrical release DVD release Notes The Disappearing Corpse (in Chinese) Xu Xinyuan Xu Xinfu 1937 [5] The Pearl Tunic (in Chinese) 1938 [5] The Radio Station Murder (in Chinese) 1939 [5] Charlie Chan Smashes an Evil Plot (in Chinese) 1941 [5] Charlie Chan Matches Wits with the Prince of Darkness (in Chinese) 1948 [5] Mystery of the Jade Fish (in Chinese) Lee Ying Lee Ying c.1950 (distributed in New York in 1951) [82] See also [edit] Books portal Film portal Portrayal of East Asians in Hollywood Mr. Wong Notes [edit] References [edit]
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"https://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/Moto-and-pals-500.jpg", "https://www.davidbordwell.net/img/bordwell.jpg", "https://www.davidbordwell.net/img/spacer.gif", "https://www.davidbordwell.net/img/b_top_f01.jpg", "https://c.statcounter.com/1926782/0/1e338524/0/", "http://wms.assoc-amazon.com/20070822/US/img/noscript.gif?tag=thefrofra-20" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	La cigarette (1919) Kristin here: Earlier this month Flicker Alley released another of its ambitious collections of historic films, Early Women Filmmakers: An International Anthology. The dual-format edition contains three discs DVDs and three Blu-ray discs. Its ambitions are reflected in part by the volume of material included (652 minutes) and in part by the […]		https://www.davidbordwell.net/img/favicon.ico	Observations on film art	https://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/2017/05/23/ladies-at-all-levels/	La cigarette (1919) Kristin here: Earlier this month Flicker Alley released another of its ambitious collections of historic films, Early Women Filmmakers: An International Anthology. The dual-format edition contains three discs DVDs and three Blu-ray discs. Its ambitions are reflected in part by the volume of material included (652 minutes) and in part by the range of its contents, from well-known classics to obscure titles. The collection was one of the last projects curated and produced by the late David Shephard. As with many of Flicker Alley’s releases, it was a joint project with Film Preservation Associates (Blackhawk Films) and Lobster Films of Paris, working with several film archives. The films are arranged chronologically, with the earliest being Les chiens savants (1902), a music-hall dog act attributed to Alice Guy Blaché, and the latest Maya Deren’s classic experimental film, Meshes of the Afternoon (1943). The publicity for the collection emphasizes that “More women worked in film during its first two decades than at any time since” (from the slipcase text). I would be interested in how such a claim was arrived at. It seems unlikely to me, if only because the film industries of the major producing countries have grown enormously since the silent and early sound periods. Still, despite this claim, the notes in the accompanying booklet (written by Kate Saccone, Manager of the Women Film Pioneers Project) describe how the DVD/Blu-ray release “reclaims that stature of ‘woman director’ and celebrates it in all its glory.” (One film included, Discontent [1916], is listed as “by Lois Weber”; in this case she wrote the screenplay, which was directed by Allen Siegler.) Thus the program does not survey the range of filmmaking work women performed–but such a survey would be essentially impossible. The lack of detailed credits on early films makes it difficult to determine even the director of a given film. The silent films It is not really possible to discuss all the films, but I’ll mention some and link to earlier entries where we’ve discussed some of them. Of the 25 titles on the three discs, fourteen are silent. Six of these give an overview of work of Blaché, with three French films and three made after her move to the US. Lois Weber is represented by three films, starting with perhaps her best-known work, Suspense (1913). With its unusual angles (see above), elaborate split-screen phone conversations, and action shown in the rear-view mirror of a speeding car, this is one of those films you show people to demonstrate how wonderfully inventive directors around the world became in that incredible year. I am also very fond of her feature, The Blot (1921). The third Weber film, Discontent (1916), may surprise those familiar with her socially conscious features. In the mid-1910s Weber worked in a variety of genres. While David was doing research recently at the Library of Congress, he watched some incomplete or deteriorated Weber films that haven’t been seen widely. He wrote about False Colors here and here. Discontent is a comedy with a moral. An elderly man is living in a home for retirees, but he envies his well-to-do family. Finally they invite him to live with them, and naturally everyone ends up annoyed by the situation–including the protagonist, who winds up returning to the home and his friends. Mabel Normand apparently directed quite a number of her films for Mack Sennett, and Mabel’s Strange Predicament (1914) is one of them. Its cast also includes Charles Chaplin and was his third film to be released, although it was the second shot and the first one in which he wore a version of his Little Tramp costume. Not surprisingly, he steals every scene he’s in. Normand even plays second fiddle to him, with her character forced for a stretch of the action to hide under a bed, where she is barely visible while Chaplin performs some funny business in the same room. (The print seems to have been assembled from two different copies, the bulk of the film being in mediocre condition with the ending abruptly switching to a much clearer image.) One curious item in the program is Madeline Brandeis’ The Star Prince (1918). According to her page on the Women Film Pioneer’s Project, Brandeis was a wealthy woman who made films, mainly centering around children, as a hobby. Some of these were apparently intended for educational use. The Star Prince, her first film, is clearly aimed at children. A few of its adult characters are played by young adults, while children play both children and adults. This becomes a bit disconcerting when we assume for a long time that the prince and princess are perhaps seven or eight, until they fall in love and become engaged. Despite the amateur filmmaking, there are some attempts at superimpositions and other special effects to convey the fantasy, as well as an charmingly clumsy pixillation of a squirrel puppet, the position of which is changed far too much between exposures. This is the sort of local production, made outside the mainstream industry, that so seldom survives, and it is a welcome balance to the more sophisticated works that make up the bulk of this collection. Speaking of which, the next part of the program consists of two features by one of the best-known female directors, Germain Dulac. The first, La cigarette, appeared in 1919. It’s melodrama about an fifty-ish Egyptologist, who has just acquired the mummy of a young princess who was unfaithful to her older husband. The professor begins to imagine that he is suffering a similar fate when his young and beautiful wife (see top) begins spending time with an athletic young fellow. I remember seeing this film nearly forty years ago and thinking it was pretty weak. Luckily I have seen many films from this era since and know better how to watch them. Seeing it again I liked it quite a bit. It’s beautifully shot and well acted, and its sympathetic depiction of the doubting husband and the clever and resourceful wife is more subtle, in my opinion, than that of the marriage in The Smiling Madame Beudet (which is also included in this set). I was glad to have a chance to see the film again and recognize it as being among Dulac’s best work. The silent section of the program ends with Olga Preobrazhenskaia’s The Peasant Women of Ryazan (1927). The title emphasizes that Preobrazhenskaia’s film is set in a provincial area. Ryazan, the capitol, is about 120 miles southeast of Moscow, so it is not one of the far-flung regions of the USSR. Still, it would have been distant enough at the time to have its own distinctive culture. Peasant Women gives us plenty of local costumes and customs without giving the sense of this being ethnography first and narrative second. Exotic though it may seem to us, this would have been recent history to Russians when it first came out. Although most synopses claim that the story runs from 1916 to 1918, it actually begins shortly before World War I, probably in 1914, as the heroine Anna marries Ivan in a lively wedding scene including a carriage ride for the bridal couple (below). Shortly thereafter news of the war comes, and Ivan reluctantly departs for to serve in it. Anna is left in the household of her lecherous father-in-law, who rapes and impregnates her. The war goes on and ends, with the Revolution taking place entirely off-screen. The second woman of the title is Wassilissa, a tougher sort, who applies to convert a decaying local mansion (we are left to assume that it was confiscated in the wake of the Revolution). She is seen at the end as being the prototype of the new Soviet woman, though Preobrazhenskaia throughout avoids hitting us over the head with overt propaganda. The sound films Perhaps not surprisingly, most of the directors on the third disc, devoted to sound films, are likely to be more familiar to modern viewers. Nevertheless, Marie-Louise Iribe and her film Le Roi des Aulnes (1920), were completely unknown to me. She was the niece of designer Paul Iribe and worked primarily an actress during the 1920s, and this seems to have been her only solo directorial effort. (IMDb lists her as the co-director of the 1928 version of Hara-Kiri, which she also starred in.) Le Roi des Aulnes is one of the musically based movies that were popular in the early sound era, being based on both Goethe’s and Schubert’s versions of “Der Erlkönig.” It’s nicely photographed, and the part of the father is played by Otto Gebühr, known for being trapped by his resemblance to Friederick der Grosse into playing that role time after time from 1921 to 1941. He’s predictably excellent here, though the stretching of the short poem into a 45-minute film forces him to register worry and eventually grief throughout. Indeed, despite extrapolated incidents, such as the injury of the father’s horse and the need to procure a new one, a great deal of repetition occurs: lots of riding through marshes and menacing appearances by the Erlkönig, who is portrayed as a large man in chain-mail. The special effects are the most impressive thing about the film, using double superimpositions in widely different scales, with the giant king holding a small fairy on his palm. Despite its problems, the film is a valuable addition to our examples of this mildly avant-garde trend that flourished for a short time. Most of the rest of the directors are well-known and can be mentioned more briefly. The great animator and innovator of silhouette animation Lotte Reiniger is represented by three short films: Harlequin (1931), The Stolen Heart (1934), and Papageno (1935). I have written about Reiniger’s complex compositions, including her subtly shaded backgrounds. Of the directors represented here, she is the one who enjoyed the longest career, from 1916, when she would have been 17, to 1980, when she was 81. I discuss a BFI boxed set of some of her 1950s films here. I haven’t been able to find a complete filmography, but William Moritz estimates that she made “nearly 70 films.” Alexandre Alexeieff and Claire Parker’s A Night on Bald Mountain is similarly familiar. Like Iribe’s Le Roi des Aulnes, it falls into the genre of illustrations of existing musical pieces, being an illustration of a piece of the same name by Modest Mussorgsky, as arranged by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov. It was created by manipulating hundreds of pins on a large frame called a pinboard, invented by Alexeieff, his first wife Alexandra Grinevsky-Alexeieff (whom he divorced in order to marry Parker in 1940), and Parker. The textured effect is quite unlike that of any other type of animation. Dorothy Davenport was a prolific actress from 1910 to 1934. She is perhaps most remembered as the widow of Wallace Reid, a star who died from the effects of morphine in 1923. She directed seven films over the next decade, ending with the film in this set, The Woman Condemned (1934), mostly either uncredited or signing herself Mrs. Wallace Reid. The Woman Condemned is a B picture, produced independently and distributed through the states’ rights system. It’s a competently done murder mystery that gains some interest by withholding a great deal of information from the audience. There are two main female characters, the victim and the accused (seen below in an interrogation scene), and we have very little idea of their motives and goals until the climax of the film. The revelations involve a twist on the same level of groan-worthiness as “and then she woke up.” But again, having a little-known B picture adds to the wide variety of films presented here. One can hardly study early women directors and skip over the favored documentarist of the Third Reich, Leni Riefenstahl. Day of Freedom (1935) is a good choice for inclusion, occupying only 17 minutes of screen time and amply demonstrating Riefenstahl’s undeniable gift for creating gorgeous images from ominous subjects. Experimental animator Mary Ellen Bute is represented by two contrasting abstract shorts, the lovely black-and-white ballet of shapes, Parabola (1937) and the vibrant and humorous Spook Sport (1939), the latter (below) made with the collaboration of Norman McLaren. Dorothy Arzner, the only woman to direct mainstream Hollywood A films from the 1930s to the and 1940s, is introduced via a clip from one of her most famous films, Dance, Girl, Dance (1940). In the scene, Maureen O’Hara’s character interrupts her dance routine to tell off an audience of mostly men who are cat-calling her. Maya Deren’s first film, Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) ends the program (see bottom). It is a happy choice, since of all the films in the program, it has undoubtedly had the greatest influence on the cinema. Much of the subsequent avant-garde cinema has turned away from music-inspired abstraction and opted for ambiguity, psychological mystery, and impossible time, space, and causality. Valuable though this collection is, I cannot help but think that some of the directors represented have been oversold. Saccone sums them up: Together, these 14 early women director have produced bodies of work that are inspiring, controversial, challenging, invigorating, and thought provoking. These women were technically and stylistically innovative, pushing narrative, aesthetic, and genre boundaries. Surely not all of them meet these criteria. We would hardly expect one hundred per cent of the male directors of the same era to be “technically and stylistically innovative,” so why should we expect all of the work by fourteen varied female directors to be so? Saccone quotes Tami Williams’ book, Germaine Dulac: A Cinema of Sensations. on how the director searched “for new techniques that, in the light of official discourse of governmental and social conservatism, and the modernity of the new medium, were capable of expressing her progressive, antibourgeois, nonconformist, and feminist social vision.” Saccone sees this search in The Smiling Madame Beudet, where “Dulac utilizes cinema-specific techniques such as irises, slow motion, distortion, and superimposition, as well as associative editing, to give visibility to the inner experiences and fantasies of an unhappily married woman …” Readers might infer that Dulac innovated these techniques. Yet they had already been established as conventions of French Impressionist cinema, notably in Abel Gance’s J’accuse (1919) and La roue (1922) and Marcel L’Herbier’s El Dorado (1921). For example, Dulac surely derived the distorted image of Beudet that conveys his wife’s disgust (below left) from a similar shot of a drunken man in El Dorado (right). This is not to say Dulac isn’t a fine filmmaker or that she had no new ideas of her own. Only that she didn’t single-handed discover these techniques, but rather she turned the emerging repertoire of Impressionist techniques toward portraying a woman’s experience. In some cases films that were co-directed by these women are presented as their sole efforts. Lois Weber’s Suspense was directed, as were many of her early shorts, with her husband, Phillips Smalley. Quotations from interviews with both Weber and Smalley make this clear. In 1914, Smalley said of his wife, “She is as much the director and even more the constructor of Rex pictures than I.” “Even more” because Weber often wrote the screenplays for their films and in at least some cases edited them. Weber later described how Smalley worked from her scripts: “Mr. Smalley got my idea. He painted the scenery, played the leading role and helped direct the cameraman.” Directing the cameraman is part of the job of a director. The list of films in the booklet attributes Night on Bald Mountain entirely to Claire Parker, though on the backs of the disc cases the credit is to Claire Parker and Alexandre Alexeieff. Alexander Hackenschmied (aka Hammid) is not mentioned in the list of films, and the booklet refers to him as having a “close collaboration ” with Deren, even though he and Deren are both listed as directors on the original credits of Meshes of the Afternoon. Still, if the collection does not make the case that all of the women represented were wildly talented and innovative, it does show the variety of ways in which women managed to work both in and out of the mainstream industry. It’s valuable collection of historical examples and should be welcomed by anyone interested in the silent and early sound eras. It is worth noting in closing that viewers should not expect all of these films to be presented in the usual beautiful restorations we are used to from Flicker Alley. Some of these films are indeed gorgeous, including the two Mary Ellen Bute shorts, Peasant Women of Ryazan, Day of Freedom, Meshes of the Afternoon, and La cigarette (though the latter has some small stretches of severe nitrate decomposition). Other prints are quite good or at least acceptable. A few of the films simply do not survive in any but battered or faded prints, notably Discontent and The Star Prince. But we are lucky to have them at all. The quotations from the Smalley and Weber interviews are from Shelley Stamp’s Lois Weber in Early Hollywood (University of California Press, 2015), pp. 26-27. [May 23] Many thanks to Manfred Polak, who has drawn my attention to a higher estimate of Reiniger’s lifetime production of silhouette films. Her friend and executor, Alfred Happ, put the figure at about 80. The source is an exhibition catalog from the Stadtmuseum Tübingen, which houses Reiniger’s archived material: Lotte Reiniger, Carl Koch, Jean Renoir. Szenen einer Freundschaft. Die gemeinsamen Filme. ed. Heiner Gassen and Claudine Pachnicke (Stadtmuseum Tübingen, 1994). Carl Koch was Reiniger’s husband and collaborator; Reiniger created an animated sequence for her supporter and friend Jean Renoir’s La Marseillaise. According to Manfred, “Alfred Happ and his wife Helga were Reiniger’s closest friends and caretakers in her last years in Dettenhausen (near Tübingen, Germany). After Reiniger’s death, Alfred Happ was the administrator of her estate. If you ever come to Tübingen, visit the Stadtmuseum (City Museum), where her estate is hosted now. A part of it is shown in a permanent exhibition.” He also provided a link to a touching account of Reiniger’s friendship with the Happs. Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) Design by Christina King. DB and Kristin here: Two years ago DB reported on the gathering in Brussels of the Screenwriting Research Network (here and here). This year, thanks to our colleagues J. J. Murphy and Kelley Conway, our department hosted the conference. Again, it was chock-a-block with stimulating papers. We also introduced our visitors to the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research, which houses thousands of screenplays. It wasn’t all work, either. Participants were spotted lingering at our lakeside terrace or making their way through the cafes and saloons lining State Street. We believe it’s fair to say that a hell of a time was had by all. Since there were simultaneous sessions, nobody could attend everything, and we can’t run through all the papers we heard. (So do consult the program for more information.) Herewith, some highlights that set us thinking. In the key of keynote Larry Gross and Jon Raymond. The four keynoters encapsulated the conference’s very wide range. In a workshop keynote Jill Nelmes, Editor of the Journal of Screenwriting, offered a historical survey of screenwriting research in all media, with special emphasis on television. The Big Hollywood Movie was covered by Kristin, whose paper, “Extended How?” examined the ways in which directors’ cuts and extended editions handle the multi-part structure she posits as a foundation of contemporary Hollywood. We won’t say more here, since she may turn it into a blog for this site. Larry Gross had already started off the conference with a bang by taking us to Japan. Larry has written 48 HRS, Streets of Fire, Geronimo, True Crime, and other mainstream studio pictures, as well as television episodes, TV mini-series, and independent films like Prozac Nation and We Don’t Live Here Anymore. He also writes outstanding film criticism for Sight and Sound, Film Comment, and other journals, and he teaches screenwriting at New York University. Scott Macauley’s informative March interview with Larry is at Filmmaker Magazine. Larry’s keynote, “The Watergate Theory of Screenwriting,” tackled the question of how filmmakers decide to share story information with the audience. What do the characters know and when do they know it? What does the audience know, and when? Storytelling, Larry suggested, develops out of the interplay of these two sets of questions. He added, perhaps hoping to provoke purists who consider film to be sheer self-expression: “Thinking about the audience is not always reactionary.” He illustrated his ideas with an in-depth examination of Kurosawa’s Ikiru. He had long thought the film “an official liberal-humanist classic,” until a course with Annette Michelson at NYU showed him that there was a lot to ponder there. Specifically, Kurosawa starts by telling the audience the end of the story: Watanabe will die of cancer. But he doesn’t know that, and neither do all the people he encounters. The strategy denies us a lot of suspense, so to hold our interest Kurosawa must engross us by delineating his relations with his colleagues, with the mothers petitioning for the neighborhood sump to be drained, and with the stray people he meets casually on his night out. Larry showed how carefully Kurosawa played off the characters’ indifference, misunderstanding, and lack of awareness. In particular, the neighborhood wives display to Watanabe what Maurice Blanchot called “the ignorance and spontaneity of true affection.” Ikiru’s refusal to explain what it means typifies a kind of cinema that asks the audience to share the burden of understanding. “Ikiru understands how a screenplay can be composed with the audience.” Jon Raymond’s keynote carried things to independent US film. Jon has become famous for a novel (The Half-Life) and short stories (Livability), as well as for his screenplays for Kelly Reichardt’s features. The most recent, the forthcoming Night Moves, is currently in competition at Venice. The teaser title of Jon’s address, “Screenwriting as Earth Art,” turned out to be a reference to the fact that most of his stories take place in the vicinity of his home. He has found satisfaction by composing on familiar ground. In younger days Jon tried painting and filmmaking; a Public Access feature based on the comic strip Crock turned out to be “a movie best experienced in fast forward.” But he found that writing offered the most creative satisfaction. At the same time, while assisting Todd Haynes on Far from Heaven, he met Kelly Reichardt, who was looking for a property to adapt on a small budget. The result was Old Joy, “a New Age western,” in which two men display the violence latent in the new passive-aggressive masculinity flourishing on the Coast. Jon believes that Reichardt’s handling created a cinematic parallel to the dense intricacy of a short story. In later collaborations, Jon mapped his patch of Portland in other ways. Seeing the annual migration of workers to Alaskan canneries, and hearing the train whistles wafting through his neighborhood, he created the story that became Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy (above). Reichardt began adapting the story to film before he had finished writing it. Similarly, Jon merged the booming housing market of the 2000s and the history of the Oregon Trail into a project that paralleled today’s gentrification with nineteenth-century colonization. Reichardt turned his screenplay into Meek’s Cutoff, a “desert poem” that completed what some have called their Oregon Trilogy. For Jon, the trilogy constitutes an alternative regional history, one that traces the process of “sowing the land with failure, betrayal, and humiliation.” Plots and no plots The Adventures of André and Wally B (1984). More than most areas of filmmaking, screenwriting reminds us of the institutional framework surrounding most creative work cinema. Scholars studying the screenplay are naturally often pursuing the endless revisions, refusals, and rethinks that a film goes through in the preparation phase. It’s easy to see this as a one-versus-one struggle, but in many cases the process takes place within a social environment possessing its own roles and rules. Ian MacDonald offered an excellent example in his study of the work processes behind the UK television soap opera Emmerdale. He proposed that we replace model of industrial film production as an auto factory with that of a carpet factory. Instead of the TV episode being seen as a discrete unit, like a car, it should be conceived as an ongoing fabric woven of many threads. In Emmerdale and other series, the unit of production isn’t the episode but rather the story line. Each episode is sliced out of a much bigger stretch of ongoing patterns. Ian illustrated this with the writers’ planning chart that was mounted on the wall. The vertical column represents scenes, marked off as episodes. The characters are color-coded cards connected by solid liness that weave their way through the scenes. These waves are the melodies; the scenes are the bar-lines. In each episode, two or three characters are given prominence, while the subordinate ones contribute their harmonies. Ian’s discussion reminded me of how Hong Kong filmmakers did much the same thing in the 1980s: plotting films reel by reel and color-coding certain elements—gags, fights, and chases—to make sure that each reel had its share of attractions. This is the sort of insight into structure that institutional research can yield: Structure is these people’s business. Other Hollywood studios envy Pixar for to its appealing, carefully structured stories. Richard Neupert showed how that tradition goes back to the earliest years at Pixar. Even in demo films which were made to show off technological innovations, the makers tried to reveal how computer animation, even in its early, simple form, could create engaging tales. At a period when computer animation could only render smooth, simple shapes, the Pixar team found appropriate subject matter, with highly stylized characters in The Adventures of André and Wally B and Luxo, Jr. Remarkably, these tiny films have balanced “acts.” Each is 80 seconds long and has a key action at exactly 40 seconds in: the entrance of Wally B and the moment when the little Luxo lamp jumps on a ball. Similarly, Red’s Dream‘s parts run 50-100-50 seconds. This care in timing continued with the features: Toy Story’s midpoint comes when Woody finally shifts strategies, realizing he has to work with Buzz. And what about Pixar’s perceived slump in recent years? someone asked during the question session. Neupert pointed out that Pixar’s founders have aged, and there may no longer be quite the sense of excitement and discovery pushing the team to surpass others and themselves. Sometimes institutional traditions come into conflict. Petr Szczepanik’s talk traced in meticulous detail how screenplay development in Czechoslovakia was altered in the years from 1930 to the 1950s. Czech filmmakers developed their own system of moving from theme and story germ to final screenplay. But with the Communist takeover there came the demand to add the Soviet model of the “literary screenplay,” a detailed specification of scenes, dialogue, and the like. Filmmakers resisted this, preferring the customary and more flexible “technical screenplay” that was largely the province of the director. Petr mentioned new screenwriting trends pioneered by Frank Daniel that gave directors the authority to modify the literary format. By the late 1950s, filmmakers had found ways to make the literary screenplay a less rigid blueprint for filming. Back in the USSR, the screenwriting institution found even the literary screenplay a difficult basis for mass output. Maria Belodubrovskaya’s talk focused on “plotlessness” as a rallying cry and term of abuse in the 1930s-1940s Soviet film. There were long debates about whether “themes” sufficed to make a film or whether you needed strong plots in the Hollywood vein. Film-policy supervisor Boris Shumyatsky urged the latter course, and the popular success of Chapayev (1934) seemed to support his case. By the late 1930s, though, Shumyatsky was purged and the tide turned against strong plots. Film executives found a concern with plot too “Western” and “cosmopolitan,” and annual film production became based on themes rather than stories. Most provocatively, Masha suggested a lingering influence of Soviet Montage storytelling, which based films on vivid but loosely linked episodes. She illustrated her case with an analysis of Pudovkin’s In the Name of the Motherland (1943), with its diffuse lines of action and sudden reversals and omissions. Back we go Scarface (1932). Naturally, Madison wouldn’t be Madison without strong papers on the history of cinema, and many conference presentations suited the tenor of the joint. Stephen Curran offered an enlightening study of one of the least-known but most colorful figures in early American screenwriting, a man with the dashing name of Captain Leslie T. Peacocke. He was credited with over 300 screenplays, including Neptune’s Daughter (1914). He acted, directed, and wrote novels too. He was one of the first script gurus, writing magazine columns on the craft and eventually the early manual Hints on Photoplay Writing (1916). Stephen surveyed Peacocke’s contribution to the emerging scenario market. Peacocke believed that successful screenwriting couldn’t be taught, but he could give hints about developing original stories, thinking in visual terms, and practical craft maneuvers like snappy names for characters. During the Q & A, Stephen added that a great deal of Peacocke’s rhetoric was aiming to raise his own profile in the industry. In conversation afterward, Stephen praised the Media History Digital Library and Lantern (flagged in an earlier blog) for immensely helping research into early film. Here, for example, is Peacocke’s 216-item dossier on Lantern. Andrea Comiskey argued that for the same period, we can study scripts and extrapolate craft practices that otherwise go undocumented. Her focus was the disparity between what manuals like Peacocke’s said and what actually got jotted down in working scenarios. Studying several screenplays from the American Film Company of Santa Barbara, she found that the manuals’ recommended stylistic approach was revised in the course of shooting. The manuals proposed that each scene would be built out of a lengthy single shot (called, confusingly, a “scene”) which could at judicious moments be interrupted by an “insert.” An insert was usually a letter or piece of printed matter read by the characters, but it might also be a detail shot of a prop, hands, or an actor’s face. In preparing scenarios, the writers assigned numbers to each “scene,” as the manuals recommended. But Andrea found that in the filming, the director and cameraman added shots, breaking down the action into more bits. This was, in effect, a move away from the strict scene/insert method and a shift toward what would become the classical continuity system. To maintain a paper record for the editor, the interpolated shots would be recorded and labeled in fractions. Instead of a straight cut from 6 to 7, the filmmakers might wedge in 6 ½, 6 ¾, and so on. Here’s an extract from Armed Intervention (1913), courtesy Andrea. Strange as this sounds to us today, it was preferable to renumbering the shots, which could cause confusion. (Is shot 17 the original 17 or the later one?) The fractions kept the footage consistent with the scenario across the production process. So it turns out that (as usual?) filmmakers were a bit ahead of the screenplay gurus, even back in the 1910s. Lea Jacobs asked a question about the transition from silent to sound film: How did filmmakers manage the pacing of dialogue? Silent movies had great freedom of pacing, while the shift to talkies seemed to many filmmakers to slow things down. Lea’s research indicated that two strategies for speeding things up emerged: creating shorter scenes and shortening dialogue passages within them. She reviewed how these ideas emerged in Hollywood’s own discourse in the 1930s and in certain films. In the first years of sound, scenes were rather long (often because they were derived from stage plays) and speeches were similarly extended. But in the 1931-1932 season, she argued, short scenes and quicker repartee became more common. She traced the process in three films of Howard Hawks, from the stagy Dawn Patrol (1930) through The Criminal Code (1931), which opens in the new style but then turns to longer sequences, and then to Scarface (1932). The gangster film shifted toward shorter scenes and more laconic dialogue than did other genres, and Scarface displays this in full flower. Tony Camonte’s takeover of the South Side beer trade is presented in six harsh, violent scenes that add up to little more than three minutes. Workers in the sound cinema, it seems, were soon pushing toward that rapid tempo we identify with the 1930s. Storyboards have now entered academic studies. Chris Pallant and Steven Price offered some historical insights by comparing some early storyboards by William Cameron Menzie with those of early Spielberg films. When Menzies was storyboarding Gone with the Wind, he called it “a complete script in sketch form” and “a pre-cut picture.” Selznick’s publicity director characterized it: “The process might be called the ‘blue-printing’ in advance of a motion picture.” The striking revelation was that the storyboarding was not done after the script was finished. Menzies worked from the book, and the storyboard and script were created in parallel. Menzies’ storyboard for the 1933 Alice in Wonderland revealed a similarly elaborate process. It was 624 pages long, with one page per intended shot. Each page contained a sketch at the top, a paragraph describing the planned technological traits of the shot (such as lens length), and the traditional screenplay dialogue at the bottom. It’s hard to imagine many people other than a genius like Menzies being able to provide such a comprehensive plan for a film. (A sketch for Alice is on the right here. DB has written about Menzies here and here.) Spielberg used sketches in addition to a screenplay from the start. Duel, surprisingly enough, was supposed to be shot in a studio, but the director insisted on working on location. The sketches he made for it do not resemble a traditional storyboard but instead are like pictorial maps framed from an extremely high angle. He also plotted out the paths of the vehicles with overhead views of the roads. The storyboards for Jaws were done from the novel at the same time that the script was being written, just as Menzies had done with Gone with the Wind. (The same thing happened with Jurassic Park.) Storyboards were vital, among other things, for telling the crew which of the four versions of the shark would be used. One fake shark had only a right side, another a left, and which one was needed depended on the direction the shark was crossing the screen. The speakers distinguished between the “working” storyboard and the “public” one. The public one is what sometimes get published, but it usually has each image cropped to remove the information about the shot (e.g., who will work on it) noted underneath. Brad Schauer contributed to a roundtable on the American B film back when The Blog was in its infancy. He has been researching the role of B’s in the industry for many years, and he brought to our event some new ideas about them in the postwar period. His paper, “First-Run and Cut-Rate” showed that there were still plenty of theatres showing double bills in the 1950s and 1960s (DB can confirm it), and the market needed solid, 70-90 minute fillers. One answer was the “programmer,” or the “shaky A” that featured somewhat well-known talent, color, location shooting, and familiar genres (Westerns, swashbucklers, horror, crime, comedy, and science fiction). Shot in half the time of an A, with budgets in the $500,000-$750,000 range, programmers fleshed out double bills and sometimes broke into the A market. What does this have to do with screenwriting? Brad decided to test whether Kristin’s ideas about four-part structure (here and here) held good with programmers. Looking at several, he came up with a plausible account that films like Battle at Apache Pass and Against All Flags simply compressed the four parts into short chunks, typically running fifteen to twenty minutes. In The Golden Blade, Rock Hudson formulates his goal (revenge) two and a half minutes into the movie. Too few things happen? La Pointe Courte (1955). In most films, Agnes Varda said, “I find that too many things happen.” How can screenplay studies move beyond Hollywood’s jammed dramaturgy to consider the more spacious sort of storytelling we find in “art cinema”? Colin Burnett offered a general overview of art-cinema norms that is somewhat parallel to our and Janet Staiger’s The Classical Hollywood Cinema. To a great extent, of course, “art films” differ from classically constructed films. They can be more ambiguous, more reflexive, more stylized and at the same time more naturalistic. They often replace a tight causal chain with episodic construction and nuances of characterization. The protagonists may have complex mental states; they may have inconsistent goals, or no goals at all; they may be passive; they may have shifting identities. Yet Colin argued against claims that art films lack narrative altogether. “Art films offer reduced scene dramaturgy, rarely its complete absence.” They possess structuring devices comparable to Hollywood acts. A film’s large-scale parts may be based on a character’s development, on changes in space or time, or on variations of action and/or reaction. A question was raised as to whether such a broad category as art cinema could be characterized in such ways. Given the enormous range of types of films made in the Hollywood tradition, however, it seems possible that the art cinema could be described in a similar fashion. (For our thoughts on the matter, go here and here.) A great many art-film strategies can be seen as stemming from modernism in literature and the other arts. As if offering a case study illustrating Colin’s argument, Kelley Conway focused on La Pointe Courte. Varda’s first film is now coming to be considered the earliest New Wave feature. But Varda wasn’t the prototypical New Waver. She wasn’t a man, she wasn’t a cinephile, and she took her inspiration from high art, not popular culture. A professional photographer who loved painting and literature, she brought to this film (made at age 26) a bold awareness of twentieth-century modernism. The result was a striking juxtaposition of stylization and realism, personal drama and community routine. In La Pointe Courte, we might say, neorealism meets the second half of Hiroshima mon amour. Inspired by Faulkner’s Wild Palms, Varda braided together two stories. While families in a fishing village live their everyday lives, an educated couple work through their marriage problems in a long walk. Remarkably, Varda had not seen Rossellini’s Voyage to Italy. After supplying background on the production process, Kelley focused on matters of performance. She explained how Varda, well aware of Brechtian “distanciation,” made the couple’s dialogue deliberately flat. By contrast, the villagers’ lines, through scripted, were treated more naturalistically. La Pointe Courte emerges as an anomie-drenched demonstration of how little you need to make an engrossing movie. To script or not to script (or to pretend not to script) Maidstone (1970). The SRN embraces research into the absence of a script as well. At one limit is the work of avant-gardists like Stan Brakhage. John Powers’ “A Pony, Not to Be Ridden” discussed how non-narrative filmmakers used paper and pencil to organize their work, much as a poet might make notes on a draft. John’s examples were three films by Brakhage, each developed out of sketches and jottings assembled after shooting but before editing. Unconstrained by any script format, Brakhage had to invent his own version of storyboarding and screenplay notes. Compilation filmmakers also discover their structure in the process of collecting and sifting material. Documentarist Emile de Antonio, whose collection resides in our WCFTR, had to build his screenplay up after he had assembled some material. “A script won’t be ready,” he remarked, “until the film is finished.” Vance Kepley’s paper showed that In the Year of the Pig was the result of a massive effort of “information management.” De Antonio sought out press clippings, sound recordings, and news footage and then had to create an archive with its own system of labeling, cross-references, and easy access. De Antonio started with the soundtrack, which was itself a montage of found material, and then created a “paper film,” cutting and pasting vocal passages and descriptions of images. At the limit, he charted his film’s structure with magic-marker notations on large strips of corrugated cardboard, as Vance illustrated. One panel session took a close look at improvisation in fiction features. Line Langebek and Spencer Parsons gave a lively paper with the innocuous title “Cassavetes’ Screenwriting Practice.” Explaining that Cassavetes did use scripts (“sometimes overwritten”), and he relied on actors to help create them in workshop sessions, they proposed thinking of his work as exemplifying the “spacious screenplay.” Their ten principles characterizing this sort of construction include: Write with specific actors in mind. Use a “situational” dramaturgy rather than a rise-and-fall one. The work is modeled on free jazz, with moments set aside for specific actors. Even minor actors get their solos. Shoot in sequence, so that emotional development can be modulated across the performances. Line and Spencer’s precise discussions cast a lot of light on the specific nature of Cassavetes’ creative process and pointed paths for other directors. They added that the spacious screenplay is really for the actors and the director; the financiers should be given something more traditional. Norman Mailer called Cassavetes’ films “semi-improvised.” He tried to go further, J. J. Murphy explained in “Cinema as Provocation.” Mailer wanted his three films Wild 90, Beyond the Law, and Maidstone to be completely improvised, utterly in the moment. “The moment,” he proclaimed, “is a mystery.” Mailer opposed the “femininity” he claimed to find in Warhol’s films, so he encouraged his male players to indulge their machismo playing gangsters, cops, and aggressive entrepreneurs. J. J., whose book on Warhol stressed the psychodrama component of the films, finds Mailer no less devoted to having his players work out their problems through unrestrained behavior. The climax of Maidstone, in which an enraged Rip Torn begins to strangle Mailer, becomes the logical outcome of Mailer’s needling provocation of his actors. How ya like the mystery of this moment, Norman? Within the Hollywood industry, improvisation is identified strongly with Robert Altman’s films, but Mark Minnett‘s “Altman Unscripted?” shows another side to his work. Focusing on The Long Goodbye, Mark finds that the film doesn’t vary wildly from the script. The principle plot arcs aren’t changed, although Altman decorates them by letting minor characters inject some novelty. He encouraged the guard who does impressions of Hollywood stars, and he gave latitude to Elliott Gould, whose improvisation elaborates on the issues of trust and bonding that are embedded in the script. Some scenes are condensed or altered, as often happens on any production, but the Altman mystique of freewheeling, anything-goes creativity isn’t borne out by the film. Altman’s characteristic touches are built around what’s “narratively essential,” as laid out in the screenplay. We learned a lot more at the conference than we can cover here. For example, Jule Selbo brought to our attention Sakane Tazuko, a woman screenwriter-director in 1930s Japan. Rosamund Davies explored the ways in which transmedia storytelling could enhance historical dramas. Carmen Sofia Brenes traced out how different senses of verisimilitude in Aristotle’s Poetics might apply to screenwriting. We learned of a planned encyclopedia of screenwriting edited by Paolo Russo and a book on the history of American screenwriting edited by Andy Horton. Not least, there was Eric Hoyt, whose “From Narrative to Nodes” showed how digitized screenplays could be used to graph character action and interaction over time. (A nice moment: When asked if his analytic could be rendered in real time, he clicked a button, and the thing moved.) Once more we’re in the x-y axes of Emmerdale and In the Year of the Pig, but now in cyberspace. Eric’s results on Kasdan’s Grand Canyon appears here on the right, but only as an enigmatic tease; he will be contributing a guest blog here later this fall. In other words, you should have been here. Next time: October in Potsdam, under the auspices of Kerstin Stutterheim at the Hochshule für Film und Fernsehen “Konrad Wolf.” DB was at this magnificent facility last year for another event, and we’re sure–to coin a phrase–a hell of a time will be had by all. Thanks very much to J. J. and Kelley, as well as to Vance Kepley, Mary Huelsbeck, and Maxine Fleckner Ducey of the WCFTR. Special thanks to Erik Gunneson, Mike King, Linda Lucey, Jason Quist, Janice Richard, Peter Sengstock, Michael Trevis, and all the other departmental staff that helped make this conference a big success. Thanks also to Noah Ollendick, age 12, who asked a smart question. P.S. 4 Sept: Thanks to Ben Brewster for a correction! J.J. Murphy and Kelley Conway, conference coordinators. DB here: The first quarter of the year is the biggest slump time for movie theatres. (1) Holiday fatigue, thin budgets, bad weather, the Super Bowl, and the distractions of the awards season depress admissions. If people go to the movies, they tend to catch up on Oscar nominees, and studios don’t want to release high-end films that might suffer from the competition. But screens need fresh product every week, so most of what gets released at this time of the year might charitably be called second-tier. Ambitious filmmakers fight to keep out of this zone of death. You could argue that the January release slot of Idiocracy told Mike Judge exactly what Fox thought of that ripe exercise in misanthropy. Zodiac, one of the best films of 2007, opened on 1 March, and even ecstatic reviews couldn’t push it toward Oscar nominations. You can imagine what chances for success Columbia has assigned to Vantage Point (a 22 February bow). [But see my 4 Feb. PPPS below.] Yet this is a flush period for those of us who like to explore low-budget genre pieces. I have to admit I enjoy checking on those quickie action fests and romantic comedies that float up early in the year. They’re today’s equivalent of the old studios’ program pictures, those routine releases that allowed theatres to change bills often. In their budgets, relative to blockbusters, today’s program pix are often the modern equivalent of the studios’ B films. More important, these winter orphans are often more experimental, imaginative, and peculiar than the summer blockbusters. On low budgets, people take chances. Some examples, not all good but still intriguing, would be Wild Things (1998), Dark City (1998), Romeo Must Die (2000), Reindeer Games (2000), Monkeybone (2001), Equilibrium (2002), Spun (2003), Torque (2004), Butterfly Effect (2004), Constantine (2005), Running Scared (2006), Crank (2006), and Smokin’ Aces (2007). The mutant B can be found in other seasons too—one of my favorites in this vein, Cellular (2004), was released in September—but they’re abundant in the year’s early months. By all odds, Cloverfield ought to have been another low-end release. A monster movie with unknown players, running a spare 72 minutes sans credits, budgeted at a reputed $25 million, it’s a paradigm of the winter throwaway. Except that it pulled in $46 million over a four-day weekend and became the highest-grossing film (in unadjusted dollars) ever to be released in January. Here the B in “B-movie” stands for Blockbuster. I enjoyed Cloverfield. It starts with a sharp premise, but as ever, execution is everything. I see it as a nifty digital update of some classic Hollywood conventions. Needless to say, many spoilers loom ahead. If you find this tape, you probably know more about this than I do Everybody knows by now that Cloverfield is essentially Godzilla Meets Handicam. A covey of twentysomethings are partying when a monster attacks Manhattan, and they try to escape. One, Rob, gets a phone call from his off-again lover Beth, who’s trapped in a high-rise. He vows to rescue her. He brings along some friends, one of whom documents their search with a video camera. It’s a shooting-gallery plot. One by one, the characters are eliminated until we’re down to two, and then. . . . Cloverfield exemplifies what narrative theorists call restricted narration. (Kristin and I discuss this in Chapter 3 of Film Art.) In the narrowest case of restricted narration, the film confines the audience’s range of knowledge to what one character knows. Alternatively, as when the characters are clustered in the same space, we’re restricted to what they collectively know. In other words, you deny the viewer a wider-ranging body of story information. By contrast, the usual Godzilla installment is presented from an omniscient perspective, skipping among scenes of scientists, journalists, government officials, Godzilla’s free-range ramblings, and other lines of action. Instead, Cloverfield imagines what Godzilla’s attack would look and feel like on the ground, as observed by one group of victims. Horror and science fiction films have used both unrestricted and restricted narration. A film like Cat People (1942) crosscuts what happens to Irena (the putative monster) with scenes involving other characters. Jurassic Park and The Host likewise trace out several plot strands among a variety of characters. The advantage of giving the audience so much information is that it can feel apprehension and suspense about what the characters don’t know is happening. Our superior knowledge can make us worry about those poor victims oblivious to their fate. But these genres have relied on restricted narration as well. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) is a good example; we are at Miles’s side in almost every scene, learning of the gradual takeover of his town as he does. Night of the Living Dead (1968), Signs (2002), and War of the Worlds (2005) do much the same with a confined group, attaching us to one or the other momentarily but never straying from their situation. The advantages of restricted narration are pretty apparent. You can build up uncertainty and suspense if we know no more than the character(s) being attacked by a monster. You can also delay full revelation of the creature, a big deal in these genres, by giving us only the glimpses of it that our characters get. Arguably as well, by focusing on the characters’ responses to their peril, you have a chance to build audience involvement. We can feel empathy and loss if we’ve come to know the people more intimately than we know the anonymous hordes stomped by Godzilla. Finally, if you need to give more wide-ranging information about what’s happening outside the characters’ immediate situation, you can always have them encounter newspaper reports, radio bulletins, and TV coverage of action occurring elsewhere. People sometimes think that theoretical distinctions like this overintellectualize things. Do filmmakers really think along these lines? Yes. Matt Reeves, the director of Cloverfield, remarks: The point of view was so restricted, it felt really fresh. It was one of the things that attracted me [to this project]. You are with this group of people and then this event happens and they do their best to understand it and survive it, and that’s all they know. For your eyes only Restricted narration doesn’t demand optical point-of-view shots. There aren’t that many in Invasion of the Body Snatchers or the other examples I’ve indicated. Still, for quite a while and across a range of genres, filmmakers have imagined entire films recording a character’s optical/ auditory experience directly, in “first-person,” so to speak. Again, it’s useful to recognize two variants of this narrational strategy. One we can call immediate—experiencing the action as if we stood in the character’s shoes. In the late 1920s, the great documentary filmmaker Joris Ivens tried to make what he called his I-film, which would record exactly what a character saw when riding a bike, drinking a glass of beer, and the like. He was dismayed to find that bouncing and swiveling the camera as if it were a human eye ignored the fact that in real life, our perceptual systems correct for the instabilities of sensation. Ivens abandoned the project, but evidently he couldn’t get the notion out of his head; he called his autobiography The Camera and I. (2) Hollywood’s most strict and most notorious example of directly subjective narration is Robert Montgomery’s Lady in the Lake (1947). Its strangeness reminds us of some inherent challenges in this approach. How do you show the viewer what your protagonist looks like? (Have him pass in front of mirrors.) How do you skip over the boring bits? (Have your hero knocked unconscious from time to time.) How do you hide the inevitable cuts? (Try your best.) Even Montgomery had to treat the subjective sequences as long flashbacks, sandwiched within scenes of the hero in his office in the present telling us what he did next. Because of these problems, a sustained first-person immediate narration is pretty rare. The best compromise, exploited by Hitchcock in many pictures and especially in Rear Window (1954), is to confine us to a single character’s experience by alternating “objective” shots of the character’s action with optical point-of-view shots of what s/he sees. What I’m calling immediate optical point of view is just that: sight (and sounds) picked up directly, without a recording mechanism between the story action and the character’s experience. But we can also have mediated first-person point of view. The character uses a recording technology to give us the story events. In a brilliant essay on the documentary Kon-Tiki (1950), André Bazin shows that our knowledge of how Thor Heyerdahl filmed his raft voyage lends an unparalleled authenticity to the action. Heyerdahl and his crew weren’t experienced photographers and seem to have taken along the 16mm camera as an afterthought, but the very amateurishness of the enterprise guaranteed its realism. Its imperfections, often the result of hazardous conditions, were themselves testimony to the adventure. When the men had to fight storms, they had no time to film; so Bazin is able to argue, with his inimitable sense of paradox, that the absence of footage during the storm is further proof of the event. If we were given such footage, we might wonder if it was staged afterward. How much more moving is this flotsam, snatched from the tempest, than would have been the faultless and complete report offered by an organized film. . . . The missing documents are the negative imprints of the expedition. (3) What about fictional events? In the 1960s we started to see fiction films that presented themselves as recordings of the events as the camera operator experienced them. One early example is Stanton Kaye’s Georg (1964). The first shot follows some infantrymen into battle, but then the framing wobbles and the camera falls to earth. We see a tipped angle on a fallen solider and another infantryman approaches. He bends toward us; the frame starts to wobble and we are lifted up. On the soundtrack we hear, “I found my camera then.” The emergence of portable equipment and cinema-verite documentary seems to have pushed filmmakers to pursue this narrational mode in fiction. One result was the pseudo-documentary, which usually doesn’t present the story as a single person’s experience but rather as a compilation of first-person observations. Peter Watkins’ The War Game (1967) presents itself as a documentary shot during a nuclear war, and it contains many of the visual devices that would come to be associated with the mediated format—not only the flailing camera but the face-on interview and the chaotic presentation of violent action. There’s also the pseudo-memoir film, pioneered in David Holzman’s Diary (1967). Later examples of the pseudo-documentary are Norman Mailer’s Maidstone (1971) and the combat movie 84 Charlie MoPic (1989). (4) As lightweight 16mm cameras made filming easier, directors adapted that look and feel to fictional storytelling. The arrival of ultra-portable digital cameras and cellphones has launched a similar cycle. Brian DePalma’s Redacted (2007), yet another war film, has exploited the technology for docudrama. A digital equivalent of David Holzman’s Diary, apart from Webcam and YouTube material, is Christoffer Boe’s Offscreen (2006), which I discussed here. Interestingly, Orson Welles pioneered both the immediate and the mediated subjective formats. One of his earliest projects for RKO was an adaptation of Heart of Darkness, in which the camera was to represent the narrator Marlowe’s optical perspective throughout. (5) Welles had more success with the mediated alternative, though in audio form. His “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast mimicked the flow of programming and interrupted it with reports of the aliens’ attack. The device was updated for television in the 1983 drama Special Bulletin. Sticking to the rules Cloverfield, then, draws on a tradition of using technologically mediated point-of-view to restrict our knowledge. Like The Blair Witch Project (1999), it does this with a horror tale. But it’s also a Hollywood movie, and it follows the norms of that moviemaking mode. So the task of Reeves, producer J. J. Abrams, and the other creators is to fit the premise of video recording to the demands of classical narrative structure and narration. How is this done? First, exposition. The film is framed as a government SD video card (watermarked DO NOT DUPLICATE), the remains of a tape recovered from an area “formerly known as Central Park.” This is a modern version of the discovered-manuscript convention familiar from the nineteenth-century novel. When the tape starts, showing Rob with Beth in happy times, its read-out date of April plays the role of an omniscient opening title. In the course of the film, the read-outs (which come and go at strategic moments) will tell us when we’re in the earlier phase of their love affair and when we’re seeing the traumatic events of May. Likewise, the need for exposition about characters and relationships at the start of the film is given through a basic premise. Jason wants to record Rob’s going-away-party and he presses Rob’s friend Hud into service as the cameraman. Off the bat, Hud picks out our main characters in video portraits addressed to Rob. What follows indicates that Hud will be amazingly prescient: His camera dwells on the characters who will be important in the ensuing action. Next, overall structure. The Cloverfield tape conforms to the overarching principles that Kristin outlines in Storytelling in the New Hollywood and that I restated in The Way Hollywood Tells It. (Another example can be found here.) A 72-minute film won’t have four large-scale parts, most likely two or three. As a first approximation, I think that Cloverfield breaks into: A setup lasting about 30 minutes. We are introduced to all the characters before the monster attacks. Our protagonists flee to the bridge, where Jason dies. Near the end of this portion, Rob gets a call from Beth, and he formulates the dual goals of the film: to escape from the creature, and to rescue Beth. Along the way, Hud declares he’s going to record it all: “People are gonna know how it all went down. . . . It’s gonna be important.” A development section lasting about 22 minutes. This is principally a series of delays. Rob, Hud, Lily, and Marlena encounter obstacles. Marlena falls by the wayside. They are given a deadline: At 0600 they must meet the last helicopters leaving Manhattan. A climax lasting about 20 minutes. The group rescues Beth and meets the choppers, but the one carrying Rob, Hud, and Beth falls afoul of the beast. They crash in Central Park, and Hud is killed, his camera recording his death at the jaws of the monster. Huddled under a bridge, Rob and Beth record a final video testimonial before an explosion cuts them off. An epilogue of one shot lasting less than a minute: Rob and Beth in happier times on the Ferris wheel at Coney Island—a shot left over from the earlier use of the tape in April. Next, local structure and texture. It takes a lot of artifice to make something look this artless. The imagery is rich and vivid, the sharpest home video you ever saw. The sound is pure shock-and-awe, bone-rattling, with a full surround ambience one never finds on a handicam. (6) Moreover, Hud is remarkably lucky in catching the turning points of the action. All the characters’ intimate dramas are captured, and Hud happens to be on hand when the head of Miss Liberty hurtles down the street. Bazin points out that in fictional films the ellipses are cunning gaps, carefully designed to fulfill narrative ends—not portions left out because of the physical conditions of the shoot. Here the cunning gaps are justified as constrained by the physical circumstances of filming. When Hud doesn’t show something, it’s usually because it’s what the genre considers too gross, so the worst stretches take place in darkness, or offscreen, or strategically shielded by a prop when the camera is set down. Mostly, though, Hud just shows us the interesting stuff. He turns on the camera just before something big happens, or he captures a disquieting image like that of the empty Central Park carriage. At least once, the semi-documentary premise does yield something evocative of the Kon-Tiki film. Hud has to leap from one building to another, many stories above the street. He turns the camera on himself: “If this is the last thing you see, then I died.” He hops across, still running the camera, but when a rocket goes off nearby, a sudden cut registers his flinch. For an instant out of sheer reflex, he turned off the camera. Overall, Hud’s tape respects the flow of classical film style. Unlike the Lady in the Lake approach, the mediated POV format doesn’t have a problem with cuts; any jump or gap is explained as a moment when the operator switched off the camera. Most of Hud’s “in-camera” cuts are conventional ones, skipping over a few inconsequential stretches of time. There are as well plenty of hooks between scenes. (For more on hooks, go here.) Hud says: “I’ll walk in the tunnels.” Cut to characters walking in the tunnels. More interestingly, visible cuts are rare, which again respects the purported conditions of filming. Cloverfield has much longer takes than any recent Hollywood film I know. I counted only about 180 shots, yielding an average of 24 seconds per shot (in a genre in which today’s films average 2-5 seconds per shot). The digital palimpsest We could find plenty of other ways in which Cloverfield adapts the handicam premise to the Hollywood storytelling idiom. There are the product placements that just happen to be part of these dim yuppies’ milieu. There are the character types, notably the sultry Marlena and the hero’s weak friend who’s comically a little slow. There’s the developing motif of the to-camera addresses, with Rob and Beth’s final monologues to the camera counterbalancing the party testimonials in the opening. There’s the final romantice exchange: “I love you.” “I love you.” The very last shot even includes a detail that invites us to re-view the entire movie, at the theatre or on DVD. But let me close by noting how some specific features of digital video hardware get used imaginatively. I’ve already mentioned how the viewfinder date readout allows us to keep the time structure clear. There’s also the use of a night-vision camera feature to light up those spidery parasites shucked off by the big guy. Which scares you more—to glimpse the pinpoint eyes of critters skittering around you in the dark, or to see them up close in a sickly green light? More teasing is the fact, set up in the first part, that this video is being recorded over an old tape of Rob’s. That’s what turns the opening sequence of Rob and Beth in May into a prologue: the tape wasn’t rewound completely for recording the party. Later, at intervals, fragments of that April footage reappear, apparently through Hud’s inadvertently advancing the tape. The snippets functions as flashbacks, showing Rob and Beth going to Coney Island and juxtaposing their enjoyable day with this horrendous night. Cleverly, on the tape that’s recording the May disaster something always prepares the audience for the shift. For instance, when Jason hands the camera over, we hear Hud say, “I don’t even know how to work this thing.” Cut to an April shot of Beth on the subway, suggesting that he’s advanced fast forward without shooting. Likewise, when Rob says, “I had a tape in there,” we cut to another April shot of Beth. As a final fillip, the footage taken in May halts before the tape ends, so we get the epilogue showing Rob and Beth on the Ferris wheel in April, emerging like figures in a palimpsest. No less clever, but also a little poignant, is the use of the fallen-camera convention. It appears once when Beth has to be extricated from her bed. Hud sets the camera down by a concrete block in her bedroom, which conceals her agony. More striking is the shot when the camera, dropped from Hud’s hand, lies in the grass, and the autofocus device oscillates endlessly, straining to hold on his lifeless face. In sum, the filmmakers have found imaginative ways of fulfilling traditional purposes. They show that the look and feel of digital video can refresh genre conventions and storytelling norms. So why not for the sequel show the behemoth’s attack from still other characters’ perspectives? This would mobilize the current conventions of the narrative replay and the companion film (e.g., Eastwood’s Iwo Jima diptych). Reeves says: The fun of this movie was that it might not have been the only movie being made that night, there might be another movie! In today’s day and age of people filming their lives on their iPhones and Handycams, uploading it to YouTube. . . . So the Dead Zone of January through March yields another hopeful monster. What about next month’s Vantage Point? The tagline is: 8 Strangers. 8 Points of View. 1 Truth. Hmmm. . . . Combining the network narrative with Rashomon and a presidential assassination. . . . Bet you video recording is involved . . . . See you there? PS: At my local multiplex, you’re greeted by a sign: WARNING: CLOVERFIELD MAY INDUCE MOTION SICKNESS. I thought this was just the theatre covering itself, but I’ve learned that no recent movie, not even The Bourne Ultimatum, has had more viewers going giddy and losing their lunch. You can read about the phenomenon here, and Dr. Gupta weighs in here. My gorge can rise when a train jolts, but I had no problems with two viewings of Cloverfield, both from third row center. Anyhow, it will be perfectly easy to watch on your cellphone. But we should expect to see at least one pirate version shot in a theatre by someone who’s fighting back the Technicolor yawn, giving us more Queasicam than we bargained for. (1) The only period that rivals this slow winter stretch is mid-August to October, when genre fare gets pushed out to pick up on late summer business. [Added 26 January:] There are, I should add, two desirable weekends in the first quarter, those around Martin Luther King’s birthday and Presidents’ Day. Studios typically aim their highest-profile winter releases (e.g., Black Hawk Down, 2001) for those weekends. (2) Joris Ivens, The Camera and I (New York: International Publishers, 1969), 42. (3) André Bazin, “Cinema and Exploration,” What Is Cinema? Vol. 1, trans. and ed. Hugh Gray (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967), 162. (4) Not all pseudodocumentaries present themselves as records of a person’s observation. Milton Moses Ginsberg’s Coming Apart (1969) presents itself as an objective record, by a hidden camera, of a psychiatrist’s dealings with his patients. Like a surveillance camera, it doesn’t purport to embody anybody’s point of view. (5) Jonathan Rosenbaum, Discovering Orson Welles (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007), 28-48. (6) For Kevin Martin’s informative account of the film’s polished lighting and high-definition video capture, go here (and scroll down a bit). For discussions of contemporary sound practices in this genre, see William Whittington’s Sound Design in Science Fiction (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2007). PS: Thanks to Corey Creekmur for correcting two slips in my initial post! PPS 28 January: Lots of Internet buzz about the film since I wrote this. Thanks to everyone who linked to this post, and special thanks for feedback from John Damer and James Fiumara. Some people have asked me to comment on the social and cultural implications of Cloverfield’s references to 9/11. At this point I think that genre cinema has dealt more honestly and vividly with the traumas and questioning around this horrendous event than the more portentous serious dramas like United 93, World Trade Center, and the TV show The Road to 9/11. The two most intriguing post-9/11 films I know are by Spielberg. The War of the Worlds gives a really concrete sense of what a hysterical America under attack might be like, warts and all. (It reminded me of a TV show I saw as a kid, Alas, Babylon (1960), a surprisingly brutal account of nuclear-war panic in suburbia.) Spielberg’s underrated The Terminal reminds us, despite its Frank Capra optimism, that the new Security State is run by bureaucrats with fixed agendas and staffed by overworked people of color, some themselves exiles and immigrants. I think that Cloverfield adds its own dynamic sense of how easily the entitlement culture of upwardly mobile twentysomethings can be shattered. Genre films carry well-established patterns and triggers for feelings, and a shrewd filmmaker can channel them for comment on current events—as we see in the changing face of Westerns and war films in earlier phases of Hollywood history. On this point, Cinebeats offers some shrewd responses to criticisms of Cloverfield here. Finally: In the new Creative Screenwriting an informative piece (not available online) indicates that the initial logline for Vantage Point on imdb is misleading. Screenwriter Barry Levy planned to present the assassination from seven points of view, but reduced that to six. As for my speculation that video recording/replay would be involved, a production still seems to offer some evidence. Shall we call it the Cloverfield effect? The same issue of CS has a brief piece on the script for Cloverfield. PPS 30 January: Shan Ding brings me another story about the making of Cloverfield, and Reeves is already in talks for a sequel, says Variety. PPPS 4 February: A recent story in The Hollywood Reporter offers a nuanced account of how Hollywood is rethinking its first-quarter strategies. Across the last 4-5 years, a few big releases have done fairly well between January and April; a high-end film looks bigger when there is less competition. The author, Steven Zeitchik, suggests that the heavy packing of the May-August period and the need for a strong first weekend are among the factors that will encourage executives to spread releases through the less-trafficked months. I hope, though, that tonier fare won’t crowd out the more edgy, low-end genre pieces that bring me in. PPPPS 8 February: How often has a wounded Statue of Liberty featured in the apocalyptic scenarios of comics and the movies? Lots, it turns out. Gerry Canavan explains here. DB here: Echoing an earlier virtual roundtable on this blog, I want to write about my two favorite B film series, now available in handsome DVD boxed sets. Both series were mounted at 20th Century-Fox, both were adapted from genre fiction, and both seem very much of their time: lots of exotic Orientalia, and probably too many middle-aged men in tiny mustaches and broad fedoras. But to my mind these films offer brisk, unpretentious entertainment, solidly crafted and surprisingly subtle. They also allow us to trace some changes in the ways movies were made across the 1930s. There’s another reason for this blog. Tim Onosko, a friend of Kristin’s and mine, recently died after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Tim was an extraordinary figure, as you can find here. He was central to Madison film culture for forty years, and in his various creative activities, he shaped everything from The Velvet Light Trap to Tokyo Disneyland. He and his wife Beth also made a documentary, Lost Vegas: The Lounge Era. Tim and I enjoyed talking about the two series I’ll be mentioning. He loved these films, as he loved all films and popular culture generally, with a sharp-eyed dedication. So this is a small effort at an homage to Tim. The Hawaiian and the Japanese Charlie Chan, a Hawaiian police inspector of Chinese ancestry, became famous in a series of six novels by Earl Derr Biggers, from The House without a Key (1925) to The Keeper of the Keys (1932). Chan novels were brought to the screen at the end of the 1920s by Pathé and Universal, but for Behind That Curtain (1929) Fox took over the franchise. Warner Oland, a Swedish-born actor who had often played Asians, settled into the lead role in Charlie Chan Carries On (1931). He played Chan up through Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937), then fled Hollywood under peculiar circumstances and went to Sweden, where he died soon afterward. The Mr. Moto films overlapped with the Oland cycle. John P. Marquand introduced Moto in the novel No Hero (1935) and made him more central to four novels that followed. Again, Fox bought the rights and launched the film series with Thank You, Mr. Moto (1937). It starred Peter Lorre as the mysterious Japanese, and I think it’s fair to say that the role made him a Hollywood star. The series ran for eight installments, ending in 1939 with Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation. Each series echoed its mate. Tim claimed that in an early Chan, a character is reading a Moto story in the Saturday Evening Post, though I’ve never found that scene. When Charlie’s Number One Son turns up to help Moto in Mr. Moto’s Gamble (1938) it’s revealed that Charlie and Moto are old friends. There’s a more elegiac moment in Mr. Moto’s Last Warning (1939) when a theatre displays a poster for the Chan series—perhaps as well serving as an homage to the recently deceased Warner Oland. Despite Oland’s death, the Chan series continued until 1949, with Sidney Toler in the role, but with Lorre’s departure the Moto films ceased. Having a Caucasian actor play an Asian protagonist was common at the time. Today, it seems condescending or worse, but we should recognize that the films featured Asian actors as well, often in significant roles. The most visible example is Keye Luke as Charlie’s highly Americanized son. Forever blurting out “Gosh, Pop!” Luke is a lively and likable presence. Just as important, the portrayal of the detectives is remarkably free of racism. Charlie and Moto are clearly the quickest-witted characters, and both prove resourceful in all kinds of ways. Moto’s judo subdues thugs twice his size, and Charlie is up-to-date in the new technologies of detection. The scripts go out of their way to show both men skilfully handling the prejudice they encounter. In Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936), a blatantly racist cop (William Demarest) who calls Charlie “Chop Suey” is mocked incessantly by everyone, most gently by Charlie. Moto excels at pretending to be the stereotypical Asian (“Ah, so!” “Suiting you?”). And both our protagonists are sympathetic to others who are in minorities. Charlie is notably unwilling to participate in guying black servants as the whites do, and Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936) shows his keen sympathy with the “freaks,” treating them with quiet courtesy. The Moto series presents a Japanese who doesn’t seem to share his country’s goal of ruling Asia. In Thank You, Mr. Moto, he enjoys a respectful friendship with a Chinese family of declining fortunes. The Chan series features straightforward detection. A murder is committed, and either Charlie is in the vicinity or the police ask for his help. A young and innocent couple is involved, adding pressure for Charlie to solve the case. Another murder is likely to take place, and a few attempts are made on Charlie’s life before he comes to the solution. In traditional fashion he tends to assemble all the suspects at the climax before exposing the guilty party. The Moto films aren’t as concerned with puzzles. Like the novels, they’re tales of international intrigue, involving smuggling, theft of archaeological treasures, and the like. There’s more violence and physical action, with shootouts and last-minute rescues. Moto Kentaro (his given name is visible only on his identity card) is a more shadowy presence than Charlie, often working under vague auspices. He’s either an agent of Interpol, a functionary of the Japanese government, or an exporter who takes up intrigue as a hobby. (1) In Mr. Moto’s Gamble, arguably the best of the series, he engages in old-fashioned detection involving murder during a boxing match. Unsurprisingly, the film was originally planned as a Chan vehicle, and it even includes Number One Son as Moto’s sidekick. Looks and looking We can learn a lot by studying the two main actors’ performance styles. The plump Oland plays Chan as stolid but not ponderous. He floats across a room and gravely circulates among suspects, giving the films their deliberate pacing. Oland’s drawn-out delivery and pauses were due, people say, to his acute alcoholism, but he never seems to be struggling to find his lines. Charlie is at pains to be unobtrusive, modest, and tactful; his characteristic gesture is a simple one, letting the fingertips of one hand grasp one finger of the other. He is a loving father, doting on his many children (all in tow in Charlie Chan at the Circus). Although Number One Son may exasperate him, you would go far in films to find as warm a portrayal of a father’s affectionate efforts to curb an impulsive boy. See Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937) for the casual byplay between Charlie and Lee, now an art major and a member of the swimming team. Lee’s bubbling energy gives Charlie’s imperturbability even greater gravitas. The short and slim Lorre plays Moto as a suave man-about-Asia, hand thrust casually into his trouser pocket. Moto is an art connoisseur, a graduate of Stanford (class of ‘21), and a master of many languages. Lorre, so easily caricatured at the time and now, hit on a brilliant idea: He didn’t give Moto stereotyped tricks of pronunciation. Unlike Oland, he didn’t usually drop articles or compress syntax.(2) Lorre just played the part in his lightly accented English, as he would in The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca. He added a soft-spoken delivery, a modest smile, and a trick he may have picked up from Marlene Dietrich–ending his sentences with a slight upward inflection, turning every statement into a polite question. Reaction shots of suspects are a convention of these movies, but after several cuts show us everybody looking shifty, the reverse shots of our heroes show us that they miss none of this byplay. (3) Charlie is alert, but he hides his penetrating view behind a bland courtesy. As Moto, Lorre presents a more aggressive intelligence. Peering through round spectacles, those bug eyes, panic-stricken in M, can now become pensive or bore into a suspect. Charlie needs the force of law, but Moto, who usually acts alone, is dangerous by himself, and Lorre’s horror-show pedigree serves him well in giving his hero’s stare a sinister edge. Listening and looking You can argue that Oland and Lorre, coming to their parts only a few years after sound had arrived, helped Hollywood develop a wider array of acting styles. We historians of Hollywood have rightly praised gabby comedies like Twentieth Century (1934) and It Happened One Night (1934) for finding a performance technique suited to sound films, particularly in the wake of technical improvements in acoustic recording. If movies had to talk, we think, they should really talk, fast and hard and heedlessly. In this church our Book of Revelations is His Girl Friday (1940). Lorre and Oland, like Karloff and Lugosi, remind us of the virtues of being gentle, spacious, and deliberate. This isn’t a reversion to those hesitant, strangled mumblings of the earliest talkies. Rather, the movies’ plots surround our Asians with rapid-fire duels of cops and reporters, snapping out “Say!” and “Hiya, sister!” and “Watch it, wise guy!” and “Don’t be a sap!” Against clattering percussion Moto and Charlie deliver a melodic purr. Some people still believe that in Citizen Kane Welles and Gregg Toland introduced American film to steep low angles, tight depth compositions, and noirish lighting. In The Classical Hollywood Cinema, I’ve argued that the Gothic, somewhat cartoonish look of Kane synthesized and amplified trends that were emerging during the 1930s. The Chan and Moto films are wonderful places to study these visual schemas. E In Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935, above), cinematographer Charles G. Clarke (whom Kristin and I interviewed for the Hollywood book) offers flashy depth and silhouette effects, and nearly all the Chan films have moments of clever staging. Charlie Chan at the Opera, above, is particularly engrossing, with its huge set (recycled from the A-picture Café Metropole, 1937). The same film, incidentally, contains scenes of a fictitious opera, Carnival, composed by Oscar Levant. This was an ambitious gesture for a B film and looks forward to Bernard Herrman’s Salammbo sequences of Kane. The Motos are even more remarkable. You want wild angles? Venetian-blind shadows? Telltale reflections in eyeglasses? Swishing bead curtains? Twisted expressionist décor? You’ve come to the right place. Some late thirties Fox sets seem to have been stored in Caligari’s Cabinet. Watching these films, it becomes clear that Kane applied the moody technique of crime and horror films to ambitious drama. One bold setup in Mr. Moto’s Gamble looks like a dry run for a Toland big-foreground composition (done here, as often in Kane, through special-effects). I like this shot so much I used it in Figures Traced in Light. Yet all this creativity took place within severe constaints. These were B pictures, running under seventy minutes and shot in a month or so. Three or four would be released each year. They shamelessly used stock footage, leftover sets, and the same players in different roles from film to film. (Watch for Ray Milland, Ward Bond, and others on the way up.) The boys in the Fox cutting room seem to have enforced a remarkable uniformity: most of the Chans in these DVD sets, regardless of director, contain between 600 and 660 shots, while the faster-paced Motos average between four and six seconds per shot. The actors created hurdles too. Oland sank even further into drinking while the high-strung Lorre was addicted to morphine and periodically retired to sanitariums to recover. Those were the days; rehab wasn’t yet a matter for infotainment. The Fox DVD boxes are model releases. The prints are well-restored (better on the second sets than the first) and filled with astute, informative supplements. We get a lot of detail about production matters, including why Oland left Hollywood. There is welcome biographical background on master minds like Sol Wurtzel and Norman Foster. I still want to know more about James Tinling, though; his direction of Mr. Moto’s Gamble and Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935) belies his reputation as a hack. “The cinema is not dangerous,” Moto reassures the Siamese tribesmen about to be filmed in Mr. Moto Takes a Chance (1938). Immediately, the woman who’s being filmed dies. The adventure begins. Who can resist movies like these? They have kept me happy since my childhood, when I watched them on Sunday afternoon TV. They can keep your children, and you, happy too. For some good reading, see John Tuska, The Detective in Hollywood (Doubleday, 1978); Charles Mitchell, A Guide to Charlie Chan Films (Greenwood, 1999); Howard M. Berlin, The Complete Mr. Moto Film Phile: A Casebook (Wildside, 2005); and Stephen Youngkin, The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre (University Press of Kentucky, 2005). For more on Charlie, click here. Charles Mitchell has a nice wrapup on Kentaro here. (1) The involvement of an innocent romantic couple was a convention of slick-magazine fiction of the day (both the Chan and Moto novels were serialized in the Saturday Evening Post), and it recurs throughout mainstream detective fiction of the 1930s. Most writers of the period wrestled with the problem of how to make the couple interesting. See Carter Dickson/ John Dickson Carr’s short story, “The House in Goblin Wood,” for a brilliant handling of the device. (2) As many commentators have noted, Charlie doesn’t speak pidgin English; he seems to be mentally translating. Interestingly, the generation gap is apparent here too, since Number One Son speaks peppy and perfect American slang. (3) One hyperclever moment in Mr. Moto’s Gamble gives us the usual rapid-fire array of single shots of discomfited suspects but neglects to show us the real culprit.
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BEST NOVEL The Valkyrie, Kate Heartfield, HarperVoyager BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL Funeral Songs for Dying Girls, Cherie Dimaline, Tundra Books BEST NOVELETTE/NOVELLA Untethered Sky, Fonda Lee, Tordotcom BEST SHORT STORY “At Every Door A Ghost”, Premee Mohamed, Communications Breakdown, MIT Press BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL/COMIC A Call to Cthulhu, Norm Konyu, Titan Nova BEST POEM/SONG “Awakening”, Tiffany Morris, Nightmare Magazine, Issue 134 BEST RELATED WORK Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction: Volume One, Stephen Kotowych, editor, Ansible Press BEST COVER ART/INTERIOR ILLUSTRATION Augur Magazine, Issue 6.1, cover art, Lorna Antoniazzi BEST FAN WRITING AND PUBLICATION Polar Borealis Magazine, Issues: 24, 25, 26, and 27, edited by R. Graeme Cameron BEST FAN RELATED WORK ephemera Reading Series, KT Bryski and Jen R. Albert, co-chairs, online Also presented during the ceremony: CANADIAN SF&F ASSOCIATION HALL OF FAME 2024 INDUCTEES Jo Walton Chris Hadfield Nalo Hopkinson 2024 World Fantasy Awards Ballot and Life Achievement Awards The World Fantasy Awards administrator announced the final ballot for this year’s awards, and the Lifetime Achievement award winners, on August 11. LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT Ginjer Buchanan Jo Fletcher NOVEL The Reformatory by Tananarive Due (Saga Press/Titan UK) The Possibilities by Yael Goldstein-Love (Random House) Starling House by Alix E. Harrow (Tor Publishing Group/Tor UK) Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi (DAW Books/Gollancz) Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward (Tor Nightfire/Viper) Witch King by Martha Wells (Tordotcom/Tor UK) NOVELLA The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill (Tordotcom) Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher (Tor Publishing Group/Titan Books) “Prince Hat Underground” by Kelly Link (White Cat, Black Dog) “Half the House Is Haunted” by Josh Malerman (Spin a Black Yarn) A Season of Monstrous Conceptions by Lina Rather (Tordotcom) Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo (Tordotcom) SHORT FICTION “How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub” by P. Djèlí Clark (Uncanny Magazine #50) “Once Upon a Time at The Oakmont” by P. A. Cornell (Fantasy Magazine, Oct. 2023) “John Hollowback and the Witch” by Amal El-Mohtar (The Book of Witches) “Waystation City” by A. T. Greenblatt (Uncanny Magazine #50) “The Sound of Children Screaming” by Rachael K. Jones (Nightmare Magazine, Oct. 2023) “Silk and Cotton and Linen and Blood” by Nghi Vo (New Suns 2) ANTHOLOGY Christmas and Other Horrors edited by Ellen Datlow (Titan UK) Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy & Science Fiction: Volume One edited by Stephen Kotowych (Ansible Press) The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2023 edited by R. F. Kuang & John Joseph Adams ((Mariner Books) Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror edited by Jordan Peele & John Joseph Adams (Random House/Picador) The Book of Witches edited by Jonathan Strahan (Harper Voyager US/Harper Voyager UK) COLLECTION The Essential Peter S. Beagle Volumes 1 & 2 by Peter S. Beagle (Tachyon Publications) The Fortunate Isles by Lisa L. Hannett (Egaeus Press) White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link (Random House/Ad Astra) No One Will Come Back for Us and Other Stories by Premee Mohamed (Undertow Publications) Jackal, Jackal: Tales of the Dark and Fantastic by Tobi Ogundiran (Undertow Publications) Jewel Box: Stories by E. Lily Yu (Erewhon Books) ARTIST Audrey Benjaminsen Rovina Cai Stefan Koidl Charles Vess Alyssa Winans SPECIAL AWARD—PROFESSIONAL Bill Campbell for Rosarium Books E. M. Carroll, for A Guest in the House (First Second) M. John Harrison, for Wish I Was Here: An Anti-Memoir (Saga Press/Serpent’s Tail) Stephen Jones, The Weird Tales Boys (PS Publishing) Liza Groen Trombi, for Locus magazine SPECIAL AWARD—NON-PROFESSIONAL: Scott H. Andrews, for Beneath Ceaseless Skies Trevor Kennedy, for Phantasmagoria Brian J. Showers, for Swan River Press Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, for Uncanny Magazine Julian Yap and Fran Wilde, for The Sunday Morning Transport Judges: Douglas A. Anderson, Stephanie Feldman, Pat Murphy, Thomas Olde Heuvelt, and Angela Slatter. 2024 Hugo Award Winners The 2024 Hugo Award winners were announced in person at the Glasgow 2024 Worldcon today. Almost 700 also viewed the ceremony on the YouTube livestream. Full voting statistics for both the nominating and final ballots can be found on the Glasgow 2024 website. BEST NOVEL Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh (Tordotcom, Orbit UK) BEST NOVELLA Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher (Tor, Titan UK) BEST NOVELETTE “The Year Without Sunshine” by Naomi Kritzer (Uncanny Magazine, November-December 2023) BEST SHORT STORY “Better Living Through Algorithms” by Naomi Kritzer (Clarkesworld May 2023) BEST SERIES Imperial Radch by Ann Leckie (Orbit US, Orbit UK) BEST GRAPHIC STORY OR COMIC Saga, Vol. 11 written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Fiona Staples (Image Comics) BEST RELATED WORK A City on Mars by Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith (Penguin Press; Particular Books) BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION, LONG FORM Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, screenplay by John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein and Michael Gilio, directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (Paramount Pictures) BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION, SHORT FORM The Last of Us: “Long, Long Time”, written by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, directed by Peter Hoar (Naughty Dog / Sony Pictures) BEST GAME OR INTERACTIVE WORK Baldur’s Gate 3, produced by Larian Studios BEST EDITOR SHORT FORM Neil Clarke BEST EDITOR LONG FORM Ruoxi Chen BEST PROFESSIONAL ARTIST Rovina Cai BEST SEMIPROZINE Strange Horizons, by the Strange Horizons Editorial Collective BEST FANZINE Nerds of a Feather, Flock Together, editors Roseanna Pendlebury, Arturo Serrano, Paul Weimer; senior editors Joe Sherry, Adri Joy, G. Brown, Vance Kotrla. BEST FANCAST Octothorpe, by John Coxon, Alison Scott, and Liz Batty BEST FAN WRITER Paul Weimer BEST FAN ARTIST Laya Rose LODESTAR AWARD FOR BEST YA BOOK To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose (Del Rey) ASTOUNDING AWARD FOR BEST NEW WRITER (sponsored by Dell Magazines) Xiran Jay Zhao The committee reports 3,813 final ballots (3,808 electronic and 5 paper) were received and counted from the members of Glasgow 2024. As previously announced, they disqualified 377 of these which were not cast by natural persons. The remaining 3,436 (3,431 electronic, 5 paper) votes were counted. 2024 Splatterpunk Awards Splatterpunk Award founders Wrath James White and Brian Keene announced the winners of the 2024 Splatterpunk Awards at KillerCon in Austin, TX on August 10. The award honors superior achievement for works published in 2023 in the sub-genres of Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror. They have also named the recipient of the sixth annual J. F. Gonzalez Lifetime Achievement Award (honoring individuals who, like Gonzalez, have made a significant impact on the Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror field). BEST NOVEL Maeve Fly by C. J. Leede (Tor Nightfire) BEST NOVELLA Snow Angels by Lucas Mangum (D&T Publishing) BEST SHORT STORY [Tie] “My Octopus Master” by Stephen Kozeniewski (from Dead and Bloated, Evil Cookie Publishing) “Blood Harmony” by Chet Williamson (from The Drive-In: Multiplex, Pandi Press) BEST COLLECTION Transcendental Mutilation by Ryan Harding (Death’s Head Press) BEST ANTHOLOGY We’re Here: An Anthology of LGBTQ+ Horror edited by Angelique Jordonna and James G. Carlson (Gloom House Publishing) J. F. GONZALEZ LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Wrath James White Ray Garton Craig Spector What’s It All About: Alfies George R.R. Martin has revived the Alfie Awards, which he gave at a private banquet in Glasgow on August 10. See Locus Online coverage with photos here: “2024 Alfie Awards”. Xiran Jay Zhao (left off the 2023 Astounding Award ballot), and R.F. Kuang (whose Babel was disqualified in 2023) received theirs in person. Two more Alfies were announced for others disqualified in 2023, fan writer Paul Weimer, and BDP candidate Sandman (discreetly omitting Neil Gaiman’s name) Martin held the original Alfies ceremony in 2015, the first year the Sad and Rabid Puppies monopolized the Hugo ballot. “This year all of us were losers,” Martin said, explaining that the Alfies, each made from a streamlined 1950s hood ornament, were his attempt to take a little of the sting off. He named “The Alfies” in honor of Alfred Bester, whose book The Demolished Man won Best Novel at the first-ever Hugos in 1953. He explained on his blog that year: It was for those ‘invisible losers’ that I decided to create the Alfies. If one accepts that the Hugo has value, these writers had suffered real harm thanks to the slates. There was no way I could hope to redress that… but I could make a gesture. In the door of my room in KC in 1976, Alfie Bester told us that winners can become losers. If so, losers can become winners too. I would give my own awards… and of course I’d name them after Alfie. So that’s how the Alfies came about. As it turned out, Martin gave more Alfies in 2016. He didn’t give Alfies in 2017. And after that the purpose of them changed to just being nice tokens for people he thought should be honored. One Alfie was given in 2018 to John Picacio for the Mexicanx Initiative. At Dublin 2019 he presented Jane Johnson and Malcolm Edwards with Alfie Awards for Editing. But in 2024 they have resumed their original purpose of calling attention to people unjustly denied their place on the Hugo Ballot. [Thanks to Meredith for the story.] Where to Watch the Glasgow 2024 Hugo Ceremony The public livestream of the Glasgow 2024 Hugo Award Ceremony will begin on YouTube at 20:00 BST (12:00 Noon PDT). Click the link. Whether it’s available on other platforms I don’t know. LAcon V Wins 2026 Site Selection Vote The 84th Worldcon will be held in Anaheim, California from August 27-31, 2026 in the Anaheim Convention Center, the Hilton Anaheim and Anaheim Marriott. The convention will be called LAcon V, a variation on the previous four Worldcons bearing the L.A.con name. The host organization is the Southern California Institute for Fan Interests (SCIFI), Inc. The site selection voting results were announced August 11. The LA in 2026 bid was the only one on the official ballot. The LA in 2026 bid received 452 out of 531 votes. There were 19 ineligible preferences. There were zero none of the above. A full voting breakdown will appear in the Business Meeting minutes. The convention’s website is here: https://www.lacon.org/ LAcon V has announced its Guests of Honor, which include: Barbara Hambly, acclaimed multi-genre novelist, whose works include The Iron Princess, The Benjamin January Mysteries, The Darwath Trilogy, Winterlands, Sunwolf and Starhawk, Ishmael and Children of the Jedi; Ronald D. Moore, Emmy, Peabody, and Hugo Award-winning screenwriter and executive producer of Battlestar Galactica, For All Mankind, Outlander, Carnivale, Roswell, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; Colleen Doran, New York Times bestselling cartoonist, writer and artist, whose work includes adaptations of The Sandman, American Gods and Good Omens as well as contributions to many popular comics and graphic novels; Dr. Anita Sengupta, aerospace engineer, commercial pilot, and rocket scientist on multiple NASA projects including Dawn, Curiosity and Cold Atom Laboratory, who is currently leading Hydroplane Ltd., developing hydrogen fuel-powered aircraft; Tim Kirk, Hugo Award winning illustrator for many acclaimed SF and fantasy novels and stories, as well as a long-time Walt Disney Imagineer and a principal designer on Disney’s Tokyo Disney-Sea and the Disney-MGM Studio Tour; Geri Sullivan, fan guest of honor; originally from Minnesota, she has worked on many local, regional and national science fiction conventions, including multiple Worldcons; Stan Sakai, special guest; Eisner Award-winning illustrator and creator of the acclaimed graphic novel series Usagi Yojimbo; and, Ursula Vernon, toastmaster; artist and illustrator, author of the children’s book series Dragonbreath and Hamster Princess, novelist (who writes under the name T. Kingfisher), and creator of the webcomic Digger. The host organization, the Southern California Institute for Fan Interests (SCIFI), Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, established for the promotion and conduct of conferences, conventions or congresses relating to the field of Science Fiction and Fantasy. SCIFI, Inc. is the past sponsor of the 1984, 1996 and 2006 Los Angeles World Science Fiction Conventions; the 1999 North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFIC); the 2019 World Fantasy Convention; the 1989, 1994 and 2002 West Coast Science Fantasy Conferences (Westercons); and the 1994 and 2014 SMOFCons. You can follow LAcon V on these social media platforms: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laworldcon X.com: https://x.com/laworldcon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laworldcon Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/laworldcon.bsky.social [Based on a press release.] Rotsler Award Display at Glasgow 2024 Here are photos of the Rotsler Award exhibit at Glasgow 2024. It was created using banners produced by Elizabeth Klein-Lebbink, who also provided the photos. Click for a larger image. Report of Glasgow 2024 First Main Business Meeting on Saturday File 770 has compiled a box score of agenda items handled at the First Main Business Meeting on Saturday at Glasgow 2024. It’s based on Kevin Standlee’s blog entry “2024 Worldcon Day 3: Grinding the Agenda”, and his explanation of some of the intricacies are quoted with permission. Read his post for a full account of the meeting. (For a summary of Friday’s 2024 Worldcon Preliminary Business Meeting click the link.) COVID STRIKES. Standlee reports that as of Saturday at least three Business Meeting attendees, including one member of the BM tech team and the BM Secretary, were down with COVID. Linda Deneroff moved up as the Emergency Holographic Secretary after Alex Acks tested positive at lunchtime. TL;DR BOX SCORE OF AGENDA ITEMS ADDRESSED AT SATURDAY BUSINESS MEETING RESOLUTIONS. D.9. Business Meeting Study Group — PASSED D.11 Statement of Values for Transparency and Fair Treatment – Considered in Executive Session D.12 Chengdu Censure – Considered in Executive Session See information about Glasgow 2024’s statement about how it will handle these two censure resolutions at the link Additional information about the Executive Session has subsequently been posted on the Glasgow 2024 Facebook page: The meeting began in executive session, which adopted the following resolution: Resolved, That a committee of seven be elected by ballot to investigate the Hugo Award Administrator for Chengdu Worldcon, the Chengdu Worldcon Hugo Subcommittee, and the chairs of Chengdu Worldcon for allegations regarding their conduct and the administration of the 2023 Hugo Awards, and the committee be instructed to report resolutions regarding its recommendations to the 2025 Business Meeting. Further resolved, That items D.11 and D.12 on this year’s Business Meeting agenda be referred to said committee. Further resolved, That the committee has the power to fill vacancies by appointment. The following folks have been nominated for this committee: Teri Carny, Ingvar Mattsson, Warren Buff, Chris Barkley, Elspeth Kovar, Doctor Science, Randall Shepherd, Todd Dashoff, Chuck Serface, Jason Sandford, Cliff Dunn, Farah Mendlesohn, Nicholas Whyte, Chris Garcia, Alan Bond. D.13. Apology – PASSED AS MODIFIED — This motion was significantly modified, with the entire preamble (the “Whereas” clauses) removed, and a modified version of the Resolved clauses considered. The portions that declared certain people/works retroactively to be Hugo Award finalists (the last two clauses of the original resolution) were struck out due to the overlap with D.14. The modified resolution was adopted by a show of hands. D.14. Make Them Finalists – SUBSTITE AMENDMENT PASSED — As originally introduced, this would have attempted to retroactively declare certain people/works to be Hugo Award or Astounding Award finalists. It did appear that this was heading toward being ruled unconstitutional, on the grounds that no single Business Meeting has such a right. Donald Eastlake III introduced a substitute in the form of a constitutional amendment that would allow the Business Meeting to make such declarations by a 3/4 vote, and that would allow a companion resolution passed affecting the 2023 or 2024 Hugo Awards to apply if the amendment is ratified at the 2025 Worldcon. Don’s constitutional amendment got first passage and will be submitted to Seattle for ratification, and the companion resolution that retroactively added the specified finalists was adopted by the necessary 3/4 vote. This does not add those finalists unless the constitutional amendment is ratified in Seattle. BUSINESS PASSED ON – SECTION E OF THE AGENDA – ALL ITEMS HELD OVER TO SUNDAY NEW CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS – SECTION F OF THE AGENDA First Pass process applied, where the only actions allowed are Object to Consideration, Postpone Indefinitely, or refer to committee. “No action taken” means the item remains active in the Agenda and when it comes up again, debate time will be set. F.1 Missing In Action – NO ACTION TAKEN F.2 The Way We Were – NO ACTION TAKEN F.3 Required License Agreement – NO ACTION TAKEN F.4 MPC Procedures – NO ACTION TAKEN. F.5. Transparency in Hugo Administration — REFERRED TO HUGO PROCESS STUDY COMMITTEE F.6. Independent Hugo Administrator — REFERRED TO HUGO PROCESS STUDY COMMITTEE F.7. No Illegal Exclusions — REFERRED TO HUGO PROCESS STUDY COMMITTEE F.8. Irregular Disqualifications and Rogue Administrators — REFERRED TO HUGO PROCESS STUDY COMMITTEE F.9. And the Horse You Rode In On — OBJECTION TO CONSIDERATION (3/4 VOTE REQUIRED) FAILED. REFERRED TO HUGO PROCESS STUDY COMMITTEE. F.10. Make the Change — DIVIDED INTO FOUR SEPARATE PROPOSALS. PARTS OF IT WERE REFERRED TO THE HUGO PROCESS STUDY COMMITTEE. OTHERS WERE POSTPONED INDEFINITELY. F.11. Hugo Administration and Site Selection Monitoring – MOTION TO POSTPONE INDEFINITELY FAILED. MOTION TO REFER IT TO HUGO PROCESS STUDY COMMITTEE FAILED. ADJOURNED AT 15:00 Update 08/11/2024: Added information about the Executive Session from the Glasgow 2024 Facebook page. Pixel Scroll 8/10/24 Mere Pixel Scroll Won’t Thrill Me At All (1) LEARN ABOUT CHINESE SFF FILM AND TV. A technical problem prevented Xueting C. Ni from participating virtually in a Glasgow 2024 program item, however, the good news is that they distilled the information they wanted to present into this video now available on YouTube: “Glasgow Worldcon: Chinese Scifi Film And TV”. (2) XIRAN JAY ZHAO TEACHES GRRM A TRICK. Or tries to. They’re both at Glasgow 2024. Afterwards they tell fans, “I’m not telling any of you exclusive top secret information about Winds of Winter.” So there. (3) DAVE SIGHTING, FOLLOWED BY DAVE SLIGHTING. Ursula Vernon could hardly avoid hearing about this moment at a hotel across from the Glasgow 2024 Worldcon site. For reasons. And the encounter has already inspired Great Art. (4) GUFF WINNERS ASSEMBLE. Many of the GUFF delegates past and present at Glasgow 2024 took a group photo. (5) IT IS THE END, MY FRIEND. The last Keith Kato Chili Party happened at Glasgow 2024. Here’s the ribbon: (6) MORE DARKLIT TESTIMONY. John Durgin has added his account about the problems authors are having with DarkLit Press in “Kosa and the DarkLit debacle”, an open Patreon post. …There are a number of reasons I’m coming forward now. First off, I had a number of friends who still kept their books with DarkLit, and I didn’t want to possibly hurt their titles by burying the press. Now that the press is folding, that doesn’t matter anymore. Secondly, I’ve seen many of those who spoke up get attacked for doing so by the press. Making Yolanda out to be a villain when we all knew it wasn’t true. Bashing Austrian Spencer’s editing quality when everyone knows he’s a top notch editor (never mind the fact that even if he DID provide a below average edit, he was still OWED money.) And then making Steve out to be some trouble maker for dropping facts that I can tell you are 100% correct. The lack of accountability from day one was an issue that many of us discussed in private. We all wanted DarkLit to work. We had established a bond and supported one another wholeheartedly, had no reason to wish any ill will on the success of the publisher…. … It wasn’t until we grilled the new leadership and didn’t accept the vague answers we were given that we finally discovered they didn’t even have access to all the sales numbers yet. This was another massive red flag. It was these issues along with seeing the things they said to try and ruin the image of anyone who spoke out that led me to pull my book. I can tell you things got pretty heated in the discord group. I can also tell you there was no damn misogyny in those heated exchanges. Many of the authors who had issues with the way things were headed were female. It really bothers me that Caitlin used that today when that is the furthest thing from the truth. We were left in the dark. We wanted information, and too often didn’t find it out until we wouldn’t take no for an answer. We would have demanded that transparency no matter who was in charge. … Durgin refers to this statement from Caitlin Marceau, who was Editor-in-Chief of DarkLit Press. (7) JIM CAUGHRAN (1940-2024). Longtime fan Jim Caughran, Fancyclopedia 3’s first editor, died August 6 at the age of 83. He discovered fandom in the 1950s while a teenager living in Nebraska. He was in the cast of the cult favorite fan movie The Musquite Kid Rides Again in 1960 as “Doc Eney”. He was a member of FAPA, The Cult and OMPA. John Trimble published A Fanzine for Jim Caughran in May 1962. In the last decade Jim wrote several letters of comment to File 770. He lived in Toronto at the time of his death. (8) MARY WINGS (1949-2024). Pioneering creator of queer comics Mary Wings died July 3. “She was the first openly gay woman to write a comic book about lesbians. She went on to write detective novels with a queer woman in the lead.” The New York Times paid tribute: “Mary Wings, Pioneering Creator of Queer Comics, Dies at 75”. The link bypasses the paywall. (9) COMICS SECTION. Eek! Illustrates a moment in Hulk’s history. Speed Bump adds a trick to the trick. Carpe Diem brings us art by a robot. It’s exactly what you’re thinking. Rubes thought it was funny at the time. Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal tells an alien joke. Tom Gauld knows who the bears would rather meet. (10) HISTORIC ANIMATION ART. Here are a couple more treasurers up for bid in Heritage Auction’s “The History of Animation – The Glad Museum Collection Signature® Auction” running from August 16-19. The Band Concert RARE Color Model Cel Setup with Master Production Background (Walt Disney, 1935). Created for the very first shot in Walt Disney’s monumental theatrical short The Band Concert, presented is an unbelievably rare original color model cel setup displayed on its Master production background. A detailed, elaborate image, this complete setup features the whole band: Goofy, Clarabelle Cow, Horace Horsecollar, Peter Pig, Paddy Pig, and the one and only Mickey Mouse as conductor. Directed by Wilfred Jackson (1906 – 1988) and released on 2/23/1935, The Band Concert is notable for being the very first Mickey Mouse cartoon in color…. Superman (The Mad Scientist) Superman and Daily Planet Building Production Cel with Key Master Background (Max Fleischer, 1941). When the Mad Scientist fires his powerful death ray at the base of the Daily Planet, compromising the structure of the tall building, it’s up to the Man of Steel to stop the potential catastrophe. From Superman, or The Mad Scientist, the first animated appearance of the iconic superhero, we proudly present a magnificent and unbelievably rare Key Master setup showing the Last Son of Krypton displaying his powers by holding the collapsing building mid-flight with his bare hands. (11) HOBBIT ANTECEDENTS. “Fossils suggest ‘hobbits’ roamed Indonesian island 700,000 years ago” – from a paywalled LA Times story. Twenty years ago on an Indonesian island, scientists discovered fossils of an early human species that stood about 3½ feet tall — earning it the nickname “hobbits.” Now a new study suggests ancestors of the hobbits were even slightly shorter. “We did not expect that we would find smaller individuals from such an old site,” study co-author Yousuke Kaifu of the University of Tokyo said in an email. The original hobbit fossils — named by the discoverers after characters in J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels — date back to between 60,000 and 100,000 years ago. The new fossils were excavated at a site called Mata Menge, about 45 miles from the cave where the first hobbit remains were uncovered. In 2016, researchers suspected the earlier relatives could be shorter than the hobbits after studying a jawbone and teeth collected from the new site. Further analysis of a tiny arm bone fragment and teeth suggests the ancestors were 2.4 inches shorter and existed 700,000 years ago. “They’ve convincingly shown that these were very small individuals,” said Dean Falk, an evolutionary anthropologist at Florida State University who was not involved with the research. The findings were published this week in the journal Nature Communications. Researchers have debated how the hobbits — named Homo floresiensis after the remote Indonesian island of Flores — evolved to be so small and where they fall in the human evolutionary story. They’re thought to be among the last early human species to go extinct. Scientists don’t yet know whether the hobbits shrank from an earlier, taller human species called Homo erectus that lived in the area, or from an even more primitive human predecessor. More research — and fossils — are needed to pin down the hobbits’ place in human evolution, said Matt Tocheri, an anthropologist at Canada’s Lakehead University. “This question remains unanswered and will continue to be a focus of research for some time to come,” Tocheri, who was not involved with the research, said in an email. (12) SKELETON CREW. “’Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’ Trailer Unveiled At Disney D23” and Deadline would like to tell you about it. Premieres December 3 on Disney+. The first trailer for the new Disney+ Lucasfilm series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew dropped in the Honda Center room at Disney’s D23 in Anaheim on Friday Jude Law came onstage and said the series harkens to the Amblin kid fantasy films of the 1980s ala The Goonies. “I fell in love with Star Wars when I was a 10-year-old boy,” he said. “[This] series is told from the perspective of the kids.”… …In the clip, young kids are zipping around a space academy environment. They come across a tunnel in the woods, zip down, find a ship, fly through hyperspace, encounter big monsters and fire off turret guns. Oh, and Law plays a Jedi. It’s very young-skewing…. (13) D23 BRINGS PLETHORA OF DISNEY NEWS. The Hollywood Reporter has a long list of additional news announced at Disney D23: “D23: All the Updates from Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar from 2024 Panel”. Bob Iger got a rock star-worthy welcome Friday night, as roughly 12,000 screaming fans gave the Disney CEO a standing-ovation as he kicked off a super-sized panel at D23. “Wow. That was more than a warm welcome,” Iger told the crowd, adding, “Boy did I miss you.” It was a homecoming for Iger, who was temporarily retired two years ago during the last D23, which is a chance for Disney’s to show off upcoming projects from Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and 20th Century…. The article has new information learned at D23 about Agatha All Along, Daredevil: Born Again, Ironheart, Fantastic Four, Captain America: Brave New World, The Mandalorian & Grogu, Andor, Frozen III, Zootopia 2, The Incredibles 3, Hoppers, Toy Story 5, Inside Out TV spinoff, Avatar: Fire and Ash, Monster Jam, and Moana 2. Here are two of the trailers presented: [Thanks to Steven French, Ersatz Culture, Kathy Sullivan, Teddy Harvia, Mike Kennedy, Andrew Porter, John King Tarpinian, Chris Barkley, Cat Eldridge, and SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Jon Meltzer.]
2205	dbpedia	0	89	https://www.academia.edu/5490440/Eat_abowl_of_tea	en	Eat abowl of tea	http://a.academia-assets.com/images/open-graph-icons/fb-paper.gif	http://a.academia-assets.com/images/open-graph-icons/fb-paper.gif	[ "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/academia-logo-redesign-2015-A.svg", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/academia-logo-redesign-2015.svg", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/single_work_splash/adobe.icon.svg", "https://0.academia-photos.com/attachment_thumbnails/32599733/mini_magick20190414-26285-b8xtqt.png?1555275310", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/s65_no_pic.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loaders/paper-load.gif", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png", "https://a.academia-assets.com/images/loswp/related-pdf-icon.png" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Deil Shod", "independent.academia.edu" ]	2013-12-20T00:00:00	Eat abowl of tea				https://www.academia.edu/5490440/Eat_abowl_of_tea	In America’s polyglot melting pot, that ethnically mixed dreamland of diversity soured by the realities of white supremacy, gems of crystallized culture dot the nation’s major cities, in the form of Little Italies, barrios, and Chinatowns. For immigrant families and their progeny, these spaces act as communal refuges; for naturalized residents (in essence, white people), they act as a space of transaction between the familiarities of home and the exotic oddities of the unknown. These districts are marked by traces of the segregated ghettoes of post-Ellis Island New York; a world not necessarily intended for Western infiltration yet surrounded by its inevitable contact, vis-a-vis local and international tourism. This makes Chinatown an ideal cinematic fishbowl for matters of representation, dual identity, citizenship, immigration and assimilation, constructing a palpable “predicament of boundary”. These themes are at the heart of both Cheng’s and Feng’s writings on these films, and at the heart of Asian American theory. Exemplary usage of this backdrop is found in the Chinatown settings of Flower Drum Song (1961) and Chan Is Missing (1982), both of which make a strong, multigenerational political statement that contributes to the legacy of Asian American cinema and the politics of identity onscreen. As a frontier for many immigrants of diverse ethnicities or nationalities, San Francisco has long been a space that witnesses or even inspires many identity-based social movements, including Asian American struggles rooted in Chinatown. In contrast to what outsiders may imagine, however, these ethnic movements have never been coherent, and the term “Chinese American,” along with the “imagined community” it conjures up, becomes highly indefinable when put under different contexts. In fact, as my article points out, the tension of racial politics within Chinatown itself rises and falls as the relationship between the U.S., PRC, and ROC changes. In order to explore this split of identification of Asian, especially Chinese, American people, the article examines the seminal film Chan is Missing, directed by Wayne Wang, a story featuring two Chinese American taxi drivers as they roam around San Francisco in search of their acquaintance Chan. The global pandemic of COVID-19 has exacerbated anti-Asian racism—the demonization of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities as viral origins—in the United States. Offering strategies for inclusion and for identifying tacit forms of misogynistic racism, this article analyzes the manifestation of the ideas of yellow peril and yellow fever in recent films and television series. The spectatorial aspect of racism has both fetishized Asian bodies and erased Asianness from content creators' visual landscapes. These case studies reveal that racialized thinking is institutionalized as power relations in the cultural and political life, take the form of political marginalization of minority groups, and cause emotional distress and physical harm within and beyond the fictional universe. ::::: Keywords: anti-Asian racism, misogyny, tropes of illness, colorblind gaze, techno-Orientalism ::::: DOI 10.1215/25783491-9645962
2205	dbpedia	0	82	https://resisters.com/by-frank-abe/frank-chin-his-own-voice/	en	RESISTERS.COM: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration	https://i0.wp.com/resist…it=32%2C32&ssl=1	https://i0.wp.com/resist…it=32%2C32&ssl=1	[ "https://i0.wp.com/resisters.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Donald_Duk-cover-1.jpg?resize=196%2C300&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/resisters.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Aiiieeeee-third-edition-cover.jpg?resize=194%2C300&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/resisters.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Two-Plays-by-Frank-Chin-cover.jpg?resize=200%2C300&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/resisters.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Big-Aiiieeeee-cover.jpg?resize=200%2C300&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/resisters.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Chinaman-Pacifc-RR-cover.jpg?resize=195%2C300&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/resisters.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Penguin-cover-rev.jpg?fit=196%2C300&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/resisters.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/WHR-cover-w-finalist-seal_cropped.jpg?fit=194%2C300&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/resisters.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/JohnOkada-cover-hi-res.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/resisters.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/DVD-cover.jpg?fit=208%2C300&ssl=1" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null		en	https://i0.wp.com/resist…it=32%2C32&ssl=1		https://resisters.com/by-frank-abe/frank-chin-his-own-voice/	an essay/interview by Frank Abe The Bloomsbury Review September, 1991 Copyright 1991 by Owaissa Communications Co. All rights reserved. “Life is war. All individuals are born soldiers. All behavior is tactics and strategy. All relationships are martial.” Frank Chin smiles more pleasantly than demonically as he calmly ticks off the elements of the heroic tradition in Chinese literature that sustain him and his writing. “The war that every Chinese fights is a war of maintaining and perfecting personal integrity.” In the heroic tradition good people are made outlaws by a corrupt, mercenary state. That may perfectly describe Chin’s current place in the field of Asian American literature — ironic, since it’s a field Chin helped define. For him life has always been a war to reclaim a history he says was nearly destroyed by Christian missionaries and is now being faked by writers continuing to work in that tradition. His voice has been shaped by the battles he’s fought, and like the storyteller he is, each battle becomes part of his lore. Chin incorporates real Chinese folk tales in his novel, Donald Duk (Coffee House Press), in which he manages to portray a character who hates being Chinese without himself putting down or corrupting Chinese history and culture. Twelve year old Donald Duk is a classic case of Asian American self-contempt; he hates his comic-sounding name and everything Chinese. “But I use the fairy tales, I use Chinese American history, and those aspects of Chinese American history that seem to have been ignored by Asian American studies: the history of the railroad, the mines, San Francisco, the tongs. My main concern was to write a novel that uses all of this stuff that is accessible, to write a novel that deals with white racism and Chinese American history and the real Chinese fairy tales and the heroic tradition, and to demonstrate that a Chinese American could do all of this without sending whites up the wall or alienating anybody, that people would read it as a good book,” Chin said while in Seattle in February to read from Donald Duk. In the book Donald’s father builds 108 model airplanes representing the 108 outlaws of the marsh in a classic of the heroic tradition, The Water Margin. Chin has collaborated in republishing individual chapters from that work, starting with Rescue at Wild Boar Forest (Water Margin Press, 1988) and Lin Chong’s Revenge (1989). “It is in the fairy tales that we learn what it is to be an individual, what our relationship is to our parents, what our relationship is to the state. In the Br’er Rabbit stories of the Gullah people of the Carolina and Georgia Sea Islands there are no rules. Br’er Rabbit gets caught in a life and death situation. He cannot appeal to a higher authority. He either gets out of the briar patch by using his wits, by strategic tactical thinking, or he dies. We as Asian American writers, writing about Asian American history or Asian characters or our parents or grandparents, I think we need to know the fairy tales to see for ourselves, to understand in the terms that our ancestors understood, the ideas of Chinese individuality, the ideas of Chinese manhood and womanhood, the basic ideas of Confuciandom, as expressed in the stories that were created to codify that body of thought, that vision of the world that life is war.” The Confucius of stereotype is a quasi-religious prophet cracking fortune-cookie philosophy; the real Confucius was “a historian, a strategist, a warrior.” Feminist academics quoted in the Los Angeles Times have derided the revival of the heroic tradition as a continuation of an “old boys’ club” that glorifies male aggression. To that Chin points to the Chinese marriage fairy tale. “Love is two warriors standing back to back fighting off the universe,” he says, leaning into his story. “The Jade Dragon patrolled starry waters of the River of the Milky Way in ancient space, to the west. To the east is Magic Mountain, where the Golden Phoenix patrols. They find a giant crystal pushing its way out of the ground of beautiful Fairy Island. They decide to carve and polish it into a perfect sphere: a Bright Pearl. They bloody their beaks and claws working on the crystal, hundreds of years of carving and polishing. They turn human, fall in love, and live on Fairy Island in the glow of their pearl. Then it’s stolen by the Queen Mother of the Western Paradise who hides it away. But she can’t resist showing off the pearl at a gathering of the gods come to celebrate her birthday, and the light from the pearl reaches the lovers. They crash the party and in the struggle the gleaming gem rolls off the edge of heaven. Dragon says he cannot live without his pearl and dives after it. Phoenix says she cannot live without her pearl and dives after it. Together they cushion its fall toward Earth, and they all crash into China. The pearl becomes West Lake, the dragon becomes Dragon Mountain to the west and the phoenix becomes Phoenix Mountain to the east. They have fought the universe for their pearl. Equal. There is no male dominance, no female inferiority.” Frank Chin could be a character in such a myth, fighting to protect the pearl. The pearl is the integrity of Asian American history and the Asian folk and fairy tales. But to his Jade Dragon there has been no Golden Phoenix. Chin did not come naturally to the fairy tales, as he spent the first 6 years of his life away from Chinatown so his father could conceal his birth from a disapproving grandmother. “My grandmother made a deal with my father, that she would set him up in a butcher shop if he would leave her 15-year old daughter alone. She kept her word. I was the living proof he didn’t keep his.” He was raised by a retired white couple in a tarpaper shanty on an abandoned gold mining site in the Motherlode country of California, taking on Wild West affectations and tastes that led a Chinatown labor organizer to brand Chin forever as “the Chinatown Cowboy.” Chin prides himself on being the first Chinese American brakeman on the Southern Pacific Railroad, the first self-described Chinaman to ride the engines on the line on which his grandfather had been a steward. Chin’s first use of the term “Chinaman” in the early 70’s caused a stir in polite society. Chin reclaims the term as applied to those who built the American Chinatowns, his kind of people. He traces the term “Chinese American” to its origins among the christianized Chinese who sought to distinguish themselves from the tongs, from the heathen Chinamen. Though he always had his way with words Chin first pursued the visual arts, but art classes proved unsatisfying so he drifted into writing, attending the Iowa Writers Workshop. At Cal Berkeley, he edited the campus humor magazine, the Pelican. “It was fun, writing stupid, writing funny. Once I started writing, I set out to write fast, to write a lot, to make writing as natural as speech. The first thing that begins to happen when you begin taking yourself seriously as a writer is this imaginary writer’s block that people talk about, but I never really suffered from. But there’s this barrier between the spoken word and the written word, once you set something down in writing it’s supposed to be set in stone or you take on this funny attitude that writing is unnatural. I set about writing anything and everything I could, so I’d write a lot and I’d throw away a lot, just as you do in speech. You talk a lot of trash, you throw it away. You write a lot of trash, you throw it away. It doesn’t matter. You can always write again just as you can always talk again.” True to his word, Chin has burned several novels and false starts. “Oh yeah. They were no good,” he laughs. But he eventually succeeded in developing a stream-of-consciousness language crammed with goofy wordplay, unexpected imagery, and exhilarating, liberating hyperbole. Friends would come to his home in San Francisco in the mid-70’s to read from bound copies of his infamously funny and profane letters to friends and foes, and hear him play flamenco guitar, “the music of a pariah people, like the Chinese before Charlie Chan, like the Japanese Americans in World War II.” Those friends find it difficult to call Donald Duk Chin’s first novel, having read at least three of his unpublished works, one of which, A Chinese Lady Dies, won the Joseph Henry Jackson award. Another novel also toyed in the title with Hollywood images: Charlie Chan on Maui was rejected by Harper and Row in the mid-70’s when the owners of the Chan copyright threatened to sue. But before Chin could be free to be trivial, if he so chose, he realized he had to create a foundation upon which his work could stand and be understood on its own terms. At the time Chin says the only known Chinese American writing came in the form of autobiographies or cookbooks. He was the first in print to strip away the stereotypes to expose their roots in literature and pop culture, the first to identify Charlie Chan as a degrading sissy stereotype and to interview the surviving actors who played the movie Chan, the first to penetrate the illogic behind the myth of the dual personality (“I’m Chinese because I like chow mein and American because I like spaghetti”), and the first to identify racist love as the equally malignant flip side of racist hate. He and the co-editors of the 1974 literary declaration of independence, AIIIEEEEE!, defined Asian America to be neither something foreign from Asia nor white American, but its own distinct sensibility. Of the title: “That was in the late 60’s, when rhetoric counted for a lot. We didn’t want it to sound like medicine.” The long-awaited follow-up, The Big AIIIEEEEE! (Meridian/New American Library) has just been published. [Ed. note: A 45th anniversary edition of the original AIIIEEEEE! was published in 2020 by the University of Washington Press, with a new foreword by Tara Fickle.] “We knew we were ignorant. So while Jeff Chan, Lawson Inada, Shawn Wong and myself are all very talented people, we realized that even pooling our ignorance, all we’d have would be a pool of ignorance. Our style, our wit, our flair with language was no substitute for knowledge. We were confronted with the question: why is it that after a hundred years of being here there’s only a handful of writers? We just did not accept the view that our people were too busy making a living to get involved in art or writing. This made no sense at all. In every culture, in every civilization, trying times, times of confusion, of question, of adventure, produces art rather than suppresses it. So before we committed ourselves to saying our people were just too lazy or too dumb or too busy to produce art, especially writing, we had to check it out. We just went into every used bookstore we could, looked under the C’s, the L’s and the W’s, and any Chinese name, any Asian name, we bought the book, took it home and read it.” The band of literary outlaws republished pioneer writers John Okada and Louis Chu and reintroduced them to the world of American letters. Their research extended to the collection of oral histories from Asian actors in Hollywood and from Chinese and Japanese American communities on the West Coast and New York, to make up for the lack of Asian American history from an Asian American point of view. They organized the first-ever Asian American writers conferences in Oakland and Seattle, to bring together people “developing new language out of old words.” For 15 years Chin was best known as the first Asian American to have his plays, The Chickencoop Chinaman and The Year of the Dragon (University of Washington Press, 1981), produced on the New York stage. Dragon was televised on PBS. Chin wrote Chickencoop for money to escape from the island of Maui, where he’d planned to make a go of it amongst Hawaii’s Asian majority population: “I discovered Hawaii was the classic colony, run by retired master sergeants and chief petty officers.” He entered a playwriting contest sponsored by a showcase theater for Asian American actors in Hollywood. “East/West Players gave me the prize, but the other people in the theater, other than Mako (the theater’s artistic director), were afraid of the play. They wouldn’t do it. They said it was too difficult and they were scared of it — just in those words. It was the first work really to deal with Asian American self-contempt.” Lacking trained actors willing or able to perform in new work, Chin founded the Asian American Theater Workshop in San Francisco, with facilities and scholarships from the American Conservatory Theater. Chin envisioned it as the West Coast equivalent of Ireland’s Abbey Theater, a cauldron in which he would work with other writers to forge a new literary sensibility based not on the stereotype but on Asian American integrity. Chin now will have nothing do with Asian American theater or actors. “The fame junkies won out,” he says simply. “I became too controversial. I took too long to get work up. I just did not satisfy the fame junkies’ need for fame and self- gratification. It’s a meat market for cuts of yellow. They don’t want to be yellow. They want whites to buy them and take them home.” He feels the nation’s Asian American theater groups have gone on to produce a body of irrelevant work. Chin’s imagination was next captured by the campaign to win redress for Japanese Americans incarcerated in American concentration camps in World War II. “I thought Japanese America had recovered its conscience and was at last making a stand for Japanese American integrity and reclaiming its history. I thought it was bold.” As a freelance journalist Chin knew it was a good story. What he discovered was that the Japanese American Citizens League, having publicly raised the issue, didn’t know how to answer its critics or mount an effective media campaign. “I said, oh man, this is not a professional outfit.” California Senator S.I. Hayakawa had quickly branded the idea of redress as “ridiculous,” and claimed Japanese Americans were interned for their own safety. Consistent with his view of life as war, Chin appeared on the doorsteps of Japanese American friends and gravely announced, “You lose redress, you lose Japanese American history. You lose history, you can kiss Japanese American art goodbye.” Japanese Americans in Seattle recruited him to plan and organize a mass demonstration dramatizing the deeply-felt but timid support for redress among a people who feared white backlash. Where previous camp pilgrimages had drawn at most a few hundred, Chin organized car caravans to hometown detention centers outside Seattle and Portland that drew out thousands of people who did not want to see their history distorted or forgotten. Japanese Americans had never seen anything like it, and thousands more were emboldened to pitch in 5 dollars each to take out a paid ad Chin ghost-wrote for the Washington Post publicly denouncing Hayakawa, a Japanese Canadian who had never himself spent a day in camp, and correcting his history. The ad was another success. But conservative Japanese American farmers in Idaho who themselves were never interned blocked Chin’s proposal to build a mock guard tower at the site of the former camp at Minidoka, Idaho — a prop around which Chin envisioned people gathering solemnly around and burning to the ground, while participants read poems and tossed their government name tags into a bonfire of symbolic purification. Chin’s research, however, led to the recovery of another story that had been lost or falsified: the existence of an organized resistance movement at the camp at Heart Mountain, Wyoming, where 63 men refused military service until their rights were first restored and their parents released from camp. “We have all read this stuff good and bad by Japanese Americans who say ‘we went into camp without protest and resistance because we were too Japanese.’ Some make poetry out of it. Now they don’t have to do that.” Chin is working on a book that explores “what it means now almost fifty years later to discover that contrary to the stereotype, Japanese Americans did protest and resist the camps and that these people are still alive today. We have the facts, we have the living proof. But I see no movement by Japanese American writers to say, ‘the nightmare is over.'” Chin’s new work on Japanese America and his tracing of the origins of the Christian Chinese stereotype appear in his introductory call-to-arms in The Big AIIIEEEEE!, “Come All Ye Asian American Writers of the Real and the Fake” — the real being the verifiable facts of history, and the fairy tales of what he calls the universal Asian childhood. What’s fake, he says, is the Christian stereotype of Asia as being morally opposite to the West, and thereby morally inferior: “The stereotype comes not from a grain of truth but from the Christian necessity to preserve the one god, the one true religion, to defend the primacy of Christendom as the only true civilization. The stereotype is that we came over as sojourners, with no intention of settling; therefore our legitimacy as an American people is at question, if our intentions were ignoble to begin with. That Chinese culture is passive in comparison to the West, submissive in comparison to the West, physically cowardly in comparison to the West. That it consists of smart, sometimes brilliant yellow men, who are unoriginal, unassertive, not aggressive, and sexually despicable; and accessible, pathological white racist yellow women who stand on the corner and say in variously sophisticated ways, “hey sailor.” That Chinese and Japanese culture are so misogynistic they don’t deserve to survive. That Asian culture is anti-individualistic, mystic, passive, collective. And that the only good Chinese are Christian.” “Every Chinese American book ever published in the United States of America by a major publisher has been a Christian autobiography or autobiographical novel,” Chin declares in The Big AIIIEEEEE! The autobiography, Chin maintains, does not exist in Chinese literature. “The autobiography is a literary descendant of the confession. The confession is a Christian religious form. The first autobiography is credited to Saint Augustine, whose book was titled the Confessions. Confession is an act of submission, you cannot confess without admitting guilt to something.” The original sin for Chinese Americans seeking assimilation is their Chinese-ness. The paradigm of the Christian confession, he says, is, “I was fallen; now I am saved.” The paradigm of the Chinese American autobiography: “I was Chinese, I wish I were white American, I am X-Y-Z closer to being American now because Americans accept me, because I have gone through some conversion or transformation and am leaving the Chinese behind me. The first Chinese autobiography, ever, is by Yung Wing in 1909. Christian.” In a 1975 letter to Chin, Maxine Hong Kingston admitted she was pressured by her publisher to make Woman Warrior a memoir, not a novel, in order to make it more salable. Chin is vehement on the subject of Christianity. “We’re talking about the enemy that destroyed my culture, my civilization, my history. The history of Chinese America, the history of Chinatown, is not written in Chinese names. It is written in the names of the Chinese missionaries who wrote the Chinese out of history. These people might have had good intentions, but they destroyed us in the name of their god. Not in the name of our good, but in the name of their god. And to a large degree they’ve succeeded.” Chin places the work of Kingston, Amy Tan, and David Henry Hwang squarely in that tradition. Of Kingston’s Woman Warrior: “She says the written Chinese character for ‘woman’ and ‘slave’ is the same word. Well, she’s nuts.” Of Tan’s The Kitchen God’s Wife: “Tan does not see the kitchen god’s story is a love story. She has to make him a lucky man and turn him into his wife’s oppressor. She has to twist the story to make her point.” Of Hwang’s play, F.O.B.: “Kwan Kung, the god of writers and fighters, gets down on his hands and knees and begs for white acceptance. Kwan Kung would never do that. Hwang repeats Kingston’s lie about Chinese brutally tattooing messages on the backs of women. Fake work breeds fake work.” Such differences are more than the triflings of a purist; they represent the fundamental moral premises of those works. “We especially need to know the fairy tales now because the Christians are waging war on just that body of literature. In The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan is attacking all Chinese fairy tale as teaching that ‘the worth of a woman is measured by the loudness of her husband’s belch.’ No one bothers to go check the body of Chinese fairy tale to see if there is such a fairy tale or if the fairy tales do teach that, and it bothers me greatly that there are Chinese Americans in this country, in my town, in my face, who tell me it doesn’t matter. These same Chinese Americans will stand up for the integrity of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, will get very upset if I write Little Red Riding Hood as a bisexual slut doing things with animals. They will protect white literature, but they don’t care if Kingston violates the Ballad of Mulan. They don’t care if Amy Tan mucks over the kitchen god. They don’t care if Gus Lee characterizes all of Chinese culture according to the same old stereotypes. What matters to them is the acceptance of these writers, not the content and effect of their work. That is the behavior of people who are no longer a people, of a people without an identity, without a history, that are a people in name only. There is no substance to the Asian America they talk about. They have no literature, no text, nothing they can stand for.” It enrages him to learn that Kingston’s revisionist work is being used in some schools to teach Chinese American history and culture, while “the fairy tales she falsifies” are not. Chin frequently grows weary of this kind of explication, which he regards as having to explain the ABC’s over and over again, yet he’s generously given up hundreds of hours to writers and students who consult him on the phone. His setting of standards by which to measure the integrity of Asian American writing has predictably earned its share of resentment among others, “that I’m dictating to them, that I’m censoring them. The Big AIIIEEEEE! is probably the most rumored-about book in Asian America. I’m sure Asian American Studies is ready to pounce on it and tear it to pieces, and I daresay they will not take it on its own terms. They will not consider the scholarship, they will not consider the texts. They will approach it saying that perspective counts more than fact or text. And that is just intellectually not ethical.” Some journalists have chosen to reduce Chin’s aesthetics to a matter of rivalry, or worse, jealousy. Chin is certainly uncompromising. But jealous? He’s known for years his work is no picnic. “The only thing that would make me jealous is if I didn’t have a book out. I have books out now, so I’m happy. I’m successful in that sense. My work is available, not as available and accessible as others, but you know, it’s there, it’s there. “And I daresay my presence is felt. My name might not be mentioned, but I don’t think there is an Asian American writer alive now or for the next fifty years who will not feel me breathing down their neck. Maybe even drooling. All because I point to the real. I’m not pointing at my own work. My work points to the real.” Donald Duk is one of four novels by Chinese Americans published this year. Chin notes the others were born of agents looking for the next Amy Tan, and publishers willing to pay big money advances for books by Tan, Gus Lee, and Gish Jen — in Lee’s case before a word had been written. “At least for Asian Americans this is the way books are being written. Agents are making the deals. And what the agents see as being commercial is the autobiography and the Christian stereotype. I think what is interesting is the consistency of the vision, the consistency of the portrayal, the consistency of the stereotype (in those books). And that consistency was detected by the agents in these writers. Donald Duk saw print only after he’d sent a collection of his short stories to the agent handling The Big AIIIEEEEE! “I got a nasty letter back from her saying, ‘I only handle commercial writers‘ (“commercial” underlined three times, written in big letters) and I am not commercial, and she says this several times on both sides of the paper and sends my trash back to me. Some rabid dog came by my house dragging a package that was tied to its tail with cans.” Another agent in the same office liked his manuscript and brought it with her when she got a job as an editor at Minnesota’s Coffee House Press. The success of that collection, The Chinaman, Pacific and Frisco R.R. Co. (Coffee House Press, 1988), led to Donald Duk. (Chin never noticed there was a comma missing from the published title of the short story collection. It’s too late to change now but he says it should have read like a series of 3 railroad destinations.) As an antidote to what he calls the “crybaby victims of the Christian stereotype,” Chin has strategically appropriated the autobiographical form to ghost-write the life story of Ruby Chow, who he says Chinese regard as the most powerful Chinese American woman in the world. She’s known for her rise to control the male-only tongs in Seattle’s Chinatown, and for making Seattle the world stronghold of Cantonese opera following the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Though it’s an autobiographical “as told to” account, Chin says there’s nothing confessional about it, no appeal for white acceptance. “If anything I have to tone down her bragging. It’s the story of an accomplished person, it’s conscious self-mythmaking, all action, like a chapter in the heroic tradition. There’s nothing artsy about it.” Chin also has several novels-in-progress. Early in his career Chin might have fancied himself as the Lone Ranger, who he imagined in Chickencoop Chinaman as wearing a mask to hide his Chinaman eyes, riding for Chinaman vengeance in the Old West. Now he’s more likely to identify with Lin Chong, one of the 108 outlaws of the marsh, an honest man outlawed by jealous officials, as he continues on the adventure of discovery and recovery he began twenty years ago. “I’m no messiah. I don’t present myself as a role model. I don’t recommend to anybody that they live like me. Most of the time I wish I weren’t living like me! I want readers, not a cult. I don’t like the idea of writers as stars, writers as celebrities. I think that is partly why I work so hard at being obnoxious. I cultivate my rotten personality to distinguish it from the writing. I am difficult to like as a person. I do not encourage friendships, and this gives me the anonymity, the freedom of the writer to move about as I please. I have to be able to ride into town and ride out without leaving a mark; people will only later discover I’ve stolen all the silverware.” At the time of publication, Frank Abe was senior reporter for KIRO Newsradio 71 in Seattle, and a national board director for the Asian American Journalists Association.
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"https://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/assassinationofjessejamesposter-400-square.jpg", "https://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/we-own-night-225a.jpg", "https://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/gone-baby-1-225.jpg", "https://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/m-clayton-225.jpg", "https://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/utamaro.jpg", "http://www.davidbordwell.net/img/bordwell.jpg", "http://www.davidbordwell.net/img/spacer.gif", "http://www.davidbordwell.net/img/b_top_f01.jpg", "https://c.statcounter.com/1926782/0/1e338524/0/", "http://wms.assoc-amazon.com/20070822/US/img/noscript.gif?tag=thefrofra-20" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	DB here: Earlier this month, when I was giving a lecture on Mizoguchi Kenji at our university museum, I showed two images from A Woman of Rumor (Uwasa no onna, 1954). It’s a little-known film of his, and it’s probably not up to his finest, but seeing the stills again on the big screen made […]		https://www.davidbordwell.net/img/favicon.ico	Observations on film art	https://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/2007/11/30/sleeves/	DB here: Earlier this month, when I was giving a lecture on Mizoguchi Kenji at our university museum, I showed two images from A Woman of Rumor (Uwasa no onna, 1954). It’s a little-known film of his, and it’s probably not up to his finest, but seeing the stills again on the big screen made me want to write about one scene. That scene displays aspects of Mizoguchi’s artistry that I touch on in one chapter of Figures Traced in Light and in the website supplement here. This blog entry constitutes, I suppose, another supplement. After all, I couldn’t include in the book all the moments in Mizoguchi’s work that I find fascinating. But since comparison is a good way to get under a movie’s skin, my examination of a parallel scene from another movie may have more general interest. Even though Woman of Rumor doesn’t seem to be available on video, maybe looking at this pair of examples would inspire some readers to take an interest in one of the two or three greatest filmmakers who ever lived. In the court of Regina William Wyler and John Barrymore. What a year 1941 was in the American cinema! We remember it for Citizen Kane but it also brought us How Green Was My Valley (a better film than Kane, I think), and items like Sergeant York (the biggest box-office hit), Dumbo, The Philadelphia Story, Suspicion, Ball of Fire, High Sierra, The Lady Eve, Meet John Doe, The Maltese Falcon, They Died with Their Boots On, and one of the most daring movies ever made in America, The Little Foxes. An adaptation of Lillian Hellman’s play, The Little Foxes offers a study in unbridled capitalism. It shows how economic interests pit the South against the North and white against black. Psychologically, it analyzes a household gripped by the ruthless domination of the matriarch Regina (Bette Davis), the wiliest member of a family of grasping entrepreneurs. Regina has all but flattened her husband and is trying to make her daughter Alexandra oblivious to the family’s corruption. The Little Foxes was also bold in its style—in its own way, as venturesome as Citizen Kane. It hasn’t been fully appreciated because Wyler is still thought of as a rather middlebrow talent, an overcautious director who toned down the flamboyance of Gregg Toland’s deep-space and deep-focus compositions. Some day I hope to blog in defense of Wyler, middlebrow movies, and Midcult art in general. That would involve a detailed analysis of Little Foxes. (1) For now let’s just say that Wyler’s direction of the film won the admiration of no less than André Bazin. Bazin taught us to appreciate Wyler’s work, though with some prompting from Wyler and Toland (as I suggest here). Wyler was also appreciated by Mizoguchi, who, apparently grudgingly, told his screenwriter Yoda that he admired Wyler’s use of the “vertical frame.” (2) Later I’ll suggest one way of understanding that phrase. Mizoguchi met Wyler at the 1953 Venice Film Festival, when Ugetsu Monogatari was up against Wyler’s Roman Holiday for the Silver Lion. One scene not discussed by Bazin or Mizoguchi, as far as I’m aware, has always gripped me. Regina’s brother Oscar has a wife, Birdie, who has turned into a passive alcoholic. Birdie has learned of plans to marry Xan off to Leo, her shallow son. Her will has been broken by Regina and Oscar, but she summons up the courage to blurt out to Xan that she mustn’t marry Leo, no matter how strongly the family insists. Xan, who has no inkling of how her family twists people to suit their ends, protests that no such thing could happen. But Oscar overhears Birdie warning Xan off. Birdie and Oscar are about to leave at the end of the evening. Wyler begins with a standard two-shot, very slightly off-center. But as Birdie frantically warns Xan, Oscar’s sleeve and pant leg appear in the lower left of the frame, with the swagged curtain at the doorway hiding his face. For us, this creates suspense. Only after Birdie has babbled out her warning do the two women notice he’s there. Xan, not knowing how Oscar abuses Birdie, heads off to bed. As she climbs the staircase (very important in the film and the original play, this staircase) and heads off to her bedroom, Wyler’s camera arcs to reveal Oscar. Wyler now cuts to show, more or less from Birdie’s point of view, Xan going into her room. Birdie watches anxiously, then turns to face Oscar, with a look of resigned apprehension. Again suspense: Oscar won’t punish Birdie with Xan watching, but the girl’s departure puts Birdie in jeopardy. In addition, Wyler’s shot of her reaction anticipates the wrath she’ll face. (Patricia Collinge’s fluent performance is equal to the dynamics of Wyler’s visuals.) These cuts anchor our empathy; Wyler has been saving the close-up of Birdie for this moment. We return to the master framing as Birdie heads toward Oscar, passing into a patch of shadow. As she does so, he raises his hand abruptly. Wyler cuts to a two-shot. Oscar slaps Birdie so hard she seems to bounce against the left frame edge. She cries out and then tries to stifle her voice—a psychologically apt gesture for this woman who muffles her sorrows throughout the film. Again, Wyler daringly sets a key action off-center. The brutal discontinuity of the cut, which crosses the axis of action and sharply changes shot scale, accentuates Oscar’s violence. It’s also rather elliptical; run the cut slowly, and you never see his hand strike her. Xan hurries out of her room and comes to the banister, her face on the upper right balancing the placement of Birdie’s in the prior shot. In the next shot, we see, over her shoulder, Oscar stride out. Birdie follows meekly, assuring Xan that nothing’s wrong. The coda of the scene will emphasize Xan’s puzzled anxiety, a phase in her process of coming to understand the domineering fury that rules her family. Low- and high-angle shots like this last pair recur throughout The Little Foxes, and I suspect that these are the sorts of thing Mizoguchi was invoking in mentioning Wyler’s “vertical” space. Wyler’s steep angles activate upper areas of the frame that many American directors hadn’t explored. The act of overhearing a revealing conversation is a standard dramatic convention, but Wyler has refreshed and nuanced it. We know how it would be normally handled. We’d see either a shot showing Oscar stepping fully into the background, or a series of cuts showing first Birdie and Xan and then Oscar listening and watching. Wyler revises the standard schema, taking it for granted that we can pick up on a subtler cue than usual: just a bit of Oscar’s body intrudes. As a result we have to be more alert. The information isn’t centered, but rather tucked into the lower left. And this option conceals Oscar’s face. Not that we’re doubting he’s angry, but delaying showing his anger builds up greater tension. Wyler, unlike today’s directors, knows when to build up to revealing things that we anticipate, making the final outburst more forceful when it comes. Further, the rest of the scene continues to deny us a clear view of Oscar’s anger, all of which gets squeezed into his gesture of slapping Birdie. It’s Birdie’s reaction that Wyler stresses, and Oscar’s contempt for her is conveyed simply by his bearing, his gesture, and his manner of stalking out of the foyer. It’s not too much to talk about rigor here. The schemas dominating today’s filmmaking, the stylistic paradigm I call intensified continuity, would demand tight close-ups of everybody from the start. But providing them would make it harder for Wyler to raise the emotion when the startling slap comes. Maybe a contemporary director would render this spike in slo-mo, or with a wobbly handheld camera, but that tends to seem overbearing and pumped-up—as a lot of current stylistic pyrotechnics do. In any case, I’m betting that no American director today would use Oscar’s sleeve in the quietly ominous way Wyler does. Mizoguchi’s game of vision Mizoguchi Kenji, in glasses, during the making of Ugetsu. Mizoguchi is renowned for his long takes, which are often sustained in distant views featuring considerable camera movement. In the Mizo chapter in Figures Traced in Light, I suggest that these stylistic choices spring from his effort to engage the viewer mesmerically—as he put it, “to work the viewer’s perceptual capacities to the utmost.” He asks us to downshift our attention to the finest details of the action, which he then modulates for expressive effect. I draw examples from various films across his career to show how he creates drama out of remarkably slight differences in character position, lighting, and other factors. But what happens when he foreswears virtuoso camera movements and single-take scenes and breaks the drama up into several shots? Today, many ambitious directors seem to take pride in stretching out their takes, so cinephiles are sometimes inclined to see a cut as a loss of nerve and a concession to the audience. But I try to show in Figures that Mizoguchi sustains his concern for nuance when he creates an edited sequence. The modulation of fleeting details is to be found in his closer shots too. In A Woman of Rumor, Hatsuko runs a teahouse that funnels customers to the geisha establishment behind it. She has tried to protect her daughter Yukiko from the shame of her profession. Hatsuko has also been cultivating a young doctor she hopes to marry, giving him money to set up a clinic. Now the doctor, Matoba, has become attracted to Yukiko. The scene I’m examining takes place during the performance of a noh drama. Hatsuko leaves the auditorium and finds Yukiko talking with Dr. Matoba. As she passes around a screen, she hears Yukiko saying she wants to learn piano in Tokyo. Hatsuko looks left, and Mizoguchi cuts to an approximation of her optical point of view on the couple in the lounge. So far, so conventional. Mizoguchi seems to follow the intercutting option for treating a scene of overheard conversation. But he goes further. Having laid out the action, Mizoguchi starts the lesson in just-noticeable-details . . . with a sleeve. He cuts to a reverse shot putting Matoba and Yukiko in the foreground. Hatsuko is still back there, though. We can see her kimono sleeve on the left, poking out from behind the screen. A sharp-eyed viewer might also spot Hatsuko’s shadow on a wall, in the center of the shot, over Matoba’s shoulder. This blow-up shows both the sleeve and her silhouette. Here, friends, is one reason we want to watch films in 35mm, and projected really big. It’s now that Yukiko says that she may leave her mother, and Matoba replies, “Maybe I’ll go too.” This is devastating to Hatsuko. The two people whom she loves most seem to care nothing for her. Her shocked reaction is given in a medium-shot showing her shifting out from behind the screen, her face partially hidden. Mizoguchi has picked one variant of the overheard-conversation schema: shot of speakers/ reaction shot of eavesdropper. But he’s done so in his own way, using the barely discernible kimono sleeve to signal Hatsuko’s presence in the full shot of the couple. Likewise, the shot of Hatsuko listening is far from the usual close-up. Like other Japanese directors, Mizoguchi was fond of this arresting single-eye image. He used it earlier in his career, as shown in the first frame at the top of this entry, from Hometown (Furusato, 1930). The second frame is the last shot of his last film, Street of Shame (Akasen chitai, 1956). Quite a shot to end your career on, I’d say. Most Japanese directors use this single-eye framing as a one-off flourish, but not Mizoguchi. The device epitomizes his demand that we concentrate on a detail. Isolating half a face gives impact to the slightest shift in the eye and eyebrow. Moreover, the split face reappears as a pictorial motif later in the scene. As Matoba says he’ll go back to Tokyo for his doctorate, Mizoguchi cuts back to the setup for the second shot. Hatsuko moves left to sit on a chair around the corner from the sofa. This prepares for another, more prolonged game of visibility. Now we get a thirty-second take of the couple on the sofa. As the scene develops, it becomes evident that Matoba is seducing Yukiko. Hatsuko slips in and out of visibility, her actions responding to and even echoing Matoba’s pressure on the girl. First, as he talks with Yukiko, we see Hatsuko’s sleeve and shoulder, between the vase and his shoulder. But as he slips his arm around Yukiko, her elbow moves aside, in an echo of his gesture. Then, when Matoba presses his attention (“We’ll help each other . . . Depend on me”), Hatsuko’s face pops into view as her fingers emerge to grip the edge of her chair. Mizoguchi then lets her face subside, again slicing it in half. In effect, this shot replays and expands upon the tactic governing the earlier two shots. Again we get the just-noticeable presence of the sleeve, but now rhyming with the action in the foreground. And again we get the facial reaction, impeded by a vertical cutoff, but this time in the distant shot rather than in a closer view. It turns out that those first four shots were training us for this more intricate game of vision. At the moment Hatsuko’s face is sliced in half, Mizoguchi cuts. Now he prolongs the close view as he had extended the full shot of the couple. In this thirty-second shot, we watch her reaction, played out in slight modulations—changes in her facial expression, changes in the aspect of her face that we see, and changing relations to the curling palm plant in the vase before her. We get a new angle on Hatsuko, slightly high, as Matoba says, “I’ll tell her.” Hatsuko stands up abruptly and the camera tilts to follow her. With the simple action of her rising up, Mizoguchi changes his composition sharply. Hatsuko’s position in the frame changes only a little bit, but the massive vase on the left gives way to the curling stalks on the right. Radically refreshing a shot through minimal means is one felicity of Mizoguchi’s art. Then, as if the full import of Matoba’s betrayal dawns on her, Hatsuko lowers her head sadly. Again her eyes are split up, this time thanks to the twisting stalk. In a characteristic Mizoguchi gesture, she turns from the camera, as if ashamed to face us, but also summoning up reserves for the next emotional shift. When she turns back, her face burns. I take this to be the scene’s emotional climax. Mizoguchi could have given it to us much sooner, by having Hatsuko turn angry as she peeped out from behind the screen. Instead, his game of vision allowed him to build patiently toward this unimpeded shot of her reaction. It prepares us for the next stages of the drama, later scenes in which she will confront her patron and launch jealous accusations at Yukiko. Now we hear the performance ending, and Hatsuko lifts her head. This phase of the scene ends when Mizoguchi cuts to audience members coming into the lounge and greeting her. By 1954 Mizoguchi had surely seen The Little Foxes. Had he decided to redo Wyler’s virtuoso staging in his own manner? Both directors work with similar ingredients: overheard conversation, depth shots, judicious close-ups, and partial views. But the narrational weightings differ. Wyler’s film aligns and allies us with the people talking, whereas A Woman of Rumor ties us to the listener. (3) Wyler’s eight shots take eighty-one seconds; Mizoguchi’s eight shots take about two minutes. Wyler’s handling is brisk, tense, and remarkably nuanced within the Hollywood tradition. Mizoguchi gives us his scene more sedately, wringing just-noticeable differences out of unassertive performances and simple elements of setting. No slap here, just a drama of wounded pride, lost love, and jealousy played out in the face, back, and sleeve of Tanaka Kinuyo, shifting behind a floral arrangement. What Wyler gives us as one sharp effect, Mizoguchi turns into a delicate, prolonged game of vision. Am I fussing over minutiae? No; Wyler and Mizoguchi did. We just have to follow where they lead. As I try to show in my essay on blinking in cinema (4), directors attend closely to things that might seem trivial. Our analysis needs to be as fine-grained as their craft and artistry. Oh, yes: at Venice Ugetsu won the Silver Lion. Wyler had to be content with Roman Holiday’s three Academy Awards. (1) I sketch some of the possibilities in On the History of Film Style (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997), 225-227. (2) For more on Mizoguchi’s competition with Wyler, see Figures Traced in Light (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005), 134. (3) I’m referring to Murray Smith’s deft analysis of what he calls alignment and allegiance in our relation to film characters. See Engaging Characters: Fiction, Emotion, and the Cinema (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), Chapters 5 and 6. (4) “Who Blinked First?” in Poetics of Cinema (New York: Routledge, 2007), 327-335. PS 3 December: Thanks to Michael Kerpan for a name correction, and for the information that Woman of Rumor was once available on a French DVD. PPS 27 February 2008: Good news. Now Woman of Rumor is available on the wonderful Eureka! Masters of Cinema series, along with the superb Chikamatsu Monogatari. The discs come with voice-over commentary by Tony Rayns and essays by Keiko McDonald and Mark LeFanu. = ? Kristin here– As a writer and even more as a reader, I am frequently baffled when an author with a fascinating, innately dramatic story to tell feels it necessary to ratchet up its appeal with hype. I’m an amateur Egyptologist and sometimes watch the documentaries made by the Discovery Channel, National Geographic, and the other educational TV outlets. Now, a great many people are fascinated by ancient Egypt in a way that they aren’t by virtually any other period of history. So many events and aspects of that society are at least intriguing, at most amazing. The building of the pyramids, the process of mummification, the distinctive artworks–all of these could sustain straightforward presentation. Instead, the filmmakers responsible for these documentaries feel it necessary to beef up their ancient subject matter. The factual scenes are interspersed with shots of actors dressed in pharaonic costumes driving chariots across the desert, accompanied by overblown music. Archaeologists hover outside supposedly sealed tombs or chambers, speculating breathlessly as to what might be inside. Artificial mysteries are overly prolonged, when all along the filmmakers know the answers. Since the channels producing these documentaries are often subsidizing the archaeologists’ work, there is pressure for these scholars to make more glorious claims for their findings than the facts warrant. Similarly, film history contains innumerable stories that are both educational and entertaining, if told in a straightforward, factual way. Any major film’s making yields many facts and anecdotes that are in themselves interesting. Yet here, too, many authors—especially journalistic ones—seem to feel the need to inject an artificial drama into their tale. This can be harmless, but if an author tries too hard, the facts get obscured or distorted. In the case of big box-office successes, journalists tend to find one over-arching claim that can seem to explain a film while giving it an extra dose of drama. There was one such concerning The Lord of the Rings that I encountered over and over when I was researching The Frodo Franchise. Despite all the twists and turns that the progress of the film took—the unlikely move from Miramax to New Line, the last-minute casting of Viggo Mortensen, the struggles to reach remote filming locations, the third part’s winning eleven Oscars, and many, many more—somehow there wasn’t enough drama. In this case, the big claim was that Rings was an immense gamble on the part of New Line’s founder and co-president, Bob Shaye. Some have believed, both before and after the trilogy’s release, that its failure would have meant the end of New Line. The independent firm would have been absorbed into parent company Time Warner, and Shaye would have been stripped of power. My book was written after all three parts of Rings had gone into the box-office record books. New Line had grown considerably and was in no danger. During my research I questioned people involved in the film’s production and people in the industry who would have reason to know whether New Line really stood in such a precarious position in 2001. Opinions were divided, but few thought that New Line would have disappeared had the trilogy flopped. A gamble, yes, but ones where the stakes were lower and the odds more in New Line’s favor than most accounts would suggest. Boffo! by Bart I can see why journalists, even in trade papers like Variety and Hollywood Reporter, would find it convenient to fall back on this gamble motif when writing copy on a short deadline. Now, however, the familiar claim has reappeared in Peter Bart’s book, Boffo! How I Learned to Love the Blockbuster and Fear the Bomb (Miramax Books, 2006). Bart deals with extremely successful films, plays, and TV shows. The Lord of the Rings occupies one chapter. When the first anniversary of this blog rolled around, David wrote about some of our goals as film scholars and bloggers. One of them was this: We’ve tried to deflate some clichés of mainstream film journalism. Writers of feature articles are pressed to hit deadlines and fill column inches, so they sometimes reiterate ideas that don’t rest on much evidence. Again and again we hear that sequels are crowding out quality films, action movies are terrible, people are no longer going to the movies, the industry is falling on hard times, audiences want escape, New Media are killing traditional media, indie films are worthwhile because they’re edgy, some day all movies will be available on the Internet, and so on. Too many writers fall back on received wisdom. If the coverage of film in the popular press is ever to be as solid as, say, science journalism or even the best arts journalism, writers have to be pushed to think more originally and skeptically. The same goes, only more so, for books written in the same spirit. Journalistic writing is at least somewhat ephemeral. Books, though, stay on the shelf, and they automatically command a certain respect. As I said, the story of Rings, told straightforwardly, is immensely dramatic. What better story could a film historian possibly have to tell? All through the researching and writing processes, I tried simply to discover, convey, and interpret that story without adding hype. Bart adds the hype. His chapter on Rings not only revives the old gamble angle but goes further, asking, “What was the bravest gamble in the history of filmmaking?” Arguably, he answers, the trilogy. Why? First, it was risky to make all three films at once. Granted, though as Bart acknowledges, there were enormous cost benefits from doing so. Second, the initial budget of $130 million, according to Bart, ballooned to $330 million. Now the problems start. $130 million was the budget when Rings was still a two-part project at Miramax. Taking over the film, New Line provisionally kept the existing budget until a three-part script could be written and the costs estimated on a firm basis. The estimate then grew to $270 million, which we should count as the budget the studio was really working from. The success of Fellowship of the Ring led New Line to agree to requests for more money in making the second and third parts. Costs did not run wildly over expectations. What else was so risky? According to Bart, New Line earmarked “virtually its entire production budget to support the effort.” If Bart has evidence for this claim, he doesn’t share it. Without access to New Line’s accounts, we can’t be absolutely certain. Still, there is considerable evidence to the contrary. New Line executives have consistently pointed out that, spread over the three years of the trilogy’s release, their own annual investment was relatively small. Co-president Michael Lynne has said in a number of interviews that most of the budget was covered by other companies. In a recent issue of Screen International, he declared, “The foreign distribution rights alone were responsible for close to 70%” (Mike Goodridge, “The Ringleaders,” October 26, 2007, p. 23). There were 26 foreign distributors, several of whom paid visits to the Wellington facilities during the production. I have talked with some of the filmmakers who took those distributors on tours. My book includes a case study of the Danish distribution company based on a two-hour interview with one of its executives (Chapter 9). During the years of the trilogy’s release, the trade journals, including Variety, ran stories about these distributors. The 70% figure, by the way, doesn’t count the merchandising licenses, many of which had been sold in 2000, helping to finance the trilogy. New Line was gambling, but largely with other people’s money. Further, Bart declares, Shaye’s decision was a gamble because the narrative of Tolkien’s novel was so complex that it had previously scared off Spielberg, Kubrick, Harvey Weinstein, Saul Zaentz, and the Beatles (p. 51). Again, my research points in other directions. I have never heard that Spielberg was in the running to make Rings at any point. Stanley Kubrick was approached by Apple, the Beatles’ company, back in the late 1960s, when the Fab Four were interested in starring in a film adaptation of Rings. I suspect that it wasn’t the novel’s complexity that made Kubrick decline. (The Beatles got interested in transcendental meditation and went off to the Far East.) Bart says that Saul Zaentz “did little” with the production rights once he acquired them (p. 54). But in 1978 Zaentz produced an unsuccessful animated version of the first half of the book and decided not to make the sequel. Harvey Weinstein very much wanted to keep the Rings project at Miramax, but he was forced by parent company Disney’s head, Michael Eisner, to scale it back to a single two-hour feature. Peter Jackson refused to accept that condition and took the project to New Line. Finally, Bart points out that Jackson was then a little-known director with not a hit to his name. True, but as I point out in my book, for the short time the Rings was in turnaround from Miramax, Jackson alone had the power to bring the project to New Line. Shaye undoubtedly wanted the rights to Rings, believing that it would make a successful franchise. Jackson came along with those rights. Late in the chapter, Bart offers another reason why taking on the trilogy flew in the face of conventional wisdom: New Zealand is very remote from Hollywood (p. 63). Perhaps the distance caused some troubles, but it saved a huge amount of money—enough to make the difference between the trilogy getting made or not. In The Frodo Franchise I calculate (based on costs for a comparable effects-heavy epic, Titanic) that Rings might have cost roughly $544 million if made in North America (or $700 million if one includes the 120 minutes of extended-edition footage). Jackson undertook a similar estimate based on Pearl Harbor and came up with a figure of $180 million for Fellowship—and three times that is $540 million. The difference between those figures and $330 million pays for a lot of airline tickets. Shaye’s “Gambler” Reputation One of Bart’s conclusions is, “For those who, like Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne, believed that big returns emanate from big risks, Lord of the Rings provided a unique and generous validation” (pp. 63-64). This is peculiar indeed. I don’t think either Shaye or Lynne would agree with that assessment of their approach to production. Shaye was known for running a tight fiscal ship at New Line. His company became famous for turning miniscule investments into massive hits and franchises: most notably, Nightmare on Elm Street and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Shaye has a sign on his office wall that reads “Prudent Aggression.” That, I would say, is the attitude with which he approached the Rings decision. Neither Shaye nor Lynne has generally encouraged the notion of the Rings deal as a gamble. (See my first chapter for more on this.) In the Screen International piece cited above, the interviewer asks that very question: “Do you agree that the trilogy was the riskiest venture that any film company has tried to date?” Shaye responds, “We had hedged somewhere between 70%-80% of our investment.” Lynne adds, “If it had broken even, nobody would have been happy. The company wouldn’t have gone out of business, but it definitely would have been a problematic issue for people who had invested with us, and for Time Warner itself.” (The investors were the international distributors who had pre-bought the entire trilogy.) In an interview on The Charlie Rose Show earlier this year, Lynne said something similar: “The problem was, if the first film didn’t work, the next two were certainly not going to work, that these films would at best break even. Well, no one at Time Warner was going to be thrilled that we invested the three hundred million dollars and just got our money back! So although we weren’t betting the ranch, we certainly were betting our credibility.” The gambler image no doubt redounds to Shaye’s advantage in some ways. He was the only one in Hollywood willing to take on the immense project when Jackson was shopping it around the studios. He was famously the one who told the director that he should make three films, not two. Despite occasional tensions between the filmmakers and studio executives, Shaye and Lynne not only stuck with the project but acceded to requests for tens of millions in additional spending. Shaye’s resulting image is that of a savvy maverick who outguessed the heads of the other studios. On the other hand, it can’t be to his advantage to be perceived as reckless. If people think that Rings really was the biggest gamble in the history of Hollywood and that Shaye risked $330 million of his own firm’s money, blithely taking a chance on a director of splatter films, then he risks coming across as irresponsible. Hence, I suspect, his and Lynne’s care in informing interviewers that they had found investors and licensees to cover the bulk of the trilogy’s budget. Shaye has also pointed out that the trilogy stretched over three fiscal years, as I mentioned, making the annual investment in Jackson’s film modest relative to its epic qualities. Of course the trilogy was a gamble. As Shaye said in the Charlie Rose interview, “But every film commitment is a gamble to some extent.” The size of this particular gamble, however, has been considerably exaggerated. Shaye and Lynne knew what they were doing. They saw the savings to be had by filming in New Zealand and by committing the cast members up front to all three films—hence obviating the possibility of ballooning salary demands if the first part was successful. I’m sure there were many moments of worry and doubt in the years between New Line’s official announcement of the project on August 24, 1998 and the triumphant preview screenings at Cannes in May, 2001—when journalists and foreign distributors alike realized that the studio had, as Harvey Weinstein put it at the time, “another ‘Star Wars’ on their hands.” Still, I would place a small bet that during those same years the disastrous Town & Country (filmed in 1998 and released in late April, 2001) was giving Shaye and Lynne at least as much anxiety. That long-delayed film cost $90 million, with a publicity budget of $15 million. It grossed $10 million worldwide. Above all, Shaye saw the likelihood of the trilogy’s success in a way that no one else did. My favorite statement of his was quoted in a Time article in late 2002, shortly before the release of The Two Towers. Asked why he had wanted three films instead of two, Shaye replied: “It was so wonderfully presold. It was like Superman or Batman.” Juxtaposing Tolkien’s novel with those comic-book superheroes might bring a smile—but he was right. If we can just set aside the persistent notion that Rings was a huge gamble, we can see that Shaye was remarkable for his foresight, not his recklessness. DB here: Last month I visited the University of Texas at Austin. I had a great time, with wonderful people and conversation. The food was tasty too. There was a lot of talk, and one question in particular set me thinking. In his Film History seminar, Professor Charles Ramirez Berg asked me what movie made me decide to study film. Before I knew what I was saying, I admitted that unlike most people who write about movies, no single movie, nor even a handful of movies, pushed me in this direction. I had no cinematic epiphany. Nor did I have the sort of childhood that seems archetypal for film geeks. You know the tale. I grew up in New York/ Chicago/ LA and went to the movies every day, sometimes twice or more. I practically lived at the [insert colorful but rundown movie house here]. When I wasn’t at the movies I was watching little-known film noirs/ Monograms/ Budd Boettichers on TV into the night. By the time I could vote, I’d seen thousands of movies, and King Kong at least five times. This wasn’t me. I grew up on a farm. I saw at most one or two movies a week on those Saturday afternoons when my family went to the town ten miles away. I saw what every kid saw—Disney, Martin and Lewis, Francis the Talking Mule. I did sometimes watch Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto movies on the couple of TV channels we could pull in, but I didn’t saturate myself. About age thirteen I started to get interested in film by reading about it, in books like Arthur Knight’s The Liveliest Art and Paul Rotha’s The Film Till Now. These were my guides to what to watch on TV. So yes, I did stay up late occasionally, but to see bona fide classics like Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons. The joys of Joseph H. Lewis and Robert Siodmak had to wait until in 1963 my hands closed around the Film Culture issue devoted to Andrew Sarris’ American Directors survey. So I became a film wonk through years of accretion, gradually seeing more and more in high school (once I could drive a car) and college (running the film society) and then deciding to go to graduate school. But I did find an answer to Charles’ question. I said that my childhood was far more steeped in TV and radio than in movies. Afterward I realized that certain books and magazines had a big influence on me as well. What follows may seem narcissistic nostalgia, but I do have a general point. It’s the Law of the Adolescent Window: Between the ages of 13 and 18, a window opens for each of us. The cultural pastimes that attract us then, the ones we find ourselves drawn to and even obsessive about, will always have a powerful hold. We may broaden our tastes as we grow out of those years—we should, anyhow—but the sports, hobbies, books, TV, movies, and music that we loved then we will always love. The corollary is the Law of the Midlife/ Latelife Return: As we age, and especially after we hit 40, we find it worthwhile to return to the adolescent window. Despite all the changes you’ve undergone, those things are usually as enjoyable as they were then. You may even see more in them than you realized was there. Just as important, you start to realize how the ways you passed your idle hours shaped your view of the world—the way you think and feel, important parts of your very identity. Let me get specific. The view from my window Jean Shepherd. Photo by Fred W. McDarrah. I was born in 1947 and graduated from high school in 1965. What was my angle of view onto the pop-culture landscape in 1960-1965? Reading: I read a lot of classic and contemporary American literature, especially Twain and Faulkner. Also a lot of nonfiction, especially Barzun, Orwell, and Kenneth Burke. But more eagerly I soaked up detective stories. Not the hardboiled ones, though I loved Hammett’s Red Harvest. My favorites were Sherlock Holmes, Wilkie Collins, and the Golden Age classics: Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, John Dickson Carr/ Carter Dickson, Ellery Queen, and Rex Stout. I now realize that from these skilful storytellers I was absorbing lessons in narrative construction, as well as a taste for artifice. More specifically, I was learning something I could only much later make explicit: Popular culture undertakes formal experimentation as intriguing as anything in the official avant-garde. Ellery Queen’s openly fabulist novels take a central motif—a nursery rhyme, a pun, the Ten Commandments—and then show how it informs action, character psychology, even chapter breaks. John Dickson Carr’s books are like conjuring tricks, with the magician brandishing the clues and steering you away from the trap doors and collapsable top hats. Who else but Carr would call a novel The Reader Is Warned? Among the moderns, perhaps only Ed McBain has the Golden Age flair for creating a multilayered plot based on a central image like ice or a wedge, and he does it within the frame of the most purportedly realistic mode, the police procedural. Or take a book I’ve probably read twenty times, Anthony Berkeley’s The Poisoned Chocolates Case (1929). Six eminent lawyers, writers, and amateur sleuths have formed a club, the Crimes Circle. They’re presented with a current murder case and challenged to crack it. At six nights of Circle meetings, each one fields a solution, only to have it shot down. Sort of a grad seminar in homicide. Admirers of film noir and the hardboiled school, who are in the majority now, would complain that this is just the sort of airless exercise that turned the detective story into a crossword puzzle. Yet there is tension whenever we play off competing answers to a question; anyone who thinks that empirical reasoning is bloodless should read a scientist’s biography. Out of a handful of clues and three or four suspects, The Poisoned Chocolates Case conjures up six detailed but mutually exclusive solutions. At the end, there’s a purely aesthetic pleasure in watching the puzzle snap into a surprising whole that integrates aspects of all the failed answers. As a cherry on the sundae, we’re rewarded with one of the niftiest last lines in crime fiction: “Nobody enlightened him.” My tastes in the genre have broadened. Now I read and reread Le Carré, Rendell, Hillerman, Westlake/ Stark, Bloch, and the procedurals, especially Rankin. Of course I like Highsmith and Elmore Leonard. Robert Barnard and Peter Dickinson can sometimes evoke Golden Age knottiness. But when I want formal highjinks, I pack a classic in my carry-on and I’m seldom disappointed. On the Austin trip it was Stout’s The Rubber Band, an elegant adventure of Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe. I’ve registered my admiration for Stout elsewhere on this blog; I consider him one of the great masters of American vernacular prose. The Rubber Band is one of his best, and not just because every page boasts at least one of Archie’s irresistible sentences about Wolfe. Since he only went outdoors for things like earthquakes and holocausts, he was rarely guilty of movement except when he was up on the roof with Horstmann and the orchids, from nine to eleven in the morning and four to six in the afternoon, and there was no provision there for pole vaulting. That’s writing. TV, I now realize, tutored me further in the unbridled audacity of popular culture. Granted, in certain circles I’ve been known to say unenthusiastic things about TV. Nowadays I don’t watch anything but The Simpsons and Keith Olbermann. But who can deny the past? I’m a creature of the box. My parents got TV early, in the early 1950s, and my sisters and I spent many a winter afternoon in front of cartoons, the Disney show, and Roy Rogers. But I didn’t like the official hits, like Gunsmoke and Bonanza. As I got older, I was snagged by grownup shows like Jackie Cooper’s Hennessey and the short-lived It’s a Man’s World. Why? I don’t know. Perhaps they showed how badinage could mingle with serious drama. No mystery about Ernie Kovacs, though, whose nuttiness delighted me in the way that Monty Python would capture the kids of the 1970s. And like everybody else, I was haunted by a weekly visit to the Twilight Zone. But above all stood George and Gracie. When I started to get what they were about, their program was ripening into its baroque phase. More than individual shows, I remember the brilliant central conceit. Gracie would hatch a wacko scheme, usually recruiting the hapless Harry von Zell as her minion. George would get suspicious and retire to his den to tune in the very show we were watching. He was then in a position to block her maneuvers, usually by tormenting von Zell. The idea that George could simply watch his own program still seems a stroke of genius. Artistic form, I must have realized subconsciously, can always be turned into a dizzy game. M. Godard, Ozu-san, meet Burns and Allen. The radio was constantly on in our house, with my mother listening to Arthur Godfrey or Art Linkletter. These geezers were intolerable to my teenage tastes. Give me my two main sources of aural pleasure: WKBW radio and Jean Shepherd. WKBW was a radio station out of Buffalo. At 50,000 watts it was so powerful it tended to seep into any blank spot on the dial. Actually, the DJs probably didn’t need an antenna, since they conducted their shows at ear-splitting volume. They indulged in all the profound things that characterized radio in the 1950s: cute sound effects (car crashes, always good), music clips (audio tape made it easy), jingles and station IDs that quickly became earworms, and nonstop patter sustained by whinnies, table-pounding, and laughter at feeble jokes. KB’s promotional efforts were no less strenuous. Once the station asked the public’s help in finding a missing DJ, only to reveal that he’d gone into hiding to drum up publicity. In my day, the loudest mouth belonged to Joey Reynolds, who brayed over records and satirized rock and roll with an appalling ditty called “Rats in My Room.” When he was fired, he nailed his shoes to his boss’s door, adding a note: “Fill These.” I was happy to learn that this piece of teenage lore seems to be true, or at least so a fanatical WKBW website indicates. Joey continues on the airwaves, albeit more sedately. Speaking of music, KB opened the adolescent window to the tunes that still move me. I was too young to like Elvis and had an affectionate but distant relation to the Beatles. My favorites came mostly from what I’ve learned to call the Brill Building sound. On 24 December every year, Kristin folds her arms in weary patience as the Drifters, Gene Pitney, Connie Francis, and Paul Anka pour forth into our living room. Jean Shepherd was a wholly different story. The WOR signal couldn’t creep into upstate New York by day, so my bedside tube radio crackled and hissed as 11:15 p. m. approached. Would the signal pull through? It usually did. In fact it seemed to get stronger as, lying in the dark, I heard the familiar trumpet call and galloping music that announced Shep’s show. Another difference from Top 40: Here was an adult talking to a kid as if I were an adult. And an adult who lived in Manhattan! I discovered then that the media aim downward, age-wise: a teenage TV show is actually watched by pre-teens, a college show (like Shep’s) appeals most to highschoolers (like me). Shep was one of the pioneers of long-form talk radio. He didn’t take phone calls and he seldom had guests. He claimed to be a social commentator, and he did point out the foibles of contemporary media and society. Mostly, though, he was a yarn spinner in the Twain tradition. As he told stories from his life, especially his childhood in Indiana, digressions would split off unexpectedly. Somehow, though, everything wound back to make a point–usually about the vainglory of being human. What made the stories fascinating was not only the delivery (poetic turns of phrase, a smooth, earnest voice that could sink to an urgent whisper) but their fundamental ordinariness. He told of midwestern air shows, enamel table tops, summer baseball, and disastrous Valentine’s Day parties. He celebrated the commonplace and advised his listeners to simply watch everything closely, to find the poetry and absurdity that pervade our lives. I think that my sense of humor owes a lot to him. Perhaps also my tendency to yakkiness. Shepherd is best-known today for A Christmas Story, the movie based on some of his stories. If you’ve seen it, you’ve heard his unique voice as the narrator. But I first heard the tales of the BB gun and the Old Man’s fetishistic leg-lamp while hunched under the blankets, long after my family had gone to sleep, and Shep’s words put a movie in my head. After my nightly WOR adventures, Garrison Keillor seemed labored and condescending. From Eugene Bergmann’s capacious book on Shepherd (1), I realize that my nighttime communion with this adult voice was shared by thousands of other kids. He fused the nonconformist sensibility of the Beats and the Hips with a Midwestern distaste for airs and pomposity. He called his fans the Night People. The enemies were the Meatballs, the Slobs, or, in a reference to a Pepsi tagline, the Sociables. He spurred his listeners to send Cassavetes money to fund Shadows; a credit to the Night People appears on the movie. Shep’s motto was “Excelsior” (sometimes, “Excelsior, you fathead”), which encapsulated both his optimism (onward and upward, keep striving) and his fatalism (remember the boy with the banner lying frozen in the snow). Urged on by Bergmann’s book, I recently discovered a wonderful Shepherd website and a vast podcast vault of his shows, which are also available free on iTunes. (2) Broadcast a little before I started listening, the 1960 “Molded Food” episode was a great iPod companion as I wandered around the UT—Austin campus. Put not aside childish things I could mention more items seen through my window, such as the Village Voice, Esquire, and, inevitably, Mad magazine. But the moral should be clear. Whatever called out to you when your window opened—Grease, Patti Smith, Buckaroo Banzai, Sassy, David Bowie, Columbo, Godspell, Lord of the Rings (the book), Penn and Teller, National Lampoon, Pavement, John Hughes movies, Kurt Vonnegut, the B-52s, Earth Girls Are Easy, Beat Street, Master of Puppets, Boondock Saints, Sam Kinison, They Might Be Giants, you name it—is likely to retain its bright purity throughout your days. What’s kitsch or cheesy or retro to others is precious to you. Make no apologies. It’s not mere nostalgia or guilty pleasure to revisit these creations. You can return to them as to old friends. Encountering them again, you remember when you took it for granted that anything was possible in your life. Their sharp, shining lines fitted your range of vision, and mostly they still do. Your taste was unerring. These teenage passions represent a big chunk of the finest part of you. In some secret place you are still as uncomplicated as you were then. (1) Eugene B. Bergmann, Excelsior, You Fathead! The Art and Enigma of Jean Shepherd (New York: Applause, 2005). (2) In the iTunes store, go to “The Brass Figlagee” under Podcasts. Thanks to Jeff Smith, Jonah Horwitz, and Dan Morgan for suggesting some things they saw through their adolescent window. Zippy the Pinhead, by Bill Griffith. DB here: Since I retired, I usually go to matinee shows. It’s cheaper, and the auditorium is depopulated. Sometimes I’m the only person there. I know, movies are supposed to be seen with a big audience; but I’ve seldom liked the experience of a packed house. Does the humble worshipper in the temple need a congregation to confirm his faith? Isn’t it best to commune with the deity alone? More to the point: Even before the advent of cellphones, somebody always coughs or talks at the wrong time. If there are any other people around during my matinees, they are likely to be elderly folks, misfits, losers, idlers, and troublemakers. This makes me feel superior. But then I realize that to an objective observer, I could fit into any of those categories. Last time I went to my local, the cashier at the ticket stand gave me the Senior Citizens discount automatically. The pleasure of saving a dollar was small compensation for the blow to baby-boomer pride—sort of the reverse of being carded at a bar when you’re 30. Curiously, as film attendance is dropping, multiplexes are offering more screenings. I enjoyed the idea of starting the screening cycle at noon or so, but now some ‘plexes start running as early as 10:30. At my neighborhood ‘plex, you can attend the Baby Box Office (“The lights are a little brighter, the sound a little softer”) on Tuesdays at 10:00 AM. It’s currently featuring the ideal picture for babes in arms, American Gangster. Here are some jotted opinions on movies seen at midday over the last couple of weeks. We Own the Night: I admired James Gray’s The Yards, but this seemed to me quite standard. One brother’s a cop, the other’s on the shady side: back to Warner Bros. of the 1930s. (Where’s the tough priest, though?) Although set in the 1980s, it looks a bit like a 1970s movie, with all those long-lens shots and flattened color values. The plot was by-the-numbers, and lines like “You’re a dead man” and “I love you very much” don’t help. I guess it’s a “personal” project for Phoenix and Wahlberg, both brave performers in other vehicles but mostly going through the motions here. Further evidence that today’s cinema is classic studio cinema, with more sex, violence, drugs, and rock-and-roll. Gone Baby Gone: At least We Own the Night doesn’t promise to be more than a typical genre piece. For several years now, many ambitious or “prestige” pictures have given genres the uplift treatment, making them—well, serious. So a crime thriller that might have been trim at 90 minutes gets padded out to portentous dimensions, chiefly through scenery-gobbling performances and tricky narration. A recent model is The Departed, but Mystic River also worked this ground. Such is Gone Baby Gone, another Lehane exercise in male pain in a gritty ethnic enclave. Director Ben Affleck shoots it in a standard way, with long-lens glimpses of homely people sitting on stoops (don’t get too close), and he resorts to the now-common device of flashbacks that fill us in on what really happened in a crucial scene. As usual in such fare, the plot is a pretext for Oscar-bait performances, and I confess that to my surprise I found Casey Affleck pretty riveting. Michael Clayton: Another tricked-out genre effort, with echoes of Three Days of the Condor. Again a mystery plot is overlaid with a guy’s personal problems: divorce, druggy brother, loyalty to his mentor. (By the way, when is someone going to do a study of the hero’s weak friend in Hollywood cinema?) We get the fancy flashbacks as well, starting at a high point—an exploding car bomb, which ought to grab you—before a title pops up: “Four days earlier.” Eventually, as per usual nowadays, the opening scene is replayed, from a more omniscient point of vantage. And just as I have problems with any movie that resolves its plot with somebody writing a check, I don’t find it terribly original to settle things by secretly taping the bad guys admitting their chicanery. Yet I appreciated Paul Gilroy’s calm direction. I especially liked his crosscut sequences, in which the sound of one line of action plays out over images from the other line. This technique isn’t brand-new, but Gilroy handles these passages well, building story momentum while creating compact characterizing bits (e.g., the insecurity of lawyer Tilda Swinton faced with critical meetings). The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford: The really successful fancy-pants genre film in my latest round of viewings. Andrew Dominik has made a grave, spare movie about the myth of Jesse and his murderer that doesn’t splash on period details and swamp the action in overproduced sets. The film could have been another funny-hats Western, but it turns out to be as austere as a sharecropper’s porch in a Walker Evans photograph. With an average shot length close to seven seconds, the film lets actors use their bodies a bit and interact within a fixed frame. In this context, the vignetted shots stand out, but not as mere flourishes; their wavery softness is picked up in the distorting windowpanes of the farmhouses and eventually in the fatal reflection in the picture Jesse is adjusting. For once a post-Unforgiven western earns its meta-commentary on the Legends of the West. Jesse is the quietly charismatic star, while Ford is the overeager admirer, the outlaw as groupie. Daringly, the plot wanders away from its main characters for considerable stretches, and the protracted dialogues feature archaic turns of speech that can become ominous. Jesse is a raconteur whose paranoia can unnerve anybody: “You got a tale to swap with me now?” Assassination also reminded me of Magnolia in the dry authority of its voice-over narration and in its epilogue, which follows Ford to the end of his enigmatic life. But where am I at the peak hours on Friday and Saturday, when throngs at the multiplex line up for popcorn, nachos and Dots? At our cozy Cinematheque, where we screen dazzling items like Nouvelle Vague and Utamaro and His Five Women. Right now, Godard and Mizoguchi own my nights.
2205	dbpedia	1	76	https://www.davegott.com/films/actor/warner_oland/index2.html	en	Warner Oland Detail View			[]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Dave Gott" ]	null	Warner Oland \| Movie Details - sort by Rating, Title or Year \| davegott.com/films	en			https://www.davegott.com/films/actor/warner_oland/index2.html
2205	dbpedia	1	60	https://www.wbur.org/npr/129424778/investigating-the-real-detective-charlie-chan	en	Investigating The Real Detective Charlie Chan	https://static.wbur.org/…ges/npr-logo.svg	https://static.wbur.org/…ges/npr-logo.svg	[ "https://static.wbur.org/images/npr-logo.svg" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "WBUR" ]	2010-09-07T00:00:00	The fictional, aphorism-spouting Chinese detective is best known today as a stereotypical relic from a less sensitive time. Yunte Huang tells the story of the real man who inspired the caricature in <em>Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History.</em>	en	https://static.wbur.org/images/icons/favicon.ico		https://www.npr.org/2010/09/07/129424778/investigating-the-real-detective-charlie-chan	Listen Live Advertisement Investigating The Real Detective Charlie Chan Resume Related: Advertisement More from WBUR
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"https://www.esquire.com/_assets/design-tokens/fre/static/icons/social/instagram.f282b14.svg?primary=%2523000000&id=social-button-icon", "https://www.esquire.com/_assets/design-tokens/fre/static/icons/social/pinterest.e8cf655.svg?primary=%2523000000&id=social-button-icon", "https://www.esquire.com/_assets/design-tokens/en-gb/static/images/logos/network-logo.eae65ae.svg?primary=%2523000000", "https://www.esquire.com/_assets/design-tokens/fre/static/images/logos/ipso-regulated.9922b5a.svg?primary=%2523000000" ]	[]	[]	[ "sex movies", "HreflangEvergreen" ]	null	[]	2018-03-23T16:51:00+00:00	Welcome to a countdown of the greatest sex films ever made, from coming-of-age lesbian dramas to gritty portrayals of sex addiction to, erm, loincloths	en	/_assets/design-tokens/esquire/static/images/favicon.9bd3ce0.ico	Esquire	https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/film/a7509/best-sex-movies/	Welcome to a countdown of the greatest sex films ever made about the small but preoccupying part of the human experience known as sex - from coming-of-age lesbian dramas to gritty portrayals of sex addiction to, erm, loincloths. Put simply: these are the sex movies with the most to say about doing it, charting a history of how our attitudes towards sex and nudity on the big screen have shifted through the decades. So get comfy – well, not too comfy – and enjoy. Blue is the Warmest Colour (2013) Art house movies. We get it. They do sex. That's their thing. From Swedish nudes in 1953 (Summer with Monika) to the butter-based penetration of 1972 (Last Tango in Paris) to crazy irascible beach-side sessions in 1986 (Betty Blue), nothing screams "arthouse" more than a smartly directed and gamely acted sex scene. Then came Blue is the Warmest Colour. The film, which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013, wiped away everything that had gone before it. The hideous rape of Monica Bellucci in Irreversible (2002)? The grimly determined humping from Japanese 1976 classic In the Realm of the Senses? All gone. Faded in comparison. Plus, it was gay sex. So it made the cutesy girl-on-girl action in Bound (2006) and Mulholland Drive (2001) seem dubious and cheap. Instead, what it gave us was two young and relatively untested actresses, Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos, deftly describing, in the grim northern French town of Lille, the heady emotional rushes and sudden power shifts of an emerging relationship. Looks are exchanged, picnics are arranged, kisses are traded and then everything grinds to a halt at approximately one hour and 11 minutes into the movie, when director Kechiche and his two lead actresses deliver the type of jaw-to-the-floor sex scene that has subsequently raised the movie-sex bar to insane heights of verisimilitude and has pushed the literal definition of "simulated" to breaking point. For here, over seven long breathy, sweaty, brightly-lit minutes, we run the unapologetic gamut of licking, sucking, squeezing, fingering, rimming, ramming, slamming, and general slithery, grindy, intercrural mayhem. The scene has many detractors including the actresses themselves, who famously rounded on their director: Seydoux said making it was "horrible" and she would "never" work with Kechiche again. Once the film began sweeping up during the 2013 awards season, however, they recanted and said that they were "happy" with it. And yet, look at the scene now, within the movie, and away from the hype, and it doesn't play too well. It's crudely lit. It's brazen, and yet also crass. And what it says, in its many nipple shots, arse close-ups, and vaginal teases, is that perhaps all sex scenes, no matter how well-intended, or how groundbreaking and profound, are inherently, well, kind of sleazy. – Kevin Maher Cruel Intentions (1999) When it comes to the millennial generation’s defining coming-of-age movies, Clueless has a lot to answer for. The success of the teen-centred Emma adaption inspired a frenzied craze for remaking celebrated centuries-old classics as cheeky modern high-school romps. Twelfth Night became She’s the Man, A Midsummer Night’s Dream became Get Over It, Pygmalion became She’s All That and The Taming of the Shrew became 10 Things I Hate About You. And Dangerous Liaisons became the most excitedly whispered-about pulpy teen sex drama of the decade – the one where Buffy the Vampire Slayer seduces her step-brother with the never-to-be-forgotten offer: “You can put it anywhere”. If the template’s central attraction lay in the playful contrast between the teen-movie genre and the scholarly source material, then Cruel Intentions mined this for all it was worth: lowering the tone, upping the vulgarity, and telling its steamy story with gleefully frivolous tone. Depending on your age, it appealed as either thrillingly grown-up drama or hilariously guilty-pleasure trash. But while the film’s promotional material featured its stars in skimpy outfits and the picnic-scene kiss between Sarah Michelle Gellar and Selma Blair became an early (and much-parodied) viral sensation, the film’s raunchiest moments were all verbal ones. It’s real turn-on was a screenplay that ran the full gamut from suggestive to risqué to laugh-out-loud outrageous. For the army of enraptured 12-year-olds who got their hands on a VHS copy, this bawdy verboseness lent the film a sophisticated, adult sensibility. Looking back now, of course, Cruel Intentions is about as openly adolescent as they come (“How are things down under?” our pervy protagonist asks Blair on her return from Australia). The screenplay’s trump card, though, was less its racy content than its sheer unrepentant spirit: it was appealing to randy teenagers via cheap means, and it didn’t mind admitting it. In many ways this unashamed juvenilia made it an infinitely more mature film than something like Closer, which five years later lured in the same generation of kids via the same brand of smut-tastic dialogue, but this time did so while masquerading as Serious Grown-Up Drama. "You know what your problem is?" Reece Witherspoon tells a chastened Ryan Philippe in Cruel Intentions. "You take yourself way too seriously." Nothing could be less true of the film itself – and therein lay its brilliance. – Alex Hess Anomalisa (2015) If Team America set a new precedent – puppet sex! – then Charlie Kaufman’s slow-burn existential drama raised the bar some distance: weirdly realistic puppet sex! With an undertone of mournful poignancy! Nor is the extended love scene midway through Kaufman’s midlife crisis drama the only way in which a film played out entirely by stop-motion puppets could be said to be substantially more truthful than many of its flesh-and-blood counterparts. Perhaps unsurprisingly for a movie from the writer of Being John Malkovich, Synecdoche New York and the rest, Anomalisa employs an offbeat and uncanny device to delve rawly into the core of the human condition. The difference here is the weirdness doesn’t so much lie in the premise, which is in fact defiantly bland (ageing loser checks into a hotel for a corporate conference, meets woman) but rather its execution, which sees all its characters embodied by 3D-printed puppets and inhabiting homemade sets. Oh, and that protagonist Michael (and by extension the viewer) perceives everyone in the world to possess the same face and voice – apart from fellow hotel guest Lisa, with whom a timid romance quickly blossoms. If the story of an old sad-sack being swept off his feet during a hotel-stay brings to mind Lost in Translation, then Anomalisa makes sure not to follow the lead of that film’s unconsummated central relationship. Far from it. Instead we are treated to an excruciatingly tentative encounter replete with wobbling buttocks, awkward moments and an unwanted early climax. Welcome to real life! – Alex Hess Her (2014) A longing romance between human and non-human has been a surprisingly frequent feature of Hollywood cinema since King Kong turned on the charm with Fay Wray back in 1933. Since then we've had romances between human and amphibian (The Shape of Water), human and shop-window dummy (Mannequin), and human and inflatable sex doll (Lars and the Real Girl). And when it comes to human and computer programme, well, Weird Science, Electric Dreams and S1m0ne have all tackled that from one angle or other. But while all those movie all tended towards the fantastical or comedic, Spike Jonze's 2013 film is notable for playing its central romance – between a depressed divorcee and his Alexa-like virtual assistant – almost totally straight. Despite sounding like the plot of an unbearably quirky absurdist comedy, Her comes about as close to a genuine romantic drama as its premise permits. The relationship between Joaquin Phoenix’s miserable Theodore and his husky-voiced operating system (Scarlett Johansson, obviously) is sincere and candid – on the part of both parties – and is played for neither easy laughs nor clever-clogs social satire. And while its central relationship may turn out to be even more prescient than we thought, the way the film draws a contrast between Theodore's readiness for a digital relationship and his complete incompetence when it comes to human intimacy has only become more timely in the near-decade since the film’s release. In the end, the vital scene may be the one when Theodore and Isabella try, somewhat inevitably, to consummate their blossoming relationship. They do so via the use of a human surrogate, and it is an all-too-real situation that a panicked Theodore can’t handle and quickly curtails. His online amour has been a sweet and satisfying remedy to his chronic loneliness… but it comes at a real-world price. – Alex Hess Portrait Of A Lady On Fire (2019) In eighteenth century France, young Marianne is dispatched to a remote part of blustery, grey Brittany to complete her latest assignment: a portrait of the stern, noble Héloïse, who’s set to be married off to an appropriately stern, noble non-love-match. Héloïse is resistant to the whole thing. She didn’t want to marry, didn’t want to sit for any portraits, and is keeping herself shut away from nearly everyone. Marianne, though, is assigned to be her companion. Céline Sciamma’s sensuous drama follows them as they walk the coastline and Marianne studies Héloïse for a secret portrait. It’s the fire scene – where the two women escape to a bonfire in the countryside underscored with insistent, incantatory acapella singing – which signals the point where everything alights. Finally, after weeks of lingering touches and brushed fingertips, they kiss for the first time in a cave as the sea roars around them. “Do all lovers feel they’re inventing something?” asks Héloïse as they finally open up to each other and find a real, vivid place to be away from the stiffness and silence Héloïse lives in. The sex itself is hinted at with extreme close-ups – strings of saliva between lips, and a shot of two fingers plunging into an armpit that’ll make you double-take – and a time-stretching, rapturous feeling. They make the nobility which Héloïse’s family and French society prizes look flimsy and ridiculous next to the dignity they find together. WATCH HERE – Tom Nicholson Basic Instinct (1992) The late 80s and early 90s saw the quickfire rise and fall of one of cinemas most fascinating subgenres: the erotic thriller. Hollywood tends to work in trends, but rarely as frenzied or short-lived as this. In the six years after Fatal Attraction was released in 1987, we got Sleeping With The Enemy, Poison Ivy, Single White Female, Bitter Moon, Body of Evidence, Sliver, Disclosure and The Last Seduction – plus countless quickly forgotten imitations (Wikipedia lists no less that 207 erotic thrillers in that period). But the most infamous, most flocked-to – and very probably the best – was Paul Verhoeven’s 1992 fornication-fest, which introduced Sharon Stone as Hollywood’s steam queen. There were various reasons behind the sudden explosion of the erotic thriller: the loosening of censorship restrictions, the proliferation of cable TV and the rise of the video-rental market. But most interesting is the genre’s treatment of women, which in most cases was a straightforward updating of the femme fatale – the unchaste evildoers of film noir – but in some instances was a bit more thoughtful. At first glance, and indeed for many years after its release, Basic Instinct looked like it belonged in the first camp, with the plot revolving largely around the difficulty had by Michael Douglas in investigating Stone’s trashy novelist for a debauched murder while trying (in pitiful vain) to resist her seductive efforts. This was lewd, thrilling, throwaway nonsense – right? Hindsight – and the fact that the film has managed a shelf-life far longer than its peers – suggests differently. Taken alongside Verhoeven other films of the same period (RoboCop, Total Recall, Starship Troopers, Showgirls), it now looks a lot like a key part of a masterful project to paint a portrait of American depravity using the very trashiest materials within Hollywood itself. Watching it now, Basic Instinct looks less like a brazen attempt to titillate viewers than a winking, eyebrow-raised comment on viewers’ appetite for titillation – not that it altogether neglected the former, as many late-night Channel 5 viewers will be well aware. – Alex Hess God's Own Country (2017) Francis Lee’s debut movie, about a pair of cattle-herders who fall in love on the open plains, has an obvious touchstone. But the inevitable “British Brokeback” tag was slightly misleading. There is plenty of anguish and self-loathing in God’s Own Country’s two main characters, especially Josh O’Connor’s moody farmer Johnny, but little of it stems from their sexuality. There is no self-denial to be overcome. Nor do the pair attract any bigotry when their relationship becomes the knowledge of elderly patriarchs or local villagers. This is not a forbidden relationship fated to end in doom. “I didn’t want to tell a coming-out story and I guess I didn’t want to tell a story about the difficulties of being gay,” Lee has said. “The thing I had always found the hardest in my life was falling in love and having to be open and vulnerable. In terms of other queer films, I don’t think I was trying to ‘address’ anything.” And indeed the way God’s Own Country shuns the usual story arcs is almost a statement in itself: it’s a gay love story that does not try and turn its central relationship into a Big Issue. God’s Own Country has its eye on different, more contemporary concerns. Its other central character, Gheorge, is a Romanian immigrant who finds himself subject to plenty of kneejerk xenophobia, while the plight of the cattle-farming industry is the driving force behind much of Johnny’s torment. In this sense, Lee’s film is a lot more Brexit than Brokeback. WATCH HERE – Alex Hess Fatal Attraction (1987) While muscle-bound men were dominating big screens in the 80s with rugged tales of machine gun-toting heroism, back in the offices and business centres of the real world, women were starring in their own story of conquest: the presumed housewives of yesteryear were now entering the workforce in record numbers. The traditional family model of apple-pie America was being blurred, with the accompanying moral panic hardly helped by the fact that the emergence of convenient birth control had granted women a sexual freedom hitherto unseen. Soon enough Hollywood would spawn an entirely new genre founded on the terrifying allure of this new archetype of American life: the empowered career woman. And if Fatal Attraction wasn’t necessarily the first ever erotic thriller, it was certainly the first one that truly saturated the public consciousness: it was a phenomenon, the second-highest grossing film of the year, and gave the term “bunny boiler” the place in the popular lexicon it holds to this day. The premise is well known – a seemingly no-strings fling between a married man and a seductive publisher turns deadly when our hero tries to return to married life – and the film’s attitude towards the issues of its time seems, at a glance, straightforwardly reactionary. Glenn Close’s sexually liberated career woman unmasked for the murderous nutjob she truly is, Anne Archer’s non-working housewife remains the true model of contended womanhood, and the nuclear-family unit is, in the end, protected at all costs. Such a simple reading does the film’s all-round cynicism a disservice: Douglas’s protagonist is also insipid, cowardly and weak. But in terms of pop-culture drawing up a response to the issues of the time, there can surely be few better case studies. Ali: Fear Eats The Soul (1974) The central romance in Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s acclaimed classic is often described along the lines of age or race. It is indeed one of the few films to address the idea of intergenerational romance between an older woman and a younger man (the reverse has long been normalised by ludicrous Hollywood casting), and is also a pointed depiction of a relationship between a Polish-German woman and an Arab man. But more than anything it is a film about people on the margins – and society’s reaction to them. Emmi is a widowed window cleaner, Ali is a mechanic from Morocco, and the meet-cute is anything but: Ali is mockingly dared by a bartender to request a dance from Emmi, who’s being ridiculed by revellers for being out drinking on her own. He does exactly that and what follows is an almost painfully tender romance which, despite the sincerity and wholesomeness of both people involved, seems destined to offend everyone around them. Neighbours spread malicious rumours, shopkeepers give them the cold shoulder, Emmi’s son kicks in her TV set in disgust (a salute Douglas Sirk’s similarly plotted All That Heaven Allows). Equally offensive is the way all these people eventually perform shameless U-turns, trying to re-enter the couple’s good graces when it suits their interests. Unlike its Sirkian predecessors Fassbinder’s film rejects weepy melodrama in favour of a matter-of-fact, almost mundane style. Yet paradoxically this enhances the drama, which is everyday in nature. Ultimately the film acts as a quiet rebuke to the intolerance of Germany’s middle class – over whom, it is implied, the shadow of Nazism still looms. The title, which goes unexplained, may at first glance seem odd and ambiguous, but the smart money is that it refers not to its fearful protagonists, but to the hostile and morally compromised society that surrounds them. – Alex Hess 9½ Weeks (1986) The prestige erotic drama, which exploded across Hollywood in the late 80s, incorporated dozens of films, stars and directors. Yet one man remains associated with the genre above all. Adrian Lyne’s contribution may only have been three films but each represented a major milestone in the sultry sub-genre. If Fatal Attraction gave the genre its cultural capital and Indecent Proposal marked its sleazily glamorous apex, then 9½ Weeks, which preceded both, sent it hurtling into the mainstream. It may not have birthed the genre – that happened around the time of Body Heat – but it did plenty to set the defining tone of bold, brazen, faux-thoughtful filth. The premise is 80s sex-movie all over: Kim Basinger’s art dealer and Mickey Rourke’s stockbroker meet by chance in a grocery store, become magnetically attracted and soon find themselves locked in an all-consuming experimental sexual relationship that takes them both to the brink (via the kitchen). As would become customary, the plot offered up some ostensible food for thought – exploring the dynamics of sexual power – while leaving plenty of room for the important stuff: its smouldering A-list stars getting kinky with each other in lavishly aspirational trappings. Three decades later, 50 Shades of Grey was rehashing the same formula, now infinitely more tame. But helped by the more liberal censorship requirements of the time, Lyne struck gold. The film reinvented its two stars, who spent the next decade as mainstays of the top shelves, and it confirmed everyone’s suspicions that there were big bucks to be made by smuggling smut into the multiplex. The erotic drama had reached the heart of Hollywood, and it was here to stay. – Alex Hess Point Break (1991) Over the course of the 1980s, as Reaganite America chomped its cigars and flexed its economic muscle, one genre above all others emerged at the fore of Hollywood: the ultra-macho action movie. While Clint Eastwood had embodied the morally dubious antihero of the Watergate-tainted 70s, this new era of American self-confidence needed a different kind of icon: ripped, righteous and ripe with cheap one-liners. And so arrived an onslaught of uncritical violence carried out by Arnie, Sly and their legions of straight-to-video imitators. But those who looked closely might have noticed something funny about these all-American alpha-dogs: were Rocky and Apollo Creed really just friends? Did Maverick and Ice Man have something they wanted to tell each other? And really now, what was really going on between the heroes in No Retreat, No Surrender? If a certain repressed homoeroticism had lingered hilariously under the surface of the 80s action flick, then in 1991 Point Break became the first genre film to make this fact something approaching explicit. Hidden behind the conventions of the undercover-cop plot is a forbidden-love story between Keanu Reeves’s clean-cut officer and Patrick Swayze’s philosophising outlaw. Both impossibly handsome actors are given ample chances to flex their chiselled torsos for the camera in a film that treads a masterful tone between sincerity and pastiche. For every scene of ejaculatory gunfire or sexually-charged skydiving is a knife-edge action sequence to please the purists, for every chortle-worthy line of dialogue (“You want me so bad it’s like acid in your mouth!”) is a poignant heart-to-heart between our two beguiled rivals. Point Break somehow enjoys the best both of both worlds: it’s a machismo-drenched action flick and a barely disguised homoerotic classic. No coincidence that it was the first entry in the genre to be directed by a woman. – Alex Hess Titane (2021) Julia Ducournau’s Raw was a lurid, visceral coming of age story that laid a sexual awakening over a gnarly cannibalism cult body horror, so alarming that two audience members fainted at the Toronto festival. She followed it with an even more subversive and abrasive kind of story about self-discovery. After a car crash as a child, Alexia has a metal plate in her skull. That wasn’t the only legacy of the crash: she forms a deep bond with her parents’ car which goes beyond the kind of appreciation you had for your old 1.2 VW Lupo. As soon as she gets out of hospital, she runs her fingers around its doorframes, hugs it and gives it a kiss. Titane is a film about how desire and trauma can be welded together, and how Alexia’s compulsive return to that car crash – and her inability to access her emotions – eventually destroys her. The adult Alexia is into a lot of dark, disturbed stuff. And, oddly, that dark, disturbed stuff doesn’t really include the fact that she’s sexually attracted to cars. Yes, on first viewing, watching Alexia in the back seat of a souped-up sedan bouncing ever higher on its axles is fairly eye-popping, but it’s also the most open and sincere we ever see her – even when she tries to have a normal, human hook-up she can’t stop biting her partner’s metal nipple rings. She’s fully herself then, and again when a particularly hunky fire engine offers her a ride. – Tom Nicholson American Pie (1999) Two decades after Jim Levenstein embarked on his rash attempt at making sweet love to a pastry-based dessert, American Pie remains both a milestone and a barometer for the gross-out teen comedy. Paul Weitz’s tale of randy adolescents was hardly breaking new groumnd – Ivan Reitman’s Meatballs predates it by 20 years – but it revived and revamped a genre that had long since gone limp. Unlike the hastily written straight-to-video fodder to which the high-school sex comedy tended to lend itself, American Pie did not confuse low budget with low quality or bad taste with bad morals and making a twentyfold profit at the cinema alone, it redesigned the template for the raunchy romcom. Its legacy can be seen in Superbad, The Inbetweeners, Blockers and Booksmart. Which isn’t to say that that film which popularised the term “milf” has aged impeccably: its central set-piece features a girl obliviously stripping for a lecherous online audience. But, certain reservations aside, the key to the film’s success and enduring appeal is the obvious affection in which it holds its central characters. As is customary for the genre, Jason Biggs and his motley crew of also-rans were inflicted with a wealth of indignities in the form of ingested bodily fluids, public pant-wettings and, worst of all, unsolicited sex tips from dad. But unlike its legion of forgettable imitations (Eurotrip, Can’t Hardly Wait) American Pie’s degradation was delivered with endearment, warmth and good humour, all duly reflected back at the movie by a beholden audience who recognised a pitch-perfect portrait of teenage sexual cluelessness when they saw it. Ironically for a film whose worst moments now seem awkwardly regressive, American Pie’s greatest impact – outside of additions to the lexicon – was to nudge the teen comedy away from the laddishly leering blueprint of the 80s and towards something that, for all its unchaste obscenity, was markedly more wholesome. – Alex Hess Bound (1996) The 90s were noted for a slew of uber-cool neo-noir films that took it upon themselves to give the old formula a new twist – which in a number of instances meant the addition of some thought and depth to the classic figure of the femme fatale. The Last Seduction made her into a hard-bitten antihero. Basic Instinct made her the movie's outright star. Devil in a Blue Dress, One False Move and Jackie Brown brought race into the equation to interrogate her social and moral motivations. Bound made her a lesbian. The Wachowski siblings’ directorial debut tells the story of Corky, a charismatic ex-con who begin an affair with the wife of a mafia money-launderer and together the pair hatch a plan to make off with a big bag of the abusive husband's cash. If the twist such a plot gives to the film noir's traditions is obvious, the execution is elegant and subtle, with Gina Gershon as Corky offering a peppering of whip-smart irony that might be expected from the recent star of Showgirls (another film whose teasing critique of American culture has only come to be appreciated with time). In hindsight it’s perhaps unsurprising that the Wachowskis – then Andy and Larry, now Lilly and Lana – were both able and willing to subvert the Hollywood orthodoxy regarding gender and sexuality. Erotic but not exploitative, progressive but not moralising, pulpy but not cheap, the film trod a number of tightropes masterfully. And in employing a specialist consultant to help choreograph the sex scenes – now common industry practice in the post-Weinstein era – Bound was ahead of its time in more ways than one. The Wachowskis would continue to explore and unsettle Hollywood's relationship with gender three years later with The Matrix, which turned Tinseltown's hunkiest hero into an androgynous goth, and then V for Vendetta, in which another sex symbol in Natalie Portman was recast as a revolutionary leader with a shaved head and ill-fitting vest. – Alex Hess Moonlight (2017) Queer Black cinema has largely taken place on the margins, with little-seen gems like The Skinny, Naz & Maalik and Tangerine demonstrating how critical acclaim can do depressingly little for a film’s box office if the distributors don’t offer their backing. On the rare occasions that such stories did make it to Hollywood, they were largely told via allusion, implication and compromise (the sexuality of The Color Purple’s protagonist, for instance, was glossed over in Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-baiting adaptation). If the presumption behind the scenes was that mainstream audiences had no appetite for such films – that their prestige and popularity could not intersect – then Moonlight disproved the theory in emphatic style, raking in $66m against a production budget of of $4m and earning Oscars for its masterful three-part tale of a gay Black man’s coming of age. Arriving in the autumn of 2016 – amid the final months of the Obama presidency, after a wave of Black Lives Matter protests, and the year after the #OscarsSoWhite uproar – Moonlight felt particularly timely and the hope was that its success would come to be seen as a landmark moment in cinema history. The reality has been less straightforward. While Moonlight’s legacy can be seen clearly in films such as Waves or TV series like David Makes Man, the expected opening of the floodgates has not quite happened, and the awards showered on Green Book two years later was a reminder that there are few things voting panels like better than an uncomplicated portrait of racial harmony and reconciliation. Nonetheless, Moonlight still stands tall as the film that showed Hollywood how the supposedly impossible was in fact very possible indeed, its triumph lying in the fact that a well-told coming-of-age story – whatever its specifics – will always hold a universal appeal. And they don’t come better told than Moonlight. – Alex Hess Body Heat (1981) The erotic thriller that launched the erotic thriller boom of the Eighties and early Nineties came from the longtime director of one of the most relentlessly unsexy corners of cinema. Lawrence Kasdan had just cowritten The Empire Strikes Back and would return to Star Wars for Return of the Jedi. But while that galaxy was far, far away from anything that might make your glasses steam up, he wrote and directed a movie so hot it basically invented a cinematic subgenre. You can probably forgive him the Ewoks. It’s a hot, stifling, oppressive summer in southern Florida. Matty (Kathleen Turner) is a socialite who’s stuck in an unhappy marriage. Her husband Edmund’s always away working, and when she meets useless lawyer Ned they start an affair. Soon they’re fantasising about a life without Edmund, and Ned hits on a plan to get him out of the picture permanently. Things get a little more complicated when it looks like Matty isn’t exactly who she seems, and a mysterious doppelgänger is thrown into the mix. It’s a mark of how hot Body Heat is that it remains hot despite the fact it’s predominantly about contract law – and that quite a lot of more graphic shots got left on the cutting room floor. It draws on Old Hollywood style but also mints a lot of the tropes that would be much imitated: the melodrama; the hazy, dazed feel; the extraordinarily ripe verbal sparring. “Maybe you need a tune up,” Ned tells Matty when she’s fretting about her car. “Don’t tell me,” she fires back. “You have just the right tool.” Pass the cold flannel. – Tom Nicholson Nymphomaniac (2013) Lars von Trier is known as modern cinema’s great provocateur. His works feature dead children, bleak degenerative disease, the faking of mental illness, graphic genital mutilation and, in the case of Dogville, the complete rejection of all movie sets during the filming process. So when word got around that he was making a four-hour magnum opus about sex addiction, replete with unsimulated shagging, the presumption was that it would be the shocker to end all shockers. While this wasn’t entirely untrue – respectable cinema doesn’t come much more explicit than this, no pun intended – Nymphomaniac is a far subtler film that its titillating title would suggest. In fact, it works as a good demonstration of the famous line about pornography being impossible to define, but “I know it when I see it”. Nymphomaniac is as explicit as many porn films – and far more so than a lot of late-night cable TV fare – and yet the film’s eroticism works in inverse proportion to its explicitness: the most graphic sex we see is largely dull, monotonous and routine. The obvious interpretation of Nymphomaniac is as a grand comment on the deadening nature of addiction – “loneliness was my constant companion,” Charlotte Gainsbourg’s title character, Joe, tells us as she talks us through her lifelong compulsion towards to all things coital. On the other hand, it actively declines to explain our heroine’s addiction with a tragic backstory of abuse of neglect, as would be standard practice for a Hollywood-style treatment. Instead we are given a portrait of her emotionally detached sex addiction as a kind of backlash to the sentimentality of polite society: unbound female promiscuity as a radical upsetting of the social order. Whether this idea represents feminist empowerment or sexist oppression is something Von Trier perhaps wants his audience to figure out for themselves – after they’ve watched the mid-movie montage of erect penises, that is. – Alex Hess The Handmaiden (2016) The creative minds behind The Handmaiden are diverse to say the least. Park Chan-Wook, writer-director of the notoriously violent Oldboy, adapted a Sarah Waters book about an illicit lesbian affair, in the process relocating it from Victorian Britain to Japanese-occupied 1930s Korea. This odd formula produced a singularly odd film – and one that is an absolute treat, not least because of the rich beauty imbued into the film by Park, whose years as an aesthetics student shine through in every fastidiously composed frame. The story loses none of Waters’ fascination with gender and class, merely transposes it on to another society. Nor does Waters’ narrative surrender any of its intrigue, as the initially playful premise – a female pickpocket teams up with a male con artist to steal the fortune of a Japanese heiress – leads to one rug-pull after another, eventually revealing itself as a meditation on abuse, sensuality and survival as pickpocket and heiress embark on a cat-and-mouse relationship of deceit and desire. The idea of theatre and performance is returned to again and again, making the point that both our main characters – each switching between personas throughout – are constantly putting on a show, forced into doing so by the repressive social strictures they exist within. Like those in Blue is the Warmest Colour, The Handmaiden’s love scenes divided viewers for being unabashedly erotic depictions of lesbian sex as viewed through the lens of a straight man. The film’s final shot, of the two women laid in bed together as a perfect mirror-image of one another, offers sex as a grand, multi-layered metaphor. As Waters explains: “When I spoke to Park he said he was bringing the Japanese mistress and the Korean sewing girl together on an equal level. The novel is about class rather than gender. The film is more about colonialism: the fraught relationship between Korea and Japan.” WATCH HERE – Alex Hess Midnight Cowboy (1969) The first and only X-rated film to be named best picture was given its certificate from the MPAA for its “depiction of prostitution and homosexuality” – a fact that now seems a relic of its time, not least given the modesty of the film itself by modern standards. Nonetheless, John Schlesinger’s drama was a risky, adventurous movie in theme if not content, making a mesmerising protagonist out of Jon Voigt’s gay hustler who strikes up an unlikely friendship with another impoverished loner in Dustin Hoffman’s skittish con man Ratso. In affording such depth and empathy to the rundown people on America’s margins, it prefigured a far-off generation of small-scale gems like The Florida Project, American Honey and Nomadland, while it paved the way more directly for another melancholy classic in My Own Private Idaho. Where it differs from those films is in its setting: the backstreets of 60s New York. Until then, as far as Hollywood had been concerned, the city was America’s capital of affluence and glamour, its skint and seedy underbelly rarely making it onto the big screen. Midnight Cowboy changed all that, and before long the city’s sinister sleaze was arthouse gold: the next decade brought Panic in Needle Park, Klute, Serpico – and the arrival of Martin Scorsese. Female prostitutes had long been a fixture in the movies but the idea of a man selling his body was largely uncharted territory for a prudish Hollywood that had been conditioned by three decades of the Hays Code. It hardly seemed a recipe for success. “Do you really think that anyone in their right mind is going to pay money to see this fucking rubbish?” lamented Schlesinger on the night of the film’s premiere. Eight months later he was holding the best director Oscar. – Alex Hess The Piano Teacher (2001) Michael Haneke has rich form in putting his audience through the wringer – his debut featured a barely explained family suicide, Benny’s Video opened with a pig being slaughtered and the sadistic villains of Funny Games punctuated their acts of torture by addressing the viewer directly – but even by his standards, The Piano Teacher is a deeply unsettling watch. Isabelle Huppert is grimly brilliant as the title character, Erika, a middle-aged woman who lives with her mum and whose repressed sexuality bubbles to the surface in the form of compulsive self-harm and sadomasochistic fantasies. The latter threaten to become reality when Erika takes on a new student, hijacks a relationship of his and politely hands him a letter describing the type of tryst she has in mind for the two of them, which involves her being brutalised by him. As tends to be the case with Haneke’s films, the disturbing behaviour on show is not given any neat explanation, nor is it satisfyingly resolved or conquered in the final act. The point, presumably, is that it is precisely this messiness and irrationality that makes such self-destructive compulsions so powerful: if they were easily explained, they would be easily overcome. His aim, he has said, is “to rape the spectator into autonomy”. Indeed. The Piano Teacher is bold not just in its matter-of-fact approach to various taboos (imbuing extreme sex and violence with a detached banality is a Heneke specialism, and this adaptation rejects the overblown descriptions of its florid source material) but it the way it suggests that all Erika’s compulsions are all symptoms of the same dysfunction. Obsessiveness, masochism, violence and voyeurism are all expressions of – well, what, exactly? It’s not entirely obvious, nor is it meant to be. As Erika herself says: “Art and order, the relatives that refuse to relate.” – Alex Hess It Follows (2014) The slasher film’s fixation with fornication is as old as the genre itself. Classically, the relationship is puritanical and punitive: a gang of randy, hedonistic teenagers get what’s coming to them thanks to a bloodthirsty killer – penetration of one sort begetting penetration of another – with a virginal final girl the only one to be spared. But as the genre exploded in the 60s and 70s, and those tropes became more and more well established, so they also began to be subverted by slasher movies with a more progressive, less pious agenda. Black Christmas cast its killer as the symptom of a misogynistic society, Peeping Tom drew parallels between its voyeuristic murderer and the breathless sadists in the audience, Nightmare on Elm Street 2 smuggled in a hilariously camp queer subtext. Then in the mid-90s came Scream and its various clever-clogs imitators, including Cherry Falls, a winking high-school horror about a serial killer who targets the town’s virgins. By the time that postmodern renaissance had fizzled out, it looked like the slasher film – and the slasher film’s analysis of the slasher film – had finally run its course. Yet two decades later came a proper, non-ironic addition to the genre that made the sex/death connection truly overt. In It Follows, a murderous slow-marching demon is set upon the population of Detroit suburbia. The twist is that the demon is only after one person at any given time, and the victim-in-waiting is able to save themselves only by having it off with someone else, thereby passing on the curse. David Gordon Green’s movie swerved the smart-arse self-awareness of the Scream era but nonetheless delivered a razor-sharp commentary on the genre’s obsession with adolescent promiscuity. The film’s ingenious premise not only cast sex as the killer and the saviour, it also paved the way for some smart scenes of moral fretting and male opportunism – and of course, plenty of frantic copulating. – Alex Hess In The Realm Of The Senses (1976) Nagisa Ōshima's film about the increasingly violent love affair between a hotel maid and her boss in late-30s Tokyo depicts, in stark detail, pretty much every sex act you can imagine, plus plenty more you'd rather not. It courted controversy accordingly. The various bans and banishings are too numerous to list in full but highlights include the film being seized by US customs officials after screening at the NY film festival, a four-year court case for its director, on charges of obscenity and Portugal's Archbishop of Braga registering his disgust by saying he "had learned more about sex in 10 minutes of the film than in his entire life". But explicit as it was, and notorious as it became, Oshima's movie was not chasing cheap shocks. It's graphic sex scenes were laying bare the gruesome destructiveness of the central pair's relationship. And the matter-of-fact detachment with which it's filmed gives the sex a weirdly ritualistic quality and the film a gradually more sinister tone as violence begins to encroach into the bedroom. The period setting is not incidental. Pre-war Japan was not only politically tumultuous (world war loomed, there had been an attempted coup in February and the following year the country invaded China) but also a place of stern patriarchy and severe repression, and the bleakly violent logic that guides the lovers' relationship is intended as a critique of the culture they exist within. In one scene Kichiko, the maid, is shown walking down the street while troops march by in the opposite direction. As sex and brutality become intertwined, and the affair becomes poisoned by intense possessiveness, the message is clear: society's insidious cruelty will manifest itself everywhere, and not even the realm of the senses can provide an escape. Or as Oshima put it to the jury: "The sex is not obscene. What is obscene is what is hidden." WATCH HERE – Alex Hess Don't Look Now (1973) "We must not see humping. We must not see the rise and fall between thighs." Such was the advice of the American film censors to Nicolas Roeg, director of the 1973 horror film Don’t Look Now, in response to a sex scene that would become one of the most famous – and infamous – in screen history. The scene, between Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland, was a raw depiction of marital sex – with one of the few instances of cunnilingus in mainstream film – made all the more intense by the fact that the characters are grieving parents. Rumours have persisted that the sex was unsimulated, and although all parties strenuously deny any such claims, it’s easy to see why: it is starkly realistic. (On seeing the scene Warren Beatty, Christie’s then partner, flew to London to insist it was cut from the final edit.) Roeg eventually appeased the censors by removing 0.3 seconds of footage and intercutting the sex with scenes of the couple getting dressed to go out afterwards (a technique that prefigured the great Clooney-Lopez love scene in Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight). But the scene remains famous – and rated as one of the best ever – not simply because of its alarming explicitness but because it broke a taboo few films ever venture near: the link between sex and death. The film opens with the couple’s daughter tragically drowning, and the bedroom scene comes after the stricken couple have been approached by a supposed psychic who claims she can “see” the dead girl. The news, morbid as it may be, immediately energises a broken marriage. It is of a piece with the film’s uncomfortable, psychologically interrogative tone that lust and grief, two seemingly opposite mental states, should be connected in this way and its the rawness of emotions, rather than simply the flesh on show, that gives the scene such weight. Roeg said he wanted to make grief “the sole thrust of the film" – and he certainly succeeded in doing so, “thrust” being very much the operative word. – Alex Hess Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001) The maniacal teenage libido has been a mainstay of cinema for some decades. Likewise the trials of adolescent friendship, and likewise the rebellious thrill of an impromptu road trip. But never have all those elements been combined to such remarkable poignancy as in Alfonso Cuaron's timeless Mexican epic. Y Tu Mama Tambien manages to have its cake and eat it on various fronts, packing in the poignancy of a coming-of-age film, the liberation of a road movie and the winning stupidity of a sex comedy, without compromising on any. Not to mention the undercurrent of razor-sharp commentary on Mexico's rigidly tiered class system. The film stars Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna as goofy school-age buddies and from the opening shot, which shows one of our heroes frantically going at it with his girlfriend, it's clear that fornication will play a central role in the next couple of hours. And so it does, the pair soon making friends with an enigmatic older woman at the races and regaling her with tales of an idyllic beach spot, which – metaphor alert – doesn't actually exist. Before long the three have set off on a journey towards sun, sea and, yes, life-changing self-discovery. The expected flings and fallouts do of course transpire, and the teenager boy's sexual appetite is depicted in all it's naive, clumsy, over-eager glory. Anyone who has seen American Pie, Superbad or Booksmart will know that the best teen sex comedies are actually platonic love stories in disguise. It's part of the charm. Y Tu Mama Tambien is no different in that its purest romance is clearly between Bernal and Luna, but it does enter territory that those movies don't by asking the question: just how platonic is this friendship really? It's a bold move and it is to the film's credit that it offers no simple answers to the question, and the coda, in which the two meet up some months later, remains one of the most quietly emotive scenes of recent decades. – Alex Hess Brokeback Mountain (2005) Brokeback Mountain was hardly the first ‘forbidden love’ story told by Hollywood. Nor was it the first gay love story. But it was arguably the first mainstream movie that forced America to confront its own ruinous homophobia. Until Ang Lee’s film, homosexuality had been approached by mainstream film rarely and clumsily. When it wasn’t confined to outlandish comedy (The Birdcage) or quirky subplots (Dog Day Afternoon), it was looked at via a “big-issue” lens, and generally with a heartwarming conclusion (Philadelphia, The Color Purple). Brokeback Mountain took a different slant, casting Hollywood’s two best and most cherished young actors as a pair of on-off lovers forced by society into various states of repression, self-loathing and soul-destroying frustration. It also won establishment approval, with Lee taking home the best director gongs at the Oscars. Crucially, the film made no bones about the fact that it was American society forcing this on them. Brokeback Mountain was set in the past, but not a past distant enough to be divorced from the present day. And besides, it wore its period setting lightly: bar the odd instance of disco-era fashion and dodgy décor, its frontiers setting meant it could easily be set in the contemporary US. As such, the gut-wrenching finale hit home doubly hard – likewise the scene in which Ledger’s character recalls the childhood memory being shown, by his dad, the mutilated body of a man killed in a homophobic attack. It is ironic that Brokeback Mountain uses the frontier-land setting made famous by Hollywood movies, because the film’s heart couldn’t be any less Hollywood if it tried. Rather than delivering a love-conquers-all message (All That Heaven Allows), or a tale of noble sacrifice (Romeo and Juliet), or one where social taboos are conquered by goodwill and charisma (Shakespeare in Love, Dallas Buyers Club), Lee’s story had no redeeming sense of uplift, no cathartic payoff. The ‘gay cowboys’ tag was always a red herring; Brokeback Mountain is clearly not a western. But in telling this particular story through the classic iconography of Hollywood’s favourite genre – horses, wide-brimmed hats, the sprawling plains of the Midwest – Lee pulled a neat trick: he made it clear that this was, unambiguously, a story about America. – Alex Hess Boogie Nights (1997) In 1997, at roughly the same time pornographers were starting to wonder if this “internet” thing might affect their industry, Paul Thomas Anderson made a film about a similarly pivotal point in the sex-movie business. A film, aptly enough, that would help transform Hollywood. Boogie Nights follows the porn business at the time when the films in question were moving from cinema to video: there is hope at the outset that a porno movie could be "artistic''; at the end, not so much. (If only it’s characters had lived to see the online age.) But beyond chronicling porn’s disco-era history, Boogie Nights achieved the seemingly impossible: it was a film about an X-rated industry – replete with corruption, drugs and semi-explicit sex – whose overriding tone was a kind of effervescent innocence. It also announced Anderson as part of the impossibly talented cool-kid crowd (along with David Fincher, Steven Soderbergh, David O Russell and Quentin Tarantino) that would go on to make the defining works of the next decade and beyond. The instinct in making a film about porn would be to expose the misery and passionlessness behind the facade. Boogie Nights resisted the easy narrative in favour of a story about everyday people who meet at work, form bonds and surf the waves of a fast-changing industry with youthful cheer. Anderson’s film took us behind the scenes of the seediest industry possible, and showed us the innocence and humanity of the people in the middle of it and their commitment – like any filmmaker – to making a worthwhile movie. Boogie Nights laid the groundwork for films and TV shows Lovelace or The Deuce, which both examined the porn industry of that era with an unsentimental eye. But it also helped inspire things like Mad Men and Halt and Catch Fire: ensemble portraits of a devoted, in-and-out-of-love workforce who are shooting for the stars while the industry changes under their feet. Porn, it turns out, is a business much like any other. – Alex Hess Eyes Wide Shut (1999) It was the poster that did it. When Eyes Wide Shut was released in 1999, it was preceded by months of frenzied gossip. It was the first film in 12 years by Stanley Kubrick, the greatest living filmmaker, and it starred Hollywood’s golden couple, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. And it was all about sex. Rumours had abounded over the spectacularly steamy sex scenes the central pair had shot together. One scene in particular, a masked orgy, had been the subject of much whispers – rumour had it Kubrick could barely get it past the ratings board. One magazine reported Kubrick hired sex therapists for the couple after they proved unable to act amorously with one another. And then, weeks before the release, Kubrick died suddenly. The poster was a masterpiece of tantalisation: the surnames of its two stars and director printed above a shot of Cruise and Kidman locked in a raunchy coital embrace, Kidman glancing suspiciously at the camera. It promised everything you could want: sex, scandal, glamour and star power, overseen by a recently departed visionary. Low-trash repackaged as high art. Little surprise, then, that the film came out to mixed reviews and an underwhelming box office. Despite all the flesh on show, the film isn’t that steamy at all. In fact, like all of Kubrick’s movies, it’s cold and clinical to an almost robotic extent. It was about sex, just not in the way multiplex audiences were used to. This was sex not as pleasure but as manipulation, status, corruption, unease and distress. In 2020, with our shock and smut thresholds having been transformed by the previous two decades, what endures about Eyes Wide Shut it not the explicitness of the sex (although it’s not exactly modest) but the unflinching way it deals with its characters’ tortured psyches. The film is based on a novel written in Freud-era Vienna about the sexual odyssey of a doctor after his wife confesses to having fantasies about another man. Kubrick turned it into a chilly, lurid look at the psychosexual underbelly of American high society. The film recast Cruise, a hunky all-American golden boy, as charmless and sexually anguished, a man unable to get laid for love nor money, and the cavorting Kidman as brooding and unfulfilled. It was hard to escape the idea that the joke was on us. The real-life element to the casting – and the fact that Cruise and Kidman’s marriage spiralled out of control soon after the film’s release – added to the discomfiting idea that fact and fiction had been alarmingly blurred. In a way, the lurid hype – and that poster – were the perfect precursor: the film is less about the reality of sex than the idea of it, and how what we expect to titillate us will often haunt and disturb instead. – Alex Hess Crash (1996) David Cronenberg is a filmmaker with two fascinations. The first is the human body, specifically in a state of injury or mutilation. The second is the psychology of sexual power. None of his films combine the two more acutely than this 1998 adaptation of JG Ballard novel about a cult-like group of people who find themselves uncontrollably aroused by car accidents. An unorthodox premise, and one that in lesser hands would be an open invitation to make a taboo-breaking sex-and-gore shlockfest, a la Hostel or The Human Centipede. But Cronenberg’s genius was to take the story and its characters seriously – to play it fairly straight – and turn Ballard’s pulpy novel into a weird, detached but oddly profound film about the nature of thrill-seeking and the many ways human beings deal with trauma. Which isn’t to say he forewent the sex and gore. He included enough of it, in fact, for two British newspapers to mount campaigns for the film to be banned: “Beyond the bounds of depravity” was the description in the Evening Standard, while the Daily Mail devoted a full front page to the cause (“Ban This Car Crash Sex Film” screamed the headline). As part of their response, the BBFC screened to a group of eleven disabled people and although they did not much enjoy the film, they concluded that “its depiction of disabled people as being able to be both sexually attractive and active, (despite rather than because of their injuries), was generally a positive thing”. The film passed uncut. Once the dust settled, the consensus among the less reactionary critics was of a thoughtful, important film – Mark Kermode has called Crash “pretty much perfect” – and watching it now, perhaps the biggest shock is how moderate the whole thing is. What’s shown on screen is no more explicit that any number of films made before or since; instead it’s the film’s haunting tone that sticks in the mind. And by telling a story about peoples’ compulsion to become unduly excited by violence, it forces the audience to ask tricky questions of themselves, too. – Alex Hess Spanking The Monkey (1994) The Oedipus complex, as wince-inducingly taboo as it may be, has not gone wholly unaddressed by mainstream cinema. Largely this has been done through the prism of horror, where the depravity in question works as a shortcut explanation of murderous mania: think Norman Bates or Jason Vorhees. Elsewhere the subject has been used for plot-driven thrills (The Grifters), sharp subtext (The Graduate), startling Kristen Scott-Thomas cameos (Only God Forgives) and even family-friendly laughs (Back to the Future). But none of those went nearly so far as Spanking the Monkey. If the title hints at a certain lewdness, that's not the half of it. The low-budget debut movie from David O Russell – later of American Hustle and Silver Linings Playbook fame – was somehow smuggled into cinemas in 1994, and centres on a geeky college kid's coming-of-age summertime romance. The complicating factor here is that the romance in question is with his mum. Our protagonist is Ray, an awkward student who's back home for the holidays and, with his dad apathetic and awol, is forced to care for his bedbound mother. Tasks which start off as merely practical (carrying her from A to B) quickly become altogether more ambiguous (rubbing her down with skin cream) and, well, one thing leads to another. For a film unambiguously about incest, Spanking the Monkey is loose, jocular, almost lighthearted, and with a deadpan tone that never quite gives way to full-on quirkiness, the film retains a strange poignancy. Both Jeremy Davies as Ray and Alberta Watson as his mother opt to play it straight, each sketching out self-loathing characters plainly desperate for comfort in any form. The result is a film that is blackly comic without being exploitative. Rather than mine the material for vulgarity and cheap shocks, Russell's film is a heartfelt comedy-drama with one foot squarely in both camps – and a movie that would never get made today. – Alex Hess Boys Don't Cry (1999) Bringing to screen the real-life story of doomed young runaway Brandon Teena, Boys Don't Cry – along with Fight Club, American Beauty, The Talented Mr Ripley and In the Company of Men – was part of a spate of films that came out at the turn of the millennium to forensically examine what we would now call toxic masculinity (back then, the buzzphrase was "masculinity in crisis"). But Boys Don't Cry was different: it didn't simply deal with the destructiveness of male rage but it did so by putting trans issues front and centre. The decision not to include any of the obvious terms – transgender, transsexual, gay, cross-dresser – in its script was a canny one, in that it freed the character of any narrowing labels and encouraged us to see him as a fully-rounded human, a young person struggling with amorphous identity issues. (The movie also showed up the enduring double standard of the censors: the film – which contained next to no nudity – was slapped with the notorious NC17 rating, downgraded only once Chloë Sevigny’s “too long” orgasm had taken a trim.) Context is key: Seven years before Boys Don't Cry was released, The Crying Game had treated the same topic as a shock-horror plot twist, while two years after that, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective repurposed the theme as a recurring punchline for derisive gross-out gags. This all came on top of cinema's long history of depicting trans people as unhinged lunatics (Psycho, Dressed to Kill, The Silence of the Lambs). Boys Don't Cry was not the first film to deal with trans issues but it was the first one to do so seriously and win mainstream plaudits in the process: Swank, a little-known TV actor, was soon receiving an Oscar for a role that earned her just $3,000. In the 20 years since, trans characters have garnered one more Oscar win (Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club) and two more nominations (Eddie Redmayne for The Danish Girl and Felicity Huffman for Transamerica), while Yance Ford became the first transgender filmmaker nominated in 2018. Progress, slow as it may be, is afoot. – Alex Hess Secretary (2002) Inevitably marketed as a titillating kink-fest, Steven Shainberg’s 2002 indie movie was in fact a smartly layered emotional drama – those viewers drawn in by the poster image of the stockinged legs and shapely posterior of a mysterious high heel-wearing seductress would get a bit of a shock. Stockings, high heels and sexual adventurousness did indeed play a central part in Secretary’s plot, but more as a means of exploring the damaged psyches of its two main characters than arousing boyish excitement in its audience. The story follows Maggie Gyllenhall’s title character, a social outcaste and self-harmer, as she gets a job for – and promptly embarks on a relationship with – an attorney played by James Spader (who, having also starred in Sex, Lies and Videotape and Crash, has quietly amassed his own impressive oeuvre of thoughtful films about sexual compulsion). This is not your typical Hollywood romance though: rather than swooning and sweet nothings we get mousetraps, whips and an array of erotically-charged humiliations. The pair’s burgeoning BDSM relationship is presented as unabashedly bizarre – and with no little humour – but also as heartfelt and sweet, a kind of therapy for the two emotionally stunted human beings who respectively harbour complexes about power, shame and transgression. With its weaving together of a workplace ardour and kink-laden bedroom antics, Secretary is a film with an obvious modern-day counterpart – Spader’s white-collar leather enthusiast is even called Mr Grey. Unlike its descendant, though, this is a movie whose real interest lies not in snatched glances of its character’s airbrushed flesh but in many the shades of dysfunction and intrigue that lie underneath. Inspired by the way My Beautiful Laundrette had normalised gay relationships within mainstream cinema in the Eighties, Shainberg has said he was attempting to do something similar with fetishism. Or, as one character puts it: “Who's to say that love needs to be soft and gentle?" – Alex Hess Call Me By Your Name (2017) The first Hollywood film to feature a man being sexually pleasured with a hollowed-out peach? Almost certainly, although that’s not the only reason Luca Guadagnino’s luscious holiday romance made a splash when it came out in 2017. Tracing the tentatively developing relationship between an American teenager and the archaeology graduate who’s staying with the family during their sojourn to northern Italy, Call Me By Your Name is as much a film about mood and moments as it is about character or plot. Coming-of-age romances on the big screen tend to be marked at some stage by trauma and tears but rather than the usual emotional-rollercoaster formula, we instead accompany Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer on a gentle summer-long bike ride through Moscazzano’s sunkissed vineyards and cobbled small-town streets, stopping occasionally for some freshly picked fruit or an impromptu handjob. The film is a sensual treat, so much so that you’re surprised to be reminded that the sex scenes themselves are infrequent and wholly inexplicit. Crucially, though, the film treats our 17-year-old protagonist’s unexpected gay romance not as some urgent identity crisis but simply as a thrilling dalliance that he is swept along by, enjoys while it lasts and is left saddened when it ends. Just like any teenager’s holiday liaison, then. While Michael Stuhlbarg’s late monologue, in which he tells his son he enjoyed something similar back in his day and implores him to make the most of his youth, might be a bit on-the-nose for some, it certainly captures the unabashed sentiment and utter lack of cynicism that gives the film its charm. Tellingly, the director has rejected the idea that Call Me By Your Name is a ‘gay film’, arguing instead that “it is about the blossoming of love and desire, no matter where it comes from and toward what”. – Alex Hess Peeping Tom (1960) It may be regarded as a masterpiece now, but on its release in 1960, Michael Powell’s twisted horror movie was met with universal outrage. “The only satisfactory way to dispose of Peeping Tom would be to shovel it up and flush it swiftly down the nearest sewer,” wrote the critic of Tribune magazine. And down the sewer it went: the film was pulled from cinemas. Looking back now, from the post-torture porn era, Peeping Tom seems relatively tame – and it was hardly the most violent or explicit in its own era. But clearly the film struck a nerve. Certainly its belated reputation as a British classic is largely because it is seen to be a film about cinema itself. And it’s not hard to see why: it’s about a killer who poses as a documentary maker, using the allure of his job to murder women with a knife hidden in his tripod (those with an eye for symbolism needn’t look far). But it is also a film about depraved sexuality, with the killer – played by Carl Boehm not as a terrifying maniac but as a softly spoken wounded-animal type – fixating obscenely on his self-shot footage of women facing death. And his warped urges are in turn tied up in the idea of observing: when his neighbour Helen kisses him, he bizarrely kisses the lens of his camera. So what triggered all that disgust? Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that the film so directly drew a line between murderous perversion and the act of voyeurism, of watching, of viewership. Maybe a they took against the idea of a depraved deviant with a compulsion for film. Maybe cinema audiences – even slasher film audiences – didn’t want to be told that what they were doing might on some level be a bit twisted. – Alex Hess Wild Orchid (1989) Meet slick corporate titan James Wheeler (Mickey Rourke). He likes helicopters, cars, motorbikes, boardroom takeovers and having complete erotic control over submissive women. He was abused as a child, doesn't like to be touched, and in almost every other way possible he articulates the character template for Fifty Shades of Grey's Christian Grey. He even speaks in that same halting, slightly sick-making, so-pervy-it's-sexy (yeah, right) prose beloved of …Grey creator EL James. For example, when out for a flirtatious stroll with potential conquest Emily (Carré Otis), Wheeler suddenly falls back and starts leering at Emily's arse, Benny Hill-style. When she asks him what's up, he simply smiles, super cool, half-winking at the boys in the audience, and sighs, "I just like watching you walk!" Wow, what a ladykiller! And yet the eerie prescience of Wild Orchid is not what makes it great, or why it is one of the definitive moments in the history of movie sex. No, the film, written and directed by Zalman King, demands our attention because it is the literal, and chronological, highpoint of Eighties Hollywood erotica. Before it, 1986's 9 ½ Weeks (which King also co-wrote and produced, with Rourke in the lead role as yet another pervy bully) and Fatal Attraction (1987) had marked the parameters for a genre that would speak of liberal sexual permissiveness but was actually about conservative sexual fear (AIDS, anyone?). But Wild Orchid topped them both. For with its lurid Latin setting (Wheeler is in Buenos Aires to buy a hotel, as you do), rampantly fornicating locals and the suggestion that, if you opened the window of your limousine you were likely to get hit by flying spunk, it had the edge on the competition. Best of all, it boasts a closing sex scene (Wheeler and Emily in lotus, shot mostly from above, sparing no blushes) so protracted and explicit it troubled the censors (the film was originally rated X). It was shot to a $100m payday, and raised the great debate, not seen since Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie in Don't Look Now (1973), that asks, "Were they or weren't they? You know? Doing it for real?" In 2011, Otis finally addressed the issue, "Have you ever filmed a sex scene? Do you have any idea how many people were standing around? It was mortifying!" So, that's a no then? – Kevin Maher Tarzan, The Ape Man (1981) "I've never touched a man before!" It's Bo Derek as Jane, kneeling over an unconscious Tarzan (Miles O'Keeffe) in their first screen encounter after 45 minutes of solo swimming, snake-dodging and needless knocker action on behalf of Jane and her lovingly photographed breasts (photographed, I might add, by director-husband John Derek, so that's OK). Tarzan is lying on the sand in his trademark loincloth and, oddly, a funky headband. Undeterred by the outfit, Jane starts touching. "It's nice," she says, going slowly, yet directly, for the crotch. "It's very nice!" Tarzan, clearly uncomfortable with the whole date-rapey vibe, leaps back into action dragging the movie through a series of strange, breast-based set-pieces that climax in a quirky "native jungle village" (actual location: Sri Lanka). The film, of course, is genius. No, really. Because it parlayed over 20 years of Russ Meyer sexploitation flicks (see Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, 1965), and so-called "Nudie Cutie" stag films into a mainstream, studio-financed, money-making event. And what an event! There was a much-hyped lawsuit from Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs' estate, orders for nudity cuts from the studio, and publicised cries of "censorship!" from director Derek. The film, which cost about $6m to make, made $37m at the box office (equivalent to a blockbuster like The Dark Knight today taking more than a billion dollars) and proved that in mainstream cinema the rubric established 40 years previously by Jane Russell in The Outlaw (see # 1) still held true, and was more relevant than ever, namely: tits sell. – Kevin Maher Monster's Ball (2001) Something happened with sex scenes around the millennium. They went from being slightly tawdry (Angel Heart, 1987), titillating (Risky Business, 1983) and tacky (Porky's, 1982) to dramatically satisfying and, ultimately, Oscar-worthy. Kate Winslet in 2008's The Reader (Nazi sex), Charlize Theron in 2003's Monster (serial killer lesbian sex), Michelle Williams in 2010's Blue Valentine (Gosling sex), and Maria Bello in A History of Violence (2005) got a Golden Globe nomination for dress-up as a cheerleader then a bit-of-rough-on-the-stairs sex. Nowhere is the switch more evident than in Monster's Ball, where former B-list actress Halle Berry snagged the Best Actress Oscar partially because of the "bravery" she displayed during the terrifying sex scene. "Terrifying" because Berry's playing the date-from-hell against Billy Bob Thornton's straight man. He's a prison guard who meets her in a diner. She's grieving for her dead son. He takes her home. They drink whiskey. She starts blubbing. Thornton puts a nervous hand on her shoulder. "Er, I'm not sure what you want me to do?" he says, tentatively. Then, wham, she pulls down her top and starts chanting, "Make me feel good! Can you make me feel good?" Naturally, he goes for it (good man, Billy Bob!), but you just know that he's keeping one eye open, in case she tries to clatter him across the back of the head. Thus follows five minutes of raw therapeutic ramming, artfully intercut with close-ups of hands freeing a birdie from its cage (hang on! I think I get this metaphor! Give me a second! Is it to do with freedom?). Director Forster said: "When I spoke to Billy Bob and Halle, I told them it was important that these two emotionally repressed characters start the sex scene raw and animalistic. They express everything that has been repressed for years." Of course, we all totally got that. So did the Oscar voters. – Kevin Maher Body Of Evidence (1993) I met Willem Dafoe recently and I asked him about Body of Evidence. The film, in which he stars as a lawyer in rainy Portland, Oregon, defending a part-time gallery owner and full-time dominatrix (Madonna) charged with murder-by-vagina, is generally derided as a giggle-inducing, all-time cinematic low. Perhaps typically, or not, Dafoe had much to defend in the film. He liked playing the bitch to Madonna's butch. He was disappointed with the marketing hype that revolved around Madonna's nudity. And mostly, he felt that Madonna became an unhelpful "symbol" for the bad buzz around the film. "The timing was wrong, and it got presented the wrong way," he said. "Because it was essentially an old-fashioned courtroom movie, which I got a kick out of, where I'm almost like the woman's role and she's the man. And in the end, it was one of those cases where the symbol of the movie began to matter more than what the movie actually was, even for those people who hadn't seen it." And certainly, re-watched today, Body of Evidence is not any more preposterous or poorly acted than, say, Sea of Love (1989), Basic Instinct (1992), Sliver (1993), Disclosure (1994), or any one of the vapid, push-button Hollywood flesh-fests that came before or after it (although you possibly haven't lived until you've seen Madonna square up to Dafoe and hiss, "Have you ever seen animals make love, Frank? It's intense!"). And neither is its depiction of straight-faced, lip-quivering S&M rituals (melted wax on cock, broken bulbs in back) any more absurd than those enacted by Charlotte Rampling in The Night Porter, Juliette Binoche in Damage (1992) or Emmanuelle Seigner in Bitter Moon. Instead, what remains in Body of Evidence, and very much so, is a profound sense of the ridiculous ("That's what I do, Frank. I fuck!" says Madonna at the film's climax). It proves something common to all S&M movies, and all films that take sex very seriously indeed (yes, that means you, Fifty Shades of Grey), is that, sometimes, it behooves all film-makers to be aware that sex is also, in its essence, never without humour (see # 3). – Kevin Maher Casino Royale (2006) Stay with me. Yes. Casino Royale. Think about it. The greatest sublimated sex scene in film history. Better than the train into the tunnel in North by Northwest (1959). Better than the chess game in The Thomas Crown Affair (1968). Instead, it's Bond (Daniel Craig), barely conscious and dragged into the rusty bowels of a moored torture tanker. Naked and bound, 007 is rammed into a seatless chair, forcing his balls to poke through. Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), a terrorist financier desperate to recover his cash, repeatedly thwacks Bond's bollocks with a pendulous rope while gurgling sweet nothings, "Wow! You've taken good care of your body!" And yes, we've been here before. Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe) had certainly put some thought into laser-beaming the crotch of Bond (Sean Connery) in 1964. But this is different. It is making explicit all that was implicit, all those years, in the Bond legend. All that babe-bedding. The defining antagonistic relationships with male villains versus the trifling female flings. Here it is, finally, in Casino Royale. It is homoerotica writ large. An S&M torture scene that wouldn't be out of place in Fifty Shades. Control and submission. Le Chiffre gets his man. And Bond gets his rocks (almost literally) whacked off. Ultimately, the scene worked so well, in opening up the gay world of Bond, that it was revisited in Skyfall (2012), when Bond is tied to a chair once more by enemy Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem), who purrs, "First time for everything." To which Bond smirks and replies, "What makes you think this is my first time?" Silva gasps, "Oh, Mr Bond!" Quite. – Kevin Maher Team America: World Police (2004) Sex is funny. We know this. Everyone who's ever done it knows this. Everyone who's ever said something really fucking stupid while they were fucking and then burst out laughing afterwards knows this. Movies, however? Not so well clued in. And the worst of them, and the ones that fall flattest on their faces, are the ones that box out completely even the tiniest possibility of humour. Sharon Stone and Billy Baldwin, ramming themselves repeatedly and energetically against a concrete pillar in Sliver is one of them (they're physiologically nowhere near coitus – unless his penis is penetrating her, through her black dress, somewhere above the fifth lumbar vertebrae). Most of Basic Instinct is another ("Have you ever fucked on cocaine, Nick?" No, it's mostly ale and kebabs, Shazzer), and all of Showgirls (1995). And no, contrary to received critical wisdom, Showgirls was never meant to be funny, camp or kitsch. Director Paul Verhoeven has always claimed it was intended to be, and still is, a "beautifully shot, and elegant" movie. So, thank God for Team America: World Police. The puppet-based action blockbuster arrived just in time, in 2004, when the movie world was still debating the issues of extreme sex in Irreversible, real sex in 9 Songs and Oscar-winning sex in Monster's Ball. Team America shat on that. Literally (the uncut centrepiece sex scene includes an extreme act of scatological humour). And you always knew that a sex scene was going to be special if it began with the lines, "The gorillas beat him to death before the zookeepers could gas them all. My acting got my brother killed, and I have to live with that every day." The actor is Gary (director Parker), and the lover is ace psychologist Lisa (Kristen Miller). The sex scene that follows is 70 screen seconds of unadulterated, heart-warming lunacy that makes the possibility of future straight-faced sex scenes very tricky indeed. For it's all there. The fingers down the six-pack, the profile copulation with open windows and billowing curtains. The hair rock soundtrack (an Aerosmith knock-off called "Only a Woman"). And the increasingly ridiculous and giggle-inducing positions (more so, obviously, because of the puppet protagonists). It's perhaps no coincidence the slick Hollywood sex scene almost entirely disappeared after Team America, and that within two years the populist comedies that emerged from Tinseltown were the comedies of Bromance (The 40 Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad etc): all films that established as their fundamental subject the inherent humour of sex and sexual desire. – Kevin Maher Shame (2011) Shame is the moment when everything collides. The art house, the S&M flick, the Oscar-worthy sex scene, the mainstream marketing hype. It's all there in Shame, a dark and grimly compelling tale of one man's increasingly insatiable appetite for both sexual fulfilment and emotional annihilation. And yes, as directed by Steve McQueen and performed by Michael Fassbender, the movie is conspicuously low on laughter. And there is, undoubtedly, a flipside Shame that lives in an alternate movie universe, and it's called The Shagger, and features the exact same characters, plot and location, but is shot mostly in daylight, with KT Tunstall playing on the soundtrack, and starring Ben Stiller. And it's pretty funny. But Shame is more than that. It's a sombre, serious film that reaches and eaches for greatness, and tries, and hopes, to speak about the dominant and oppressive sexualisation of the culture we live in today. It pitches Fassbender's anti-hero, Brandon, through a series of contemporary sexual scenarios – from the benign (internet porn) to the slightly, well, eccentric (fetishistic gay bar followed by a threesome with prostitutes) – and watches him crumble to nothing when faced with the seemingly simplest of sexual tasks, namely, to experience a physical encounter with a woman he likes, and indeed might love. Tragic. It helped too, for the hype around Shame (the film was given the dreaded NC-17 rating, which it didn't challenge and instead celebrated) that star Fassbender was perceived at the time (and possibly still is) as something of a man about town. An absence of long-term relationships in his past, plus a string of ex-girlfriends, plus a legal barring order from one of them (actress Sunawin Andrews), all pointed surely towards Brandon-esque tendencies in this white hot star? I asked him about this when I met him, about the interplay between Brandon and Fassbender, and this is what he said. "People don't know me. But when you don't have some socially acceptable normative behaviour, where you're not married at a certain point in your life, people are always going to fill in the blanks. Was Brandon a performance that was relating to me, or cathartic to me? It's like, whatever! I brought my contribution to it, Steve did his thing, everyone involved did their bit. It's out of my hands from then on in. I know what my personal life is, and thank God I'm not going through the imprisonment that is Brandon's life." – Kevin Maher The Outlaw (1943) Because it had to start somewhere. And no, I'm not talking about flashing thighs in Busby Berkeley numbers, or Claudette Colbert's leg in It Happened One Night (1934) or Fay Wray almost topless in King Kong (1933). Instead, The Outlaw is the movie, more than any other, where the decadent and often leery subtext of Hollywood product (what is King Kong, other than an interracial sex fantasy?) comes spilling out over the surface, and encapsulates the entire project. The Basic Instinct of its day, the Shame, this movie, under the fetishistic gaze of millionaire director Hughes, pretended to be about Billy the Kid (Jack Buetel, a miserable actor) and Doc Holliday (Walter Huston, bored), but was really about the misadventures of feisty sidekick Rio McDonald (Jane Russell). The latter, then a young starlet known only for her impressive embonpoint, was the focus of everything about the movie, from breast-obsessed camera shots, to the marketing campaign itself. "What are the two reasons for Jane Russell's rise to stardom?" screamed the film's smutty, and frankly naff, tagline. For its sins, the movie, which finished shooting in 1941, remained in distribution limbo for five years, bouncing from film company to censors' scissors, to public decency campaign, back to film company, to brief 1943 release, to limbo again, and eventually becoming a smash hit in 1946. Ultimately, The Outlaw's raison d'etre, as no doubt Howard Hughes would have told you, is the depiction of Russell, who appears after 21 minutes of screen time, covered to the neck in a modest black top, and will spend each successive appearance on camera in lower and lower cut tops, in more and more lascivious poses, until finally, gagged and bound at a desert watering hole, she is splayed entirely, passively, for the (male) audience's delectation, arms aloft and body beautifully lit by one of the greatest cinematographers the medium has known, Gregg Toland (Citizen Kane (1941), The Grapes of Wrath (1940) etc etc). For The Outlaw, in its chromosomal essence, is the first time a complete film said nothing at all to the watching, leering, male audience, other than, "Fuck me!" The rest is history.
2205	dbpedia	0	7	https://www.historylink.org/File/21023	en	Luke, Keye (1904-1991)	https://www.historylink.…ference-1976.jpg	https://www.historylink.…ference-1976.jpg	[ "https://www.historylink.org/Content/Media/Photos/Small/Keye-Luke-The-Amsterdam-Kill-press-conference-1976.jpg", "https://www.historylink.org/Content/Media/Photos/Small/Inspector-Nelson-orders-Lee-Keye-Luke-uncuffed-Charie-Chan-on-Broadway-lobby-card-1937.jpg", "https://www.historylink.org/Content/Media/Photos/Small/Richard-Munsell-watching-Keye-Luke-paint-Chouinard-Night-School-promotion-1939.jpg", "https://www.historylink.org/Content/Media/Photos/Small/Gordon-Jones-and-Keye-Luke-as-Green-Hornet-and-Kato-The-Green-Hornet-Universal-Pictures-1940-promotional-photo.jpg", "https://www.historylink.org/Content/Media/Photos/Small/Keye-Luke-self-portrait-Seein-Stars-by-Feg-Murray-February-25-1945.jpg", "https://www.historylink.org/Content/Media/Photos/Small/bio_2047_01.jpeg", "https://www.historylink.org/Content/Media/Photos/Small/Governor-Donald-Cory-Keye-Luke-in-Star-Trek-episode-Whom-Gods-Destroy-1969.jpg", "https://www.historylink.org/Content/Media/Photos/Small/Keye-Luke-as-Master-Po-Kung-Fu-1972-1975.JPG", "https://www.historylink.org/Content/Media/Photos/Small/Graumans-Chinese-Theatre-lobby-Hollywood-California-2014.jpg", "https://www.historylink.org/Content/Images/creative-commons.png" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	Growing up in Seattle, Chinese-born Keye Luke knew that he wanted to be an artist, and he did just that. To his surprise, he also became a movie, television, and stage star. In the 1930s, he played t		/Content/i/favicon.png		https://www.historylink.org/File/21023	Growing up in Seattle, Chinese-born Keye Luke knew that he wanted to be an artist, and he did just that. To his surprise, he also became a movie, television, and stage star. In the 1930s, he played teenager Lee Chan, Honolulu police detective Charlie Chan's "number one son," in a series of popular movies. In the 1970s, he became just as famous as Master Po, a blind sage in Kung Fu, a hit television series. In a screen, stage and television career that lasted more than half a century, Luke racked up more than 150 credits as a movie, television, and voice actor. A founding member of the Screen Actors Guild, he was honored in 1991 with a star on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame. Artistic Leanings From an Early Age Although his family had already lived in California for two generations, Luke was born in 1904 when the family was visiting Guangzhou, China, then known as Canton. They moved to Seattle when Luke was 3. Another branch of the family included a cousin, Wing Luke, after whom a Seattle museum and school are named. Keye Luke's father, Lee Luke, had been an art dealer in San Francisco before coming to Seattle. Lee Luke & Co., described as "Importers of High Grade Chinese and Japanese Art Curios," opened in 1910 in downtown Seattle on 3rd Avenue between Marion and Madison streets. The shop sold high-end imports, including teak, rattan, and ebony furniture; ivory, brass, bronze, and fine porcelain objects; and silk kimonos, "mandarin coats," opera coats, and dressing gowns. As a child, Keye Luke went to a Seattle Chinese academy as well as the public Pacific Grammar School. In 1917, some months after the United States entered World War I, young Luke was one the school's three finalists in a Seattle Daily Times composition contest on the theme "Why Buy a War Bond?" But his real interest was art. He was inspired in large part by a kindly Seattle librarian who helped him select art books. She also broke the rules and let him take reference books home overnight. In 1919, by then at Franklin High School, he joined a Times youth organization called Junior Citizen ("Our motto -- Love, Loyalty and Service"). Its members provided poems, stories, and art for the paper's youth page for prizes and cash. Years later he remembered earning $5 from Junior Citizen. A frequent contributor, his 1921 pen and ink drawing called "A Junior Santa" showed a teenager delivering Christmas toys through the snow to sad-looking needy children. The paper praised his "exceptionally fine drawing" of Santa Claus on a rooftop and posted it in its offices as well as running it in the paper on Christmas Day. He also submitted cartoons, including one discouraging plagiarism among other junior citizens. By the following spring, however, the Times kid's page announced that "Keye Luke was too busy with Franklin annual work to send anything in." He was the art director of the Class of 1922 yearbook, lavishly illustrated with his pen and ink drawings. The yearbook wrote of him: "Could that boy throw ink!" and in a senior prophecy cast him as a world famous artist. Luke also played baseball on a field at 12th and Yesler. He had no interest in acting, and said that he was such an introvert he skipped English class when he was scheduled to give a talk in front of the classroom as part of the school's "oral interpretation" curriculum. Into the Art World, Off to Hollywood After graduation, he was soon part of the town's adult art scene. The Seattle Art Club's 1922 Halloween party featured trendy young artists showing off their avant-garde costumes on the dimly lit dance floor, surrounded by décor featuring cubist cats and bats. Entertainment included Cornish School dancers and a "chalk talk" with Keye Luke. His illustrations also appeared in Town Crier, the official publication of the Seattle Fine Arts Society. Another art-minded Seattleite was his friend Richard Fuller, a few years older than Luke, and later a founder of the Seattle Art Museum. In a 1973 interview Luke recalled Fuller showing him his jade snuffbox collection, adding, "Both he and I were championing Mark Tobey in those days -- when a great deal of art in the Northwest had to do with painting Douglas firs." (Voorhees). As a young man, Luke dreamed of art school -- but his parents told him it would be more practical to become an architect. He duly enrolled at the University of Washington as an architecture major, but his father's sudden death meant he had to leave college and go to work, presumably to help support his widowed mother, two brothers, and two sisters. He began making a living as a commercial artist, and working for an advertising agency. One of his clients was the Fifth Avenue Theatre, then a movie palace. Besides newspaper layouts and lobby cards, he came up with a slogan for the theatre: "an acre of seats in a palace of splendor." In 1926 and 1927, he took on a big project -- a Chinese-themed mural for the tearoom of the art deco Bon Marché department store. His local movie promotion work led to similar assignments in Hollywood, and in 1927, he moved to Los Angeles, where he began a successful career working for the Fox (later Twentieth Century Fox) publicity department. His elegant rendering of a giant ape graced lobby cards and other promotional materials for the movie King Kong. He was hired as muralist, painting the fairy tale gardens and a huge ceiling mural inside Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and he served as a technical adviser to art directors on Asian-themed movies. Alongside his commercial career, Luke took classes at the Chouinard Institute, a leading art school that later became part of what is now Cal/Arts. In the 1920s and 1930s, his work was exhibited in Seattle, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles, as well as in Paris and Vienna, and he illustrated a book about Marco Polo. In 1938, The Los Angeles Times said his work "formed a bridge between Asian and Western art" (Keye Luke: Beyond ..."). His style was often compared to that of English illustrator Aubrey Beardsley. In 1934, the 27-year old Luke was offered a lead role in Ho for Shanghai, a film meant to be a sequel to the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical Flying Down to Rio. The studio wanted a leading man for famous Chinese-American movie star Anna May Wong. By the ironclad rules of the day, any love interest for her had to be Asian. The studio had to look no farther than the publicity department where Luke, a suave, good looking young man with an amiable personality, a great speaking voice, and a reputation as one of Hollywood's best dressers, was already working. The project fell through, but not before getting Luke some publicity about his casting, provided by his friends Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper. The women were syndicated Hollywood columnists for whom he supplied line drawings and caricatures of movie stars. 'The Nice Chinese Guy Down the Block' Later that year, when the head of advertising at Metro Goldwyn Mayer, who was also Luke's former boss at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, asked him to come over to the studio for a meeting, he brought his art portfolio. He was surprised to learn the studio wanted to audition him for a speaking part as a young doctor in a Greta Garbo picture, The Painted Veil. He later said he was often cast as doctors, lawyers, business executives, and other professionals, what he called "good Boy Scout roles ... the nice Chinese guy down the block" (IMDb). He got the part, and he and Garbo exchanged dialog on a moving treadmill in front of a process shot of a Chinese village. When she tripped, he grabbed her and saved her from a three-foot drop to the studio floor. Years later, he said, "I will never forget her looking up at me with those sea-green eyes," adding that he told himself, "you are holding screen immortality in your arms, my boy" (Skreen). Luke described her as "exquisite in close ups ... the camera was her best friend," adding an observation from an artist's eye: "She was a true beauty from the neck up, but her body was stocky, her feet long" (Bawden). Also in the cast, playing a Chinese general, was Warner Oland. The Swedish-born actor specialized in playing Asian characters. He (and his whole family, according to Luke) had epicanthal eye folds common among some Scandinavians --including the indigenous Sami population. This allowed Oland to play Asian roles without the tape used on Caucasian actors playing Asians. A host of twentieth century stars including Marlon Brando, Mary Pickford, Katharine Hepburn, Alec Guinness, and Mickey Rooney all played such roles which came to be called yellowface. Oland also starred in the Charlie Chan detective series. The highly popular films, based on a series of novels, were old-fashioned puzzle mysteries, laying out all the clues for the audience. Chan was a famous Honolulu police detective, often consulted on mainland or international cases. A year after Painted Veil, with a handful of other credits now under his belt, Luke auditioned with Oland to play detective Charlie Chan's oldest son, Lee, in Charlie Chan in Paris. After the screen test, Oland said, "Hire the kid" (Bawden). Luke had already produced some artwork for the series -- a drawing of Oland for newspapers and some Chinese characters for publicity materials. He had also worked amicably with the screenplay writer on a previous picture. When the writer heard Luke had been cast, he promised the young actor that he'd fatten up his part, and Luke said he came through. While Oland's casting seems unconvincing to modern audiences, his Charlie Chan movies were popular in China where films featuring arch villain Fu Manchu had been banned as degrading and racist. Oland was mobbed by local fans on a 1936 trip to Shanghai and thoroughly enjoyed himself, staying in character as Charlie Chan throughout the visit, a habit the eccentric actor also developed on the Charlie Chan sets. Charlie Chan was portrayed stereotypically but always as someone who was highly respected, both professionally and personally, especially by upper-class characters. When white characters made racist remarks about him, other white characters would upbraid them. Oland's Charlie Chan had a genial but dignified manner and wore white tropical suits. He smiled a lot and spouted what sounded like fortune cookie philosophy in a Chinese accent with a Swedish lilt. Charlie Chan's energetic, optimistic, goofy son Lee, however, was thoroughly Americanized. At a machine-gun pace, Luke delivered lines such as, "Gee pop, What are you always stopping me for? Why don't you give me a chance to clean this case up for you?" and "Aw gee, Pop, when are we gonna arrest somebody?" Luke went on to make eight Charlie Chan films with Oland, playing a teenager until he was past 30. Luke and Oland became fast friends, and Luke called the portly actor "Pop" both on film and in real life. The Seattle Daily Times, writing about its hometown boy, said Luke symbolized "the modern young Chinese." ("Key Luke Stars ..."). Lee Chan's all-American boy persona was emphasized in Charlie Chan at the Olympics, in which he goes to Berlin and wins a gold medal in swimming for the U.S.A. Luke said the Chan films did a lot of promotional events for the series, and he enjoyed greeting fans. "Parents invariably came to push a baby at me, saying 'Here's OUR number one son'" (Skreen). Racism, Subtle and Otherwise But despite his cheerful public demeanor, Luke later said that Los Angeles in the 1930s was informally but definitely segregated. He avoided all-white areas such as Beverly Hills and didn't go into downtown department stores. Caucasian actors he'd worked with would ignore him if they met on the street. "Asians were invisible ... we knew our place. One step back." He said the Chan films were important because "they deflated a lot of the current myths" (Bawden). In 1937 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences published its first Players Directory, a casting aid with headshots of actors in categories such as "leading man," "comic," or "character." Luke was in the "Oriental" section, right next to the category called "Colored." Roles for Asians were limited to supporting players, with white actors playing Asian lead roles. That year, Luke appeared as another elder son in the prestigious blockbuster The Good Earth, based on the Pearl S. Buck novel about Chinese peasants fighting off famine and locusts. The yellowface casting of Paul Muni and Luise Rainier as his parents, Wang and Olan, was made even more implausible by Muni's New York accent and Viennese Rainier's clearly German one. In 1938, Oland died on a trip home to Sweden at 58. The actor, who had been known to drink his lunch of martinis from a thermos on the set, and once had to be propped up by extras in a crowd scene while falling-down drunk, had been in ill health. Luke told the press that his grief was "that of a son who had lost a father" (Hays). Over the years, Luke loyally defended Oland's cross-racial casting, saying Oland gave "a faithful portrait of a Mandarin scholar" (Folkart), and noted that Oland made a point of studying Chinese culture and reading books of Chinese philosophy, some provided by Luke. He also gave Oland's casting a pass by saying there really wasn't a Chinese actor working in Hollywood who had the tubby silhouette of the detective as described in the series of novels on which the films were based. He summed it up by saying, "A Chinese role should be played by a Chinese actor if he can play it. But if an actor can you make you feel the reality, that person should get the part" (Flint). Casting aside, Luke was also a lifelong defender of the Chan character itself which, as the years went by, was criticized as a demeaning stereotype. Luke said, "They think it demeans the race ... Demeans! My God, you've got a Chinese hero!" (Huang). Luke did criticize other Asian-themed movies that he found offensive such as the 1985 Michael Cimino film Year of the Dragon. After Oland's death, and after unsuccessfully asking for more money, Luke quit playing Lee Chan. In the next picture in the series, with Oland's replacement, Sidney Toler, it was explained that number one son had gone away to college and number two son would take over as Charlie Chan's assistant. Luke reprised the role twice more in two Chan films, The Feathered Serpent (1948) and The Sky Dragon (1949). At the age of 44, he was five months older than Roland Winter, who played his father. Later, as a voice actor in the 1970s, Luke played Charlie Chan himself in the animated series The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan. One of the detective's numerous children was voiced by a young Jodie Foster. The Original Kato After the Warner Oland series, Luke went on to practically corner the market in Chinese or Japanese roles in Hollywood. No job was too small, and often his work was uncredited, but there were some bigger roles as well. He played Dr. Lee Wong How, an ambitious young intern from Brooklyn, in five pictures in the Dr. Kildare series set in a New York hospital and starring Lionel Barrymore as his boss, Dr. Gillespie. In 1940 he had a starring role as San Francisco detective Jimmy Wong in Phantom of Chinatown. The role was a spinoff from a series about an older Chinese detective named James Wong. He had been played by an actor who was the son of an English father and South Asian mother from India, and who used a Russian stage name – Boris Karloff. In 1940, Luke donned a chauffeur's uniform and a mask to play Kato, the wheelman and sidekick to the undercover crime fighting hero Green Hornet. Kato also slipped into a lab coat while inventing cutting-edge crime fighting technology. Luke said that as Kato he was the first actor in Hollywood to use karate chops. This proved difficult with taller villains, as Luke was 5-feet-6. The fights were staged on staircases, or Kato would chase the bad guys across uneven ground and jump onto a conveniently placed apple box to deliver the final blow. Kato was played a generation later by another actor from Seattle, Bruce Lee. Originally, Luke was asked to use a Filipino accent as Kato, but on screen the character declared himself to be Korean. By 1940, the Japanese background of the character had become problematic due to global politics. During World War II, Luke was usually cast as the good guy Chinese ally, not the Japanese enemy, in large part because of his amiable Number One Son image. He also had a featured role as a Filipino boxer in Salute to the Marines. But in Across the Pacific he played a Japanese spy in a fedora, snooping around Humphrey Bogart's hotel room with a flashlight. Marriage and Family The 1940 census indicates that Keye Luke lived at 842 North Gardner Street, in a one-story, two bedroom Spanish style North Hollywood bungalow. The head of household was listed as 50-year-old Ethel Davis Blaney. Her two children, son John, 20 and namesake daughter Ethel, a college student at 19, also lived there. Keye Luke, 35, was described as a lodger. Two years later, in May of 1942, Luke's old pal, Hearst Hollywood columnist Louella Parsons, wrote in her nationally syndicated column that Ethel Davis Blaney, whom Parsons characterized as "a non-professional" and Keye Luke had been married in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Mrs. Blaney's attendant at the ceremony was her daughter. Luke was reported to be dedicating a new series of drawings, to be published soon, to his new bride. Parsons called Keye Luke, "one of the best Chinese actors anywhere," and "a very fine artist." The venue for the white bride and Asian groom was no doubt chosen because such interracial marriages were not against the law in New Mexico as they were in California. The marriage would last until his wife's death in 1979. Keye Luke legally adopted his wife's daughter, who used the name Luke until her own marriage. In the 1950s, with the arrival of television, Luke kept adding to his credits, appearing in series such as Gunsmoke, December Bride and My Little Margie. He also appeared uncredited in big movies such as Love is a Many-Splendored Thing and Around the World in Eighty Days. In 1958 Luke made his stage debut on Broadway. He took voice lessons to prepare for the role of Master Wang in the Rodgers and Hammerstein hit musical Flower Drum Song. He later said the cast knew it had a hit in Boston during out-of-town tryouts when petite vocal dynamo Pat Suzuki belted out "I Enjoy Being a Girl" and brought down the house. (Suzuki had been discovered in Seattle by Bing Crosby at Seattle's Colony supper club on Virginia Street in the mid-fifties.) In his teens, Luke's parents had squelched his plans to go to art school. In his twenties, he'd viewed his move to Los Angeles as a stop on his way to either the Chicago Art Institute or the Art Students League, or maybe Paris. Now, in his fifties, Luke found himself in New York with Flower Drum Song. He immediately enrolled at the Arts Student League to study painting, telling an interviewer years later, "It was like a dream come true!" (Voorhees). He ran into Greta Garbo walking down a Manhattan street. The actress with whom he'd played his very first movie scene was now famed for wanting to be left alone, and he didn't invade her privacy. After the two-year Broadway run, Luke toured with Flower Drum Song for two more years. In 1960, his cousin Wing Luke, then a Washington State assistant attorney general, came to Los Angeles to attend the Democratic National Convention where John F. Kennedy was nominated for president. Both Lukes attended Washington State caucus meetings. Wing Luke is also said to have visited cousin Keye backstage on a trip to New York during the run of Flower Drum Song. Keye Luke called Wing Luke's 1965 death in an airplane accident "a great loss" (Skeer). Master Po: His Favorite Role Throughout the 1960s he continued to take on many television roles, appearing in I Spy, The Andy Griffith Show, General Hospital, Star Trek, The Big Valley, and Family Affair to name just a handful. He played everything from grandfathers to gangsters. In 1972, Luke became a series regular as Kralahome, the prime minister to the king of Siam played by Yul Brenner, in a CBS television series based on the play and the movie Anna and the King of Siam. He also landed the role he later said was the favorite of his career. Kung Fu, which ran from 1972 to 1975, starred David Carradine as a Shaolin monk and martial arts master wandering the Old West -- a role many people felt should have gone to Bruce Lee. Luke played his mentor, Master Po, a blind sage who shares wisdom with his young protégé, whom he calls Grasshopper, in flashbacks. Luke wore opaque contact lenses for the role. Tiny holes drilled in the center allowed him limited vision as he moved around the set. Luke said he relished sharing nuggets of Chinese philosophy "from Confucius, from Mencius, and actually saying them in English for a world audience ... where do you get an opportunity like that?″ (Voorhees). Luke did reveal that some words of wisdom in the scripts also came from the Talmud. A lifelong learner, Luke said the best part of the role was that it inspired him to study Chinese philosophy, partly to answer questions from young fans. Despite the rigors of two television series in the early 1970s, Luke continued to paint in oils. He was also studying Chinese calligraphy and Mandarin Chinese to add to the Cantonese he'd spoken since childhood. To keep his memory sharp, he memorized Shakespearean roles. And, decades after singing in Flower Drum Song, he was singing Mozart arias and German lieder to keep his voice in shape for the increasing amount of voice work he was doing. In 1974, uncredited, he took part in Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon by dubbing the voice of the film's villain because actor Kien Shih didn't speak English. He was a busy voice actor throughout the 1970s and 1980s, audible on the soundtracks of Scooby Doo, The Smurfs, Alvin and the Chipmunks and many more animated shows, as well as dubbed foreign films. He also continued to take television series roles including appearances on M.A.S.H., Magnum P.I., Falcon Crest, Miami Vice, the Golden Girls, The A-Team, and Charlie's Angels He had a recurring role on Sidekicks, a martial arts series, and appeared in the 1984 film Gremlins as Mr. Wing, a grandfather who owns a Chinese curio shop. In 1990, he reprised his role as kindly Mr. Wing in Gremlins2. His final film appearance was in the 1991 Woody Allen film Alice. He gave a memorable performance as Dr. Yang, a bossy herbalist and hypnotist who provides a young New York matron with herbs and advice that render her invisible while she sorts out her unhappy life. Less than a month after its release, at the age of 86, Luke died of a stroke in Whittier, California, with his daughter Ethel Luke Longenecker, a social worker, at his side. He had lived with her and her family after the death of his wife. At 81, in 1986, Luke was given the first Lifetime Achievement Award by the Association of Asian Pacific American Artists at a dinner at the Beverly Wilshire hotel. When interviewed about the honor, he told a Los Angeles Times reporter that he'd had a great career, and felt he'd been very lucky. But he also said "I never wanted to be an actor ... I wanted to draw" (Ong). In 2015, his granddaughter donated his papers to the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The collection includes more than 25 linear feet of manuscripts and photographs, and 406 artworks including layouts, celebrity portraits, book illustrations, and personal artworks going back to his freshman year at Franklin High School in Seattle.
2205	dbpedia	0	94	https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/100174	en	Charlie Chan	https://en-academic.com/…_social_en.png?3	https://en-academic.com/…_social_en.png?3	[ "https://en-academic.com/images/Logo_en.png", "https://en-academic.com/images/Logo_h_en.png", "https://en-academic.com/pictures/enwiki/49/185px-Warner_Oland.jpg", "https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/magnify-clip.png", "https://en-academic.com/pictures/enwiki/50/220px-Keye_Luke_publicity_1.jpg", "https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/magnify-clip.png", "https://en-academic.com/pictures/enwiki/52/450px-Charliechan060640.jpg", "https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/magnify-clip.png", "https://en-academic.com/pictures/enwiki/49/15px-Symbol_support_vote.svg.png", "https://mc.yandex.ru/watch/70309897", "https://b.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&c2=23600742&cv=2.0&cj=1" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	Warner Oland as Charlie Chan Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese American detective created by Earl Derr Biggers in 1919[1]. Loosely based on H	en	https://en-academic.com/favicon.ico	Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias	https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/100174	Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Earl Derr Biggers in 1919[1]. Loosely based on Honolulu detective Chang Apana, Biggers conceived of the benevolent and heroic Chan as an alternative to Yellow Peril stereotypes, such as villains like Fu Manchu. Chan is a detective for the Honolulu police, though many stories feature Chan traveling the world as he investigates mysteries and solves crimes. Chan first appeared in Biggers' novels, but went on to be featured in a number of media. Over four dozen films featuring Charlie Chan have been made, beginning in 1926. The character was at first portrayed by Asian actors, and the films met with little success. In 1931, the Fox Film Corporation cast Swedish actor Warner Oland as Chan in Charlie Chan Carries On; the film was a success, and Fox went on to produce 15 more Chan films with Oland in the title role. After Oland's death, American actor Sidney Toler was cast as Chan; Toler made 22 Chan films, first for Fox and then for Monogram Studios. After Toler's death, six more films were made, starring Roland Winters. In addition, a number of Spanish- and Chinese-language Chan films were made during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. American-made Chan films were shown in China to much success, where the character was popular and respected. More recent film adaptations in the 1990s have been unsuccessful. The character has also been featured in several radio programs, two television shows, and a number of comics. Interpretations of Chan by critics are split, especially as relates to his ethnicity. Positive assessors of Chan argue that he is portrayed as intelligent, benevolent and honorable — in contrast to the adverse depictions of evil or conniving Chinese then current on page and screen. Others state that Chan, despite his good qualities, reinforces certain Asian stereotypes, such as an alleged incapacity to speak fluent English and the possession of an overly tradition-bound and subservient nature. Contents 1 Books 2 Film, radio, and television adaptations 2.1 Films 2.1.1 Spanish-language adaptations 2.1.2 Chinese-language adaptations 2.1.3 Modern adaptations 2.2 Radio 2.3 Television adaptations 3 Comics and games 4 Modern interpretations and criticism 5 Bibliography 6 Filmography 7 Notes 8 See also 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links Books It overwhelms me with sadness to admit it ... for he is of my own origin, my own race, as you know. But when I look into his eyes I discover that a gulf like the heaving Pacific lies between us. Why? Because he, though among Caucasians many more years than I, still remains Chinese. As Chinese to-day as in the first moon of his existence. While I – I bear the brand – the label – Americanized.... I traveled with the current.... I was ambitious. I sought success. For what I have won, I paid the price. Am I an American? No. Am I, then, a Chinese? Not in the eyes of Ah Sing. Charlie Chan, speaking of a criminal, in Keeper of the Keys, by Earl Derr Biggers[2] The character of Charlie Chan was created by Earl Derr Biggers. In 1919,[3] while on vacation in Hawaii, Biggers planned a detective novel to be called The House Without a Key. He did not begin to write the novel until four years later, however, when he was inspired to add a Chinese American police officer to the plot after reading in a newspaper of Chang Apana (鄭阿平) and Lee Fook, two Chinese-American detectives on the Honolulu police force.[4] Biggers, who disliked the Yellow Peril stereotypes he found when he came to California,[5] explicitly conceived of the character as an alternative to them: "Sinister and wicked Chinese are old stuff, but an amiable Chinese on the side of law and order has never been used."[6] The "amiable Chinese" made his first appearance in The House Without a Key (1925). The character was not central to the novel and was not mentioned by name on the dustjacket of the first edition.[7] In the novel, Chan is described as walking with "the light dainty step of a woman"[8] and as being "very fat indeed ... an undistinguished figure in his Western clothes."[9] According to critic Sandra Hawley, this description of Chan allows Biggers to portray the character as non-threatening, the opposite of such evil Chinese characters as Fu Manchu, while simultaneously emphasizing supposedly Chinese characteristics such as impassivity and stoicism.[10] Film, radio, and television adaptations Films The first Charlie Chan film was The House without a Key (1926), a 10-chapter serial produced by Pathé Studios, starring George Kuwa, a Japanese actor, as Chan.[11] A year later Universal Pictures followed the film with The Chinese Parrot, starring another Japanese actor, Kamiyama Sojin, in the starring role.[11] In both productions, Charlie Chan's role was minimized.[12] Contemporary reviews were unfavorable; in the words of one reviewer, speaking of The Chinese Parrot, Sojin plays "the Chink sleuth as a Lon Chaney cook-waiter ... because Chaney can't stoop that low."[13] In 1929, the Fox Film Corporation acquired the rights to Charlie Chan and produced Behind That Curtain, starring Korean actor E.L. Park.[14] Again, Chan's role was minimized, with Chan appearing only in the last 10 minutes of the film.[14] Not until a white actor was cast in the title role did a Chan film meet with success,[15] beginning with 1931's Charlie Chan Carries On, starring Swedish actor Warner Oland as Chan. Oland, who claimed some Mongolian ancestry,[16] played the character as much more gentle and self-effacing than he had been in the books, perhaps in "a deliberate attempt by the studio to downplay such an uppity attitude in a Chinese detective."[17] Oland starred in 15 more Chan films for Fox, often with Keye Luke, who played Chan's "Number One Son", Lee Chan. Oland's "warmth and gentle humor"[18] helped make the character and films quite popular; the Oland Chan films were among Fox's most successful of the period,[19] attracting "major audiences and box-office grosses on a par with A's"[20] and "[keeping] Fox afloat" during the Great Depression.[21] Oland died in 1938, and the Chan film he had been working on, Charlie Chan at the Ringside, was transformed at the last minute into Mr. Moto's Gamble, an entry in the Mr. Moto series, another contemporary series featuring an Asian protagonist; Luke still appeared as Lee Chan, not only in already shot footage but also in scenes with Moto actor Peter Lorre. Fox hired another white actor, Sidney Toler, to play Charlie Chan, and produced 11 more Chan films through 1942.[22] Toler's Chan was less mild-mannered than Oland's, a "switch in attitude that did much to add some of the vigor of the original books to the films."[17] He is frequently accompanied, and irritated, by his Number Two Son, Jimmy Chan, played by Sen Yung.[23] When Fox decided not to produce any further Chan films, Sidney Toler purchased the film rights.[22] Producers Philip N. Krasne and James S. Burkett of Monogram Pictures decided to release further Chan films, starring Toler. The budget for each film was reduced from Fox's average of $200,000 to $75,000.[22] For the first time, Chan was portrayed on occasion as "openly contemptuous of his suspects and superiors."[24] African-American actor Mantan Moreland was hired as regular character Birmingham Brown, a fact which led to criticism of the Monogram films in the forties and since;[24][25] some call these performances "brilliant comic turns",[26] while others describe Moreland's roles as an offensive and embarrassing stereotype.[25] Toler died in 1947 and was succeeded by Roland Winters for a final six films.[27] Keye Luke, missing from the series after 1938's Mr.Moto rework, returned as Charlie's son in the last two entries. Spanish-language adaptations Three Spanish-language Charlie Chan films were made in the 1930s and 1950s. The first of these, Eran Trece (There Were Thirteen) (1931), is a Spanish-language version of Charlie Chan Carries On (1931). The two films were made concurrently and followed the same production schedule, with each scene being filmed twice the same day, once in English and once in Spanish.[28] The film followed essentially the same script as the English-language version, with minor additions such as short songs and skits and some changes to characters' names (for example, the character Elmer Benbow was re-named Frank Benbow).[29] A Cuban production, La Serpiente Roja, followed in 1937.[30] In 1955, Producciones Cub-Mex produced a Mexican version of Charlie Chan called El Monstruo en la Sombra (Monster in the Shadow), starring Orlando Rodriguez as "Chan Li Po" (Charlie Chan in the original script).[30] The film was inspired by La Serpiente Roja (The red serpent) as well as the American Warner Oland films.[30] Chinese-language adaptations During the 1930s and 1940s, at least five Chan films were produced in Shanghai and Hong Kong. In these films, Chan owns his own detective agency and is aided, not by a son, but by a daughter, Manna, played first by Gu Meijun (顾梅君) in the Shanghai productions and then by Bai Yan (白燕) in post-war Hong Kong.[5] Chinese audiences also watched the original American Charlie Chan films. They were by far the most popular American films in 1930s China and among overseas Chinese; "one of the reasons for this acceptance was this was the first time Chinese audiences saw a positive Chinese character in an American film, a sharp departure from the sinister Oriental stereotypes in earlier movies like Thief of Baghdad and Welcome Danger, which incited riots that shut down the Shanghai theater showing it." Oland's visit to China was reported extensively in Chinese newspapers, and the actor was respectfully called "Mr. Chan".[5] Modern adaptations In 1980, Jerry Shylock began production on comedy film to be called Charlie Chan and the Dragon Lady. A group calling itself C.A.N. (Coalition of Asians to Nix) was formed, protesting the fact that non-Chinese actors, Peter Ustinov and Angie Dickinson, had been cast in the primary roles. Others protested that the film itself contained a number of stereotypes; Shylock responded that the film was not a documentary.[31] The film was released the following year as Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen and was an "abysmal failure."[32][33] An updated film version of the character was planned in the 1990s by Miramax; this new Charlie Chan was to be "hip, slim, cerebral, sexy and... a martial-arts master,"[33] but the film did not come to fruition.[33] Actress Lucy Liu is slated to star in and executive-produce a new Charlie Chan film for Fox.[34] The film has been in preproduction since 2000; as of 2009 it is still slated to be produced.[35] Radio On radio, Charlie Chan was heard in different series on four networks (Blue, NBC, ABC, MBS) between 1932 and 1948. Walter Connolly initially portrayed Chan as part of Esso Oil's Five Star Theater, which serialized adaptations of Biggers novels.[36] Ed Begley, Sr. had the title role in NBC's The Adventures of Charlie Chan (1944–45), followed by Santos Ortega (1947–48). Leon Janney and Rodney Jacobs were heard as Lee Chan, Number One Son, and Dorian St. George was the program's announcer.[37] Radio Life magazine described Begley's Chan as "a good radio match for Sidney Toler's beloved film enactment."[38] Television adaptations From 1956-57, The New Adventures of Charlie Chan, starring J. Carrol Naish in the title role, were made independently for TV syndication in a series of 39 episodes, by Television Programs of America. The series was filmed in England.[39] In this series, Chan is based in London rather than the United States. Ratings were poor, and the series was quickly canceled.[40] In the 1960s, Joey Forman played an obvious parody of Chan named "Harry Hoo" in two episodes of Get Smart. In the 1970s, Hanna-Barbera produced an animated series called The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan. Keye Luke, who had played Chan's son in many Chan films of the 1930s and '40s, lent his voice to Charlie, who had a much-expanded vocabulary this time around. The series focused, however, on Chan's children, played mostly by Asian-American child actors. Jodie Foster alternated with Leslie Kumamota in voicing Chan's daughter Anne.[41] The Return of Charlie Chan, a television film starring Ross Martin as Chan, was made in 1971 but was not aired until 1979. Comics and games A Charlie Chan comic strip, drawn by Alfred Andriola, was distributed by the McNaught Syndicate beginning October 24, 1938.[42] Andriola was chosen by Biggers to draw the character.[43] Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the strip was dropped at the end of May 1942.[44] Over decades, several other Charlie Chan comic books have been published: Joe Simon and Jack Kirby created Prize Comics' Charlie Chan (1948) which ran for five issues. It was followed by a Charlton Comics title (four issues, 1955). DC Comics published The New Adventures of Charlie Chan,[45] a 1958 tie-in with the TV series; the DC series lasted for six issues. Dell Comics did the title for two issues in 1965. In the 1970s, Gold Key Comics published a short-lived series of Chan comics based directly on the Hanna-Barbera animated series. In addition, a board game, The Great Charlie Chan Detective Mystery Game (1937),[46] and a Charlie Chan Card Game (1939), have been released. Modern interpretations and criticism The character of Charlie Chan has been the subject of much controversy. Some find the character to be a positive role model, while others argue that Chan is an offensive stereotype. Critic John Soister argues that Charlie Chan is both; when Biggers created the character, he offered a unique alternative to stereotypical evil Chinamen who was at the same time "sufficiently accommodating in personality... unthreatening in demeanor... and removed from his Asian homeland... to quell any underlying xenophobia."[47] Critic Michael Brodhead argues that "Biggers's sympathetic treatment of the Charlie Chan novels convinces the reader that their author consciously and forthrightly spoke out for the Chinese - a people to be not only accepted but admired. Biggers's sympathetic treatment of the Chinese both reflected and contributed to the greater acceptance of the Chinese in America in the first third of [the twentieth] century."[48] S. T. Karnick writes in the National Review that Chan is "a brilliant detective with understandably limited facility in the English language [whose] powers of observation, logic, and personal rectitude and humility made him an exemplary, entirely honorable character."[26] Ellery Queen called Biggers's characterization of Charlie Chan "a service to humanity and to inter-racial relations."[7] Dave Kehr of The New York Times said Chan "might have been a stereotype, but he was a stereotype on the side of the angels."[18] Luke agreed; when asked if he thought that the character was demeaning to the race, he responded, "Demeaning to the race? My God! You've got a Chinese hero!"[49] and "[W]e were making the best damn murder mysteries in Hollywood."[21][50] Other critics, such as Yen Le Espiratu and Huang Guiyou, argue that Chan, while portrayed positively in some ways, is not on a par with white characters, but a "benevolent Other"[51] who is "one-dimensional."[52] The films' extensive use of white actors to portray Asian characters indicates the character's "absolute Oriental Otherness;"[53] the films were only successful when they were "the domain of white actors who impersonated slant-eyed, heavily-accented masters of murder mysteries as well as purveyors of cryptic proverbs in what Eugene Wong calls a 'racist cosmetology.'"[54] Chan's character "embodies the stereotypes and stigmas of Chinese Americans, particularly of males: smart, subservient, effeminate."[55] Chan is representative of a model minority, the good stereotype that counters a bad stereotype: "Each stereotypical image is filled with contradictions: the bloodthirsty Indian is tempered with the image of the noble savage; the bandido exists along with the loyal sidekick; and Fu Manchu is offset by Charlie Chan."[56] However, Fu Manchu's evil qualities are presented as inherently Chinese, while Charlie Chan's good qualities are exceptional; "Fu represents his race; his counterpart stands away from the other Asian Hawaiians."[43] Some argue that the character's popularity is dependent on its contrast with stereotypes of the Yellow Peril or the Japanese in particular. American opinion of China and Chinese Americans grew more positive in the 1920s and 30s in contrast to the Japanese, who were increasingly viewed with suspicion. Sheng-mei Ma argues that the character is a psychological overcompensation to "rampant paranoia over the racial other."[57] In June, 2003, the Fox Movie Channel discontinued a planned Charlie Chan Festival, soon after beginning restoration for special cablecasting, after a special interest group protested. Fox reversed its decision two months later in August, 2003, and on September 13, 2003, the first film in the festival was aired Fox. The films, when broadcast on the Fox Movie Channel, were followed by round table discussions by prominent Asian-Americans in the entertainment industry, led by George Takei, most of whom were against the films.[5] Collections such as Frank Chin's Aiiieeee! An Anthology of Asian-American Writers and Jessica Hagedorn's Charlie Chan is Dead are put forth as alternatives to the Charlie Chan stereotype and "[articulate] cultural anger and exclusion as their animating force."[58] Fox began releasing the restored versions on DVD in 2006;[26] as of mid-2008, Fox has released all of the extant Warner Oland titles and has begun issuing the Sidney Toler series. The first six Monogram productions, all starring Sidney Toler, were released by MGM in 2004. Some modern critics, particularly Asian-Americans, dismiss the Charlie Chan character as "bovine" and "asexual",[59] allowing "white America ... [to be] securely indifferent about us as men."[60] Charlie Chan's good qualities are the product of what Frank Chin and Jeffery Chan call "racist love", arguing that Chan is a model minority and "kissass".[61] Fletcher Chan, however, argues that the Chan of Biggers's novels is not subservient to whites, citing The Chinese Parrot as an example; in this novel, Chan's eyes blaze with anger at racist remarks and in the end, after exposing the murderer, Chan remarks "Perhaps listening to a 'Chinaman' is no disgrace."[62] In the films, both Charlie Chan in London (1934) and Charlie Chan in Paris (1935) "contain scenes in which Chan coolly and wittily dispatches other characters' racist remarks."[18] Bibliography Biggers, Earl Derr. The House Without a Key. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1925. —. The Chinese Parrot. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1926. —. Behind That Curtain. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1928. —. The Black Camel. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1929. —. Charlie Chan Carries On. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1930. —. Keeper of the Keys. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1932. Davis, Robert Hart. Charlie Chan in The Temple of the Golden Horde. 1974. Charlie Chan's Mystery Magazine. Reprinted by Wildside Press, 2003. ISBN 1592240143. Lynds, Dennis. Charlie Chan Returns. New York: Bantam Books, 1974. ASIN B000CD3I22. Pronzini, Bill, and Jeffrey M. Wallman. Charlie Chan in the Pawns of Death. 1974. Charlie Chan's Mystery Magazine. Reprinted by Borgo Press, 2003. ISBN 9781592240104. Avallone, Michael. Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen. New York: Pinnacle, 1981. ISBN 0523415052. Filmography Unless otherwise noted, information is taken from Charles P. Mitchell's A Guide to Charlie Chan Films (1999). Film title Starring Directed by Released Notes The House Without a Key George Kuwa Spencer G. Bennet[63] 1926 Lost film The Chinese Parrot Kamayama Sojin Paul Leni 1927 Lost film Behind That Curtain E.L. Park Irving Cummings 1929 Charlie Chan Carries On Warner Oland Hamilton MacFadden 1931 Lost film Eran Trece (in Spanish) Manuel Arbó[64] David Howard (uncredited) 1931[65] [66] The Black Camel Warner Oland Hamilton MacFadden 1931 Charlie Chan's Chance Warner Oland John Blystone 1932 Lost film Charlie Chan's Greatest Case Warner Oland Hamilton MacFadden 1933 Lost film[67] Charlie Chan's Courage Warner Oland George Hadden and Eugene Forde 1934 Lost film[68] Charlie Chan in London Warner Oland Eugene Forde 1934 Charlie Chan in Paris Warner Oland Lewis Seiler 1935 Charlie Chan in Egypt Warner Oland Louis King 1935 Charlie Chan in Shanghai Warner Oland James Tinling 1935 Charlie Chan's Secret Warner Oland Gordon Wiles 1936 Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. Charlie Chan at the Circus Warner Oland Harry Lachman 1936 Charlie Chan at the Race Track Warner Oland H. Bruce Humberstone 1936 Charlie Chan at the Opera Warner Oland H. Bruce Humberstone 1936 Charlie Chan at the Olympics Warner Oland H. Bruce Humberstone 1937 Charlie Chan on Broadway Warner Oland Eugene Forde 1937 The Disappearing Corpse (in Chinese) ? ? 1937 [5] La Serpiente Roja (in Spanish) Aníbal de Mar Ernesto Caparrós 1937 Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo Warner Oland Eugene Forde 1937 Charlie Chan in Honolulu Sidney Toler H. Bruce Humberstone 1938 Charlie Chan in Reno Sidney Toler Norman Foster 1938 The Pearl Tunic (in Chinese) ? ? 1938 [5] Charlie Chan at Treasure Island Sidney Toler Norman Foster 1939 City in Darkness Sidney Toler Herbert I. Leeds 1939 The Radio Station Murder (in Chinese) ? ? 1939 [5] Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise Sidney Toler Eugene Forde 1940 Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum Sidney Toler Lynn Shores 1940 Charlie Chan in Panama Sidney Toler Norman Foster 1940 Murder Over New York Sidney Toler Harry Lachman 1940 Dead Men Tell Sidney Toler Harry Lachman 1941 Charlie Chan in Rio Sidney Toler Harry Lachman 1941 Charlie Chan Smashes an Evil Plot (in Chinese) 徐莘园 (Xu Xinyuan) 徐莘夫 (Xu Xinfu) 1941 [5] Castle in the Desert Sidney Toler Harry Lachman 1942 Charlie Chan in the Secret Service Sidney Toler Phil Rosen 1944 The Chinese Cat Sidney Toler Phil Rosen 1944 Black Magic Sidney Toler Phil Rosen 1944 [69] The Shanghai Cobra Sidney Toler Phil Karlson 1945 The Red Dragon Sidney Toler Phil Rosen 1945 The Scarlet Clue Sidney Toler Phil Rosen 1945 Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. The Jade Mask Sidney Toler Phil Rosen 1945 Dangerous Money Sidney Toler Terry O. Morse 1946 Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. Dark Alibi Sidney Toler Phil Karlson 1946 Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. Shadows Over Chinatown Sidney Toler Terry O. Morse 1946 The Trap Sidney Toler Howard Bretherton 1946 Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. The Chinese Ring Roland Winters William Beaudine[70] 1947 Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. Docks of New Orleans Roland Winters Derwin Abrahams 1948 Shanghai Chest Roland Winters William Beaudine 1948 The Golden Eye Roland Winters William Beaudine 1948 Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. The Feathered Serpent Roland Winters William Beaudine[70] 1948 Charlie Chan Matches Wits with the Prince of Darkness (in Chinese) 徐莘园 (Xu Xinyuan) 徐莘夫 (Xu Xinfu) 1948 [5] Sky Dragon Roland Winters Lesley Selander 1949 El Monstruo en la Sombra Orlando Rodríguez Zacarias Urquiza[71] 1955 The Return of Charlie Chan (aka Happiness is a Warm Clue) Ross Martin Daryl Duke[72] 1973 [73] Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen Peter Ustinov Clive Donner[72] 1981 Notes See also Portrayal of East Asians in Hollywood References "Alfred Andriola (obituary)". The New York Times: pp. A28. 30 March 2009. Anderson, Murphy; Michael Eury (2005). The Justice League Companion: A Historical and Speculative Overview of the Silver Age Justice League of America. TwoMorrows Publishing. ISBN 1893905489. Balio, Tino (1995). Grand design: Hollywood as a modern business enterprise, 1930-1939. University of California Press. ISBN 0520203348. http://books.google.com/books?id=_J9HTLOI08wC. Chan, Fletcher (26 March 2007). "Charlie Chan: A Hero of Sorts". California Literary Review. http://calitreview.com/39 . Chan, Jachinson (2001). Chinese American masculinities: from Fu Manchu to Bruce Lee. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 081534029X. "Charlie Chan in China". The Chinese Mirror: A Journal of Chinese Film History. May 2008. http://www.chinesemirror.com/index/2008/05/charlie-chan-in.html . "Creating Charlie Chan" (22 March 1931). In Popular Culture (1975). Ed. by David Manning White. Ayer Publishing. ISBN 040506649X. Cox, Jim (2002). Radio Crime Fighters: Over 300 Programs from the Golden Age. McFarland Publishing. ISBN 0786413905. Cullen, Frank; Florence Hackman, Donald McNeilly (2007). Vaudeville, Old & New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America. Routledge. ISBN 0415938538. Dave, Shilpa; LeiLani Nishime, Tasha G. Oren (2005). East Main Street: Asian American popular culture. New York University Press. ISBN 0814719635. Gevinson, Alan (1997). Within Our Gates: Ethnicity in American Feature Films, 1911-1960. University of California Press. ISBN 0520209648. Hanke, Ken (1989). Charlie Chan at the Movies. McFarland Publishing. ISBN 0786419210. Hardy, Phil (1997). The BFI companion to crime. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 0304332151. Hawley, Sandra M. (1991). "The Importance of Being Charlie Chan." In America views China: American images of China then and now. Ed. by Jonathan Goldstein, Jerry Israel, and Hilary Conroy. Lehigh University Press. ISBN 0934223130. Huang, Guiyou (2006). The Columbia guide to Asian American literature since 1945. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231126204. Karnick, S. T. (25 July 2006). "The Business End of Ethnic Politics". National Review Online. http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YmUxMjFmYTlmZjU3MGMzZTM1ODYxMmY4MTBkOWY1ODE= . Kato, M.T. (2007). From Kung Fu to Hip Hop: Globalization, revolution, and popular culture. SUNY Press. ISBN 0791469913. Kim, Elaine H. (1982). Asian American Literature, an introduction to the writings and their social context. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 0877222606. Le Espiritu, Yen (1996). Asian American Women and Men. Rowman and Littlefield. ISBN 0803972555. Littlejohn, Janice Rhoshalle (14 January 2008). "Lucy Liu returns to television". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2008/01/14/lucy_liu_returns_to_television/ .[dead link] Ma, Sheng-mei (2000). The deathly embrace: orientalism and Asian American identity. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0816637113. Mitchell, Charles P. (1999). A Guide to Charlie Chan Films. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 031330985X. Odo, Franklin (2002). The Columbia documentary history of the Asian American experience. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231110308. Pitts, Michael R (1991). Famous movie detectives II. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0810823454. Queen, Ellery (1969). In the Queens' Parlor, and Other Leaves from the Editors' Notebook. Biblio & Tannen. ISBN 0819602388. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZnBSWLVZ29QC. Rinker, Harry L. (1988). Warman's Americana and Collectibles. Warman Publishing. ISBN 0911594124. Sengupta, Somini (5 January 1997). "Charlie Chan, Retooled for the 90's". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/05/movies/charlie-chan-retooled-for-the-90-s.html?sec=&spon= . Soister, John (2004). Up from the vault: rare thrillers of the 1920s and 1930s. McFarland Publishing. ISBN 0786417455. Sommer, Doris (2003). Bilingual games: some literary investigations. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 1403960127. Struss, Karl; Scott Eyman (1987). Five American cinematographers: interviews with Karl Struss, Joseph Ruttenberg, James Wong Howe, Linwood Dunn, and William H. Clothier. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0810819740. Willis, Donald C. (1972). Horror and Science Fiction Films: A Checklist. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810805081. Yang, Jie (30 January 2009). "Lucy Liu, Kung Fu actress". CCTV International. http://www.cctv.com/english/special/Chinesekungfu/20090120/109849_2.shtml . Young, William H (2007). The Great Depression in America: a cultural encyclopedia. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0313335214. Further reading Huang, Yunte. Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History. New York : Norton, 2010. ISBN 978-0-393-06962-4
2205	dbpedia	1	37	http://thefanzine.com/charlie-chan-on-boot-dvd-2/	en	Charlie Chan on Boot DVD			[ "http://thefanzine.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy_articles/5/8/image.jpg", "http://thefanzine.com/wp-content/themes/fanzine/images/fanzine_logo.png" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Kevin Killian" ]	null		en			http://thefanzine.com/charlie-chan-on-boot-dvd-2/	“I’m always asking myself the question, “Pop, Pop, Pop. Why does offspring imitate outboard motor?” Lieutenant Charlie Chan of the Honolulu Police Department was the creation of the novelist Earl Derr Biggers (1884-1933), who wrote six novels featuring the fat, dapper sleuth between 1925 and his death. Biggers’ books were picked up for the movies from time to time, but the series proper really began in 1931, when Fox made films of Charlie Chan Carries On and The Black Camel, and hired the Swedish actor Warner Oland to play Charlie Chan. Why not hire a Chinese actor to play the role? Ay that’s the rub. —Especially because Fox did hire many actual Chinese-Americans for supporting parts in the Chan series (Keye Luke was Lee Chan, Number One Son; Victor Sen Yung played Jimmy Chan, Son #2, etc.) Who knows what was going through those moguls’ heads but the net effect has riled present day Asian American media watchdog groups, who have effectively kept Chan off the screen and off of DVD. Recently the young Canadian poet Aaron Peck spoke to me about the Golden Age of Hollywood, its penchant for casting Scandinavian and Nordic actors in Asian parts. He mentioned Luise Rainer persevering as O-Lan in The Good Earth (1937), and what on earth was Gale Sondergaard, the sinister Eurasian who stabs Bette Davis in The Letter (1940)? She wasn’t Asian, was she? Sondergaard’s some kind of Northern name, isn’t it? Where was Kierkegaard from I’d like to know? OK, so it was some kind of convention of Hollywood—Nils Asther, the Dane, played Javanese in Wild Orchids opposite Garbo, and he was the lover/warrior in Capra’s The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933). It shows something of what they thought—I don’t know, the perfect vacancy of the Swede a visual match to the blank flavor of the fortune cookie? Of the earliest Charlie Chan films, four are lost, including the first (Charlie Chan Carries On); only a Portuguese version exists of Carries On, it’s called “Eran Trece.” For in the early days of sound films, studios instantly attempted to compensate for the revenue that had gone south for good. A silent film would play in every market—with a change in the title cards, the story could be told in French, Russian, Arabic, what have you. When sound came in, and films had to be made in a particular language, usually English, some studios attempted to play it safe and made simultaneous versions with different languages. Same sets, same costumes, sometimes the original actors (Garbo warbles in German in the alternate Anna Christie) but usually not. The foreign language crew would move in and work all night, while the English language actors slept. People say that if you watch Eran Trece you would probably have a fair idea of its English language counterpart, Charlie Chan Carries On, though I have my doubts. I’ve seen the Spanish version of Dracula and if that’s all you had, you would never know how stilted and boring the English language version is. In the Fox years the studio stuffed the Chan movies with actors on contract, some they didn’t seem to know what to do with. In these so-called “programmers” an actor could show his range. In the 1930s, many actors, not only stars but featured players, made five, six, seven films a year, something that today only Samuel L Jackson and Parker Posey manage. Also Jude Law, Ben Stiller, Gerald Depardieu, Chris Walken. Hmm, maybe we are repeating the 1930s. I’ll have to think about this some more in a future column for Fanzine. The Chan films are filled with people you sort of recognize from other contexts. There’s Rita Hayworth, two years before Only Angels Have Wings. There’s Ray Milland, eleven years before The Lost Weekend, Robert Young 23 years before Father Knows Best. It’s like a race of babies populating the screen. And then to turn the telescope the other way around, the series lasted so long that we see the final appearances of once-young stars. Evelyn Brent, in silent days the queen of Paramount and Josef Von Sternberg’s luminous leading lady in The Last Command and Underworld, shows up in The Golden Eye as an elderly nursing nun. What I get from this constant “spot ‘em” game is an immense buzz, a chance to see time in action, laterally, and this puts paid to the way we usually experience time, as a blur of aging, the foreshortening of the carousel. The series spans serious eras of film history, and itself seems to morph from the earliest days of sound, the glory of the pre-Code era, into, finally, the triumph of film noir and the dawning of Cold War cynicism. And in between literally dozens of films, dozens of corpses, thousands of aphorisms, and so many cute guys, Asian and otherwise, that it’s just a crime you can’t see any of these films, legally. I was watching bootleg DVDs, thinking very French about my position on the “unseeable.” As a boy, I watched the Charlie Chan movies on a flickering black and white TV screen, my mind a boggle of sense impressions: horror, disbelief, pleasure in the jokey puns, and an intense interest in the construction of Charlie’s sentences. I couldn’t keep the movies straight. Like dreams each has a beginning, middle and end, but like dreams they replicate the same experience over and over, and the dreamer gets mixed up, inflated. Even at ten or twelve I knew dimly that the movies, purportedly equal, varied widely in budget—as did my other favorites—the Stooges, Abbott & Costello, Tarzan. Some had the sumptuous design of a “real movie,” while others looked as though I could have directed them myself in my dad’s basement or garden shed. And even then I knew there was something amiss, in their casting of white actors in Asian roles. Filmed between 1931 and 1949, the Charlie Chan movies were over before I was born, so I looked to them for clues on how my parents and grandparents had lived their lives while killing the time it took me to get born. The series lasted so long that one actor (Warner Oland) died, then his replacement (Sidney Toler) died, and a third one, Roland Winters, took over after World War II. The odd thing is that the names of these white actors all sounded something similar, as many commentators have noticed: “Oland-Toler-Roland,” a rhyming sort of echo that seems as though it should mean something, but does it? Check out www.charliechanfamily.com in which the commentator claims that “this name-sound business helped to identify the actors with their parts.” Huh? The series ended abruptly, in 1949. Had the mass public smarted up at that point, grown tired of Hollywood foisting us with talk-funny imitations? Hard to say, for this was a whole generation before the worst example of so-called “yellow-face” acting (Mickey Rooney going Japanese with Bugs Bunny buck teeth in Breakfast at Tiffany’s) hit us where we live. Maybe my anxiety floated free because I was a boy and the strange allure of the Charlie Chan movies made me feel, uh-oh, that I was having unmanly feelings towards the personnel. Mom and Dad were always, “Kevin, why do you watch so many murder mysteries?” I couldn’t really explain, there weren’t enough words, I just grimly held on for dear life and put my money where my mouth was. TVs didn’t have remotes back then so I just sat very close to the box and guarded the dial by which someone in my family might have tried to change the channel. Out of the speaker I heard the voice of Charlie Chan with his archaic, dry way of speaking. “Alibi have habit of disappearing, like hole in water.” “Always happen—when conscience tries to speak, telephone out of order.” The disappearing articles; the resolute avoidance of the first person; the metaphor as emblem—Chan screenwriters did to English what ruthless killer did to band of suspects—staged a murder among the various parts of the ego I had yet to sort out and sublimate. I had the eerie excitement that Ezra Pound must have felt when he first opened dusty volume of Fenellosa. “Glad you’re here, Mr. Chan.” “Humble presence of no more importance than one drop of rain in cloudburst.” I mean, you really had to wrap your mind around these sayings. “Very difficult to explain hole in doughnut,” Charlie said, “but hole always there.” I guess it was a bit reading Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and getting caught up in all the paradox. And the horse sense that lurks underneath. “When looking for needle in haystack, most sensible location is haystack.” I’d do a double take with these flips. I felt like a griddle cake. No, one of those pizzas that stretches out in mid air while the pizza guy who flung it at the ceiling does something else with his hands (grabs a smoke). “Not always wise to accept simplest solution. Mind like parachute—only function when open.” When I met John Cage, I had one of those gestalt perceptions that descend on you with the rapidity and force of lightning, that Cage’s whole persona was but a variation on the Charlie Chan I knew. Wish I had asked him, “Mr. Cage, you were nineteen when the first Charlie Chan picture came out. How many did you manage to see before adopting his ‘open mind” concept wholesale?” I turn to Musicage, Joan Retallack’s invaluable transcript of John Cage’s table talk, and find not a single entry for Charlie Chan or Earl Derr Biggers. I should have known that “Cannot tell where path lead until reach end of road.” Chan loved all his children (there were eleven or fourteen, hard to keep count). He’d pretend to be upset with #1 son, but secretly he’d be proud as punch, even when sonny boy went more American than you’d think possible, resorting to college slang and joining a frat at USC. Meanwhile my Dad was telling me I watched too many murder shows and read too much Agatha Christie. Still I couldn’t give up watching Charlie. These shows had all of the fun of the Alice books, but with murder and sex attached! No contest! Dad wanted me to join the Boy Scouts, but that was just sex, no thanks Dad. When he gave me money I complied, that’s always been my metier. But I never forgot Charlie Chan and his number one son. Jimmy would jump up and expostulate, trying to get his dad’s attention. “Pop!” “Pop!” (Lots of Finnegans Wake punning about the name of the father.) Charlie Chan scowls, suspicious of Jimmy’s Americanism. “’Pop, pop, pop. Why does offspring imitate outboard motor?” Alice tea party: “Why is a raven like a writing desk?” “I haven’t the slightest idea.” “Because Poe wrote on both.” “Why does offspring imitate outboard motor?” But I should get specific before my time runs out here. Charlie Chan at Treasure Island’s a favorite of mine for it incorporates some beautiful footage shot here in San Francisco during the 1939 Worlds Fair. Cesar Romero—the Joker!—plays Rhadini, a magician specializing in exposing fake mediums, and he gets tangled up with spooky Dr. Zodiac, who wears an enormous turban and a set of armored robes that give him an menacing appearance, like Oz. Pauline Moore is Eve Cairo, a name you could deconstruct for pages, and her acting is just as improbable as her monicker. Eve wears a black pageboy wig with frizzy bangs and kohl smeared all around her eyes, which burn with lunacy, twin lamps of fright. She’s freakish looking especially because you don’t believe her for a minute, she’s a little girl playing dress up in her mother’s old clothes, if her mother was Anne Sexton. Pauline Moore was Ann Rutledge in John Ford’s Young Mr. Lincoln with Henry Fonda, and she was Mary Whitman in Charlie Chan in Reno, an ingenue divorcee in a city of sin. The faces float around like specks in your eye, aimless and relaxed. Not only the same actors but the same situation prevails in every film. The scenario zeroes in on one character for twenty minutes, showing how he or she is so hateful that every other character has a reason to kill him. Then the murder happens in darkness and luckily Charlie Chan is visiting from Honolulu and can be right there on the spot with his eager beaver son. It’s never the person you think it’s going to be. Aficionados say you can spot the murderer by means of billing, the killer will be the third actor billed. I haven’t tested this out yet. I wanted to have a marathon and watch all 42 films, but time ran out and, I suppose, my patience did too. “Please explain absence of pants,” Charlie says to Jimmy—his so-called “Number Two Son.” The producers loved to reduce Jimmy to his underwear, they think of any excuse to show off his legs. In Reno hitchhikers throw Jimmy off a mountain pass after stripping him of his college boy frat clothes, and he runs down the highway shaking his fist in the old-style boxer shorts that fastened with clips at the waist. Later, the police put him in a lineup in a blanket, and his garters poke out underneath. “Pop, the police think I’m nuts. Tell ‘em I’m not nuts, won’t you?” In Treasure Island Jimmy slides down a magician’s ramp and rips out the entire seat of his pants, revealing startling boxers of dove gray. “Please explain absence of pants,” demands his dad. Jimmy is often photographed with his back to the camera, often bent over—to shoot craps, to hunt for clues under a table, to tie his shoe. Not until the British “Carry On” films, and then the heyday of porn star Joey Stefano, would there be a cinema so ass-centric. Father is always doing a double take as he recognizes Jimmy’s butt. “Frequent spankings have made favorite son’s anatomy most familiar.” (Charlie Chan In Panama; cf almost identical line in Charlie Chan at the Race Track, where it is Keye Luke’s backside on display.) The suggestion is that son’s ass is more distinctive than his face. Sen Yung lacks Keye Luke’s classic, androgynous beauty, but he’s got a pleasant, manic, rascally youth to him and hormones galore. The kiss he gives the victim’s maid in Rio leaves her weak in the knees, though she gives as good as she gets. Their mouths collide like they’re eating each other, it’s sensationally erotic. You can read their interaction as follows: son gets the erections, but father participates vicariously. Son feels it, dad knows it and, to a certain extent, controls it. “Number two son behave about hot music like corn over hot fire.” [Pause.} “Pops.” In the last reel of Castle on the Desert Jimmy Chan parodies Charlie’s gnomic speech and his anal fixation: “Man who sits on tack, better off.” At a certain point in my marathon I realized, I was watching these shows because of my dad, who died in January 2005, in New Jersey, the coldest snowiest day of the year. We got into Newark, the last plane in, before the FAA called off all flights for days. Dad had been ailing for some time and maybe this was some kind of blessed release for him, I don’t know. It was a mess. But I thought I was over it. I stabbed the “open/close” button on the remote, tossed in one of my 42 films on fourteen discs. It didn’t really matter which one popped onto the screen, not to me. I could watch any of them without complaining. “Father who depends on son is happy or foolish depending on the son.” Did you know that? You would if you could watch Charlie Chan. “Puzzle always deepest near the center.” (The Trap.) “Smart fly keep out of gravy.” (At the Race Track.) Long slick length of life between his legs gooses son. Father surveys catastrophe.
2205	dbpedia	0	57	https://dokumen.pub/the-history-of-american-literature-on-film-9781628923735-9781501396557-9781628923711.html	en	The History of American Literature on Film 9781628923735, 9781501396557, 9781628923711	https://dokumen.pub/img/…781628923711.jpg	https://dokumen.pub/img/…781628923711.jpg	[ "https://dokumen.pub/dokumenpub/assets/img/dokumenpub_logo.png", "https://dokumen.pub/img/200x200/the-history-of-french-literature-on-film-9781501311840-9781501311833-9781501311819.jpg", "https://dokumen.pub/img/200x200/american-slavery-on-film-hollywood-history-9781440877513-9781440877520-1440877513.jpg", "https://dokumen.pub/img/200x200/the-american-west-on-film-1440866767-9781440866760.jpg", "https://dokumen.pub/img/200x200/the-history-of-british-literature-on-film-18952015-9781623560430-9781501304460-9781623561154.jpg", "https://dokumen.pub/img/200x200/american-history-and-contemporary-hollywood-film-9781474470841.jpg", "https://dokumen.pub/img/200x200/the-crossroads-of-american-history-and-literature-9780271076980.jpg", "https://dokumen.pub/img/200x200/the-vietnam-war-in-history-literature-and-film-9781474473118.jpg", "https://dokumen.pub/img/200x200/american-slavery-on-film-1440877513-9781440877513.jpg", "https://dokumen.pub/img/200x200/a-history-of-western-american-literature-1107083850-9781107083851.jpg", "https://dokumen.pub/img/200x200/essays-on-english-and-american-literature-9781400877393.jpg", "https://dokumen.pub/img/200x200/the-history-of-american-literature-on-film-9781628923735-9781501396557-9781628923711.jpg", "https://dokumen.pub/dokumenpub/assets/img/dokumenpub_logo.png" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	From William Dickson’s Rip Van Winkle films (1896) to Baz Luhrmann’s big-budget production of The Great Gatsby(2013) and...	en	https://dokumen.pub/doku…e-icon-57x57.png	dokumen.pub	https://dokumen.pub/the-history-of-american-literature-on-film-9781628923735-9781501396557-9781628923711.html	Table of contents : Cover Contents List of Figures Acknowledgments 1 Introduction: American Cinema and American Literatures 2 1895–1915: The Attraction of Adaptation 3 1915–27: American Exotics 4 1927–39: Novel Impressions 5 1939–51: Invisible Adaptation 6 1951–67: Weaponized Best Sellers 7 1967–75: Counterculture Classics 8 1975–89: Screening the Silenced 9 1989–2007: Adapt or Die 10 2007–18: Entertainment for Me Bibliography Index Citation preview
2205	dbpedia	0	41	https://thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/category/two-much/	en	The Westlake Review	https://s0.wp.com/i/blank.jpg	https://s0.wp.com/i/blank.jpg	[ "https://thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/cropped-img_10541.jpg", "https://i0.wp.com/thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/unnamed.jpg?w=259&h=389&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/9781585478941_p0_v1_s550x406.jpg?w=233&h=389&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/fuzzypinknightgown.jpg?w=338&h=266&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/who_stole_sassi_1.png?w=154&h=266&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/unknown.jpg?w=287&h=341&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/wax_apple_2nd_1.png?w=205&h=341&ssl=1", "https://thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/51bc7o9t9l._sx326_bo1204203200_.jpg?w=500", "https://thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/unknown.jpg?w=500", "https://i0.wp.com/thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/514dhcfz2kl._sy346_.jpg?w=236&h=381&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/enough_1st_1.png?w=256&h=381&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/index.jpg?w=251&h=394&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/images.jpg?w=241&h=394&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/514f28krtwl._sx342_.jpg?w=265&h=298&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/5150hj0kbsl.jpg?w=227&h=298&ssl=1", "https://thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/images-1.jpg?w=500", "https://thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/ddc74f2d86a66c639cac33cb5bafd69a.jpg?w=500", "https://thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/two_much_1st_1.png?w=200&h=300", "https://thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/two_much_uk1_1.png?w=191&h=300", "https://thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/two_much_2nd_1.png?w=177&h=300", "https://thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/two_much_1.png?w=186&h=300", "https://thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/img-thing.jpg?w=500", "https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/c5f16228ab8c9107f369ed287b99991c707b69fa6aea91bfcb4740a5855b2570?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/fff2418672ed16f58da392226f7dba05c7333a55e2702b1cec03a8e7e515d82e?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/c5f16228ab8c9107f369ed287b99991c707b69fa6aea91bfcb4740a5855b2570?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/c5f16228ab8c9107f369ed287b99991c707b69fa6aea91bfcb4740a5855b2570?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/b97ba84b63801111b9bc5973d5a793289603261b19952d90de896e9d182c0ed2?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://s2.wp.com/i/logo/wpcom-gray-white.png", "https://s2.wp.com/i/logo/wpcom-gray-white.png", "https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?v=noscript" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	Posts about Two Much written by fredfitch	en	https://s1.wp.com/i/favicon.ico	The Westlake Review	https://thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/category/two-much/	For of all sad words of tongue or pen, The Saddest are these: “It might have been!” From Maud Muller, by John Greenleaf Whittier, but then Kurt Vonnegut reworded it slightly in Cat’s Cradle, referring to Whittier only as ‘the poet’, and now everyone attributes it to Vonnegut. To paraphrase Oedipus, Hamlet, Lear, and all those guys, “I wish I had known this some time ago.” From Sign of the Unicorn, by Roger Zelazny, and notice how he credits his sources, even though he’s just paraphrasing? Ah, hindsight. Had I but known. That’s considered a mystery subgenre of sorts, you know. But I didn’t, you see. There’s the rub. When I started this blog, I was but an aging neophyte with regards to the mystery genre. I knew Westlake pretty well–or so I thought–but not the ocean he spent most of his life navigating. So when it came time to talk about the influences on a given novel or story, I might, by chance, be familiar with this or that possible source (I was reading a long time before I knew Westlake existed), but there would be so many others I had no inkling of. And then, later, I stumble across one, smite my forehead. Then another. And yet another. The forehead shows signs of bruising. Mr. Westlake was a most erudite mariner. Or if you prefer, he’s Arne Saknussemm, and as I tunnel my way through this genre, I keep finding his mark, to indicate he’s been here before me. Perhaps you’ve seen his mark too, here and there. (Or are we the marks? God save us.) To be a professional genre writer, you have to know the territory–those who came before you may have tricks of the trade to share–or have made mistakes you want to avoid–and you certainly want to avoid plagiarism charges. The trick, and it’s no mean one, is to borrow, constantly, without stealing. To see something worth recycling, run your own variations on the theme–perhaps improve on them, as Bach ofttimes improved upon Vivaldi (Vivaldi might disagree). And if you do it just right, you can make your influences clear without ever copping to them (thus opening yourself up to the legal representatives of an irate estate). Clear, that is, to those who pay attention, and the rest can just enjoy a good story. Like Mitch Tobin, sagest and saddest of his reluctant detectives, Westlake was a completist. You need as much context as you can muster, to see as many of the worlds within this world as you can, in order to pierce the mystery (which is about so much more than whodunnit). Mystery is not one form but rather hundreds, perhaps thousands. I don’t think he read everything (nobody could), but he covered the bases, mastered the essentials. And perhaps for no reason other than to challenge himself (and to make a living), he would identify a discrete form within the form, study its best practitioners–and set out to create his own take on it, possibly without telling anyone he was doing that. The result wouldn’t always turn out equally well (trial and error leads to a great deal of the latter), but it kept him amused, and I think he had no greater enemy than boredom. The sense of repeating oneself, going through the motions. He had to keep writing. And what he wrote had to come partly from himself, his ideas and experiences, but you run out of those so quickly (as Hammett learned). And then what? Then, Westlake reasoned, you combine stale ideas with fresh perceptions. Anyway, I’ve come across what I consider three separate instances of this penchant of his–I’ve already mentioned one in the comments section for the relevant novel–hadn’t thought it enough of a find for its own piece, but it will do as one wheel of a tricycle. Let’s start with that. I’m working from home of late (call me eccentric), and as fate would have it, I’m helping to catalogue a large assortment of old mystery novels, anthologies, assorted miscellenia (hmm–aren’t all miscellenia assorted, by definition?) One title caught my eye–The Chinese Parrot. The second Charlie Chan novel (of six), by Earl Derr Biggers. Westlake directly referenced the Chan novels and movies in his third Samuel Holt mystery, What I Tell You Three Times Is False. In that novel, Sam is trapped in a huge mansion on a remote island with several other actors known entirely for playing a fictional detective, one of whom is Fred Li, described as the first Asian to play Chan, which isn’t quite accurate–there were several early adaptations (including a silent adaptation of The Chinese Parrot, of which no extant prints are currently known to exist) featuring Korean and Japanese actors as Chan (because they all look alike and Chinese immigration had been banned for a while), but for reasons too tiresomely predictable to mention, the detective’s role in the story was greatly reduced. Chan only became the protagonist of his own films once he was played by Occidentals in makeup. All this merely serves to establish Westlake’s famliarity with the character, which shouldn’t really require proof, since his generation routinely went to see Chan movies in the theater, then watched them on latenight TV later on. Very popular. Those of us familiar with Mr. Westlake will further divine that he wouldn’t have stopped with the Hollywood yellowface. He would have gone back to the originals, at least some of them. The second book in a series, in some ways, matters more than the first (you don’t have a series until you have a second book) so safe bet he read it. Equally safe bet he wouldn’t use plot elements from it in a novel where an actor playing Chan is a character. But years later, when he was writing the penultimate Parker novel, I believe elements of this book came back to him. Let’s come back to that after I do a very quick synopsis. (I can do that when forced.) This is the only Chan novel I’ve ever read, and I skimmed it, mainly because most of the characters are white people, and these white people are dull. By which I mean not only uninteresting, but exceptionally thick-witted. It’s normal in a detective story for nearly everyone other than the detective and killer to be clueless (or what’s the detective for?), but Chan novels take this to the extreme, so I mainly just skipped to the parts about Chan himself, and soon discovered why these books have endured, in spite of their dating, and their defects. Charlie Chan is a sphinx with many secrets–not only in the caucasian world, but even amongst his relations, some of whom he visits on his trip to the west coast. The previous novel having established him as a police detective in Honolulu, he goes to visit a cousin in San Francisco, who thinks he’s doing the bidding of ‘white devils.’ (The cousin also objects to his pretty assimilated American-born daughter working as a switchboard operator, but that second generation tends to laugh off such objections from old fuddy duddies, as those of us with recent immigrant roots know full well.) He is there, ostensibly, to deliver a valuable necklace to a wealthy buyer, as a favor to a former employer fallen on hard times, but there is murder most fowl (humble apologies, dishonorable pun was lying there waiting to be sprung)–a pet parrot in the buyer’s desert home is poisoned. Apparently because he talked too much. “Poor Tony very sick before he go on long journey,” Chan continued. “Very silent and very sick. In my time I am on track of many murders, but I must come to this peculiar mainland to ferret out parrot-murder. Ah, well—all my life I hear about wonders on this mainland.” “They poisoned him,” Bob Eden cried. “Why?” “Why not?” shrugged Chan. “Very true rumour says ‘dead men tell no tales’! Dead parrots are in same fix, I think. Tony speaks Chinese like me. Tony and me never speak together again.” Many justly defend Biggers from intended bigotry, but it must be said, a man as smart as Chan, born and raised in the future 50th state, could speak better English than that if he wanted to. Then again, a man as smart as Lieutenant Columbo probably could too, when questioning snooty rich guys–only he appreciates the advantages of being underestimated by his social superiors, who prove not so superior after all–and guess where that idea came from? The shadow of Chan is large indeed. For the usual contrived reasons, Chan spends much of the book masquerading as a domestic, with even more stereotypical dialect, in the rich man’s desert home, with a few confederates knowing of the imposture (not as few as he’d prefer, since his trust in caucasians is only slightly greater than his cousin’s). “Charlie,” said Bob Eden, “this is a friend of mine, Mr Will Holley. Holley, meet Detective-Sergeant Chan, of the Honolulu police.” At mention of his name Chan’s eyes narrowed. “How do you do?” he said coldly. “It’s all right,” Eden assured him. “Mr Holley can be trusted—absolutely. I’ve told him everything.” “I am far away in strange land,” returned Chan. “Maybe I would choose to trust no one—but that, no doubt, are my heathen churlishness. Mr Holley will pardon, I am sure.” “Don’t worry,” said Holley. “I give you my word. I’ll tell no one.” Chan made no reply, in his mind, perhaps, the memory of other white men who had given their word. He’s always wearing a mask, hiding his true self from those around him–now he’s wearing a mask over his mask, because much as white devils underestimate a Chinese policeman, they barely notice a Chinese servant. This allows him great freedom of movement, ample opportunity for investigation. The case is cracked, and let’s just say it’s not the greatest mystery ever written by a long shot (I gather it’s not the best Biggers was capable of), but that’s not really the point of anything, since it’s a story about human motivations, and a man who studies them closely, carefully, quietly, because his professional success depends on such observations. As to his true feelings, his own motivations, those always remain, to some extent, opaque–one might say inscrutable. You want to know what Chan really thinks of us? Might as well ask the parrot. Yeah. So that’s where the hook for the best of the final three Parker novels and one of the most haunting and intriguing books of the entire series, comes from. (Though to be fair, fish out of water stories are older than the Paleoarchean hills, as are stories about disguised wanderers.) To make it even more clear, there’s an abandoned mining town key to the story, and a crazy old hermit who comes out of nowhere, then disappears from the story, after providing a useful if misleading clue (but he isn’t shot down by mistake then left for scavengers, like the equivalent character from the Stark novel). As usual, where Westlake seeks to improve upon his model is motivation. Chan, as a policeman, self-effacing hero of the piece, and a self-conscious attempt by Biggers to counter racial stereotypes (only to end by perpetrating them, because it’s never that easy), has to behave honorably at all times. Even though you get the distinct feeling he does so under extreme sufferance. As a felon on the lam in upstate NY, Parker only has to survive. His imposture, in a dying little town, done at the behest of a poor man seeking restitution, who knows Parker’s secret, and has one of his own Parker smells profit in, is much easier to justify. Not only is he not called upon to solve the parrot’s murder (which is no mystery, except in the sense so much of we do is mysterious), he never even learns about it, nor would he give a damn if he did. The story wouldn’t be much different if Stark’s nameless parrot (less garrulous than poor Tony, though it’s his decision to speak that gets him shot) wasn’t there–yet he’s the title character. How come? The parrot is there to tell us where parts of this story came from. A respectful and nigh-inscrutable nod of the head to a predecessor who taught him a few tricks of the trade. A subtle hint to the reader, that went unnoticed by most, since these two novels really couldn’t be much more different. (Marilyn Stasio, who reviewed several late Parker novels, provided an introduction to a recent reprint of The Chinese Parrot–did she pierce the mystery? I greatly misdoubt it, but that edition is not evailable.) (In both books, the titular parrot is not nearly so colorful as the ones on most of the covers.) All that being said (and Stark’s parrot is the wiser bird by far), Westlake knew very well Parker could never equal Chan’s ability to blend into the background, by putting on a cook’s clothing and chattering like Hop Sing from Bonanza. Parker is suspected, almost immediately, by several suspicious locals, of not being who he claims to be–Chan is only exposed at the climax, through a chance encounter, the fool’s mask slipping away to reveal the hunter beneath. The race/class element is not present, and the story told to justify Parker’s sudden presence in Tom Lindahl’s world is even more hastily improvised, under the far sterner exigencies Parker faces. For all that, it’s still a story about how most people see only what they’re prepared to see, and Parker, like Chan, sees what’s really there. Thankfully, Parker doesn’t have to speak in hokey dialect. He has the luxury of a white skin. Not that he gives a damn. Just another mask. The Chinese policeman and the Wolf in sheep’s clothing would understand each other very well, in spite of their professional divide. I would not go so far as to say Parker is Chan’s Number One Son, but again, dishonorable joke was impossible to resist. So from one of Westlake’s finest novels to perhaps his very worst–I’ll give this one short shrift. This is an easy catch, but to make it, you have to know the source, and it’s not a much-watched film these days. TCM and DVR–what did we ever do without you? Jane Russell was Star of the Month for April, and I could hardly refrain from recording a few of her films I was not familiar with. (This gentleman does not invariably prefer blondes.) The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown? Didn’t sound promising, but what the hell. It ended up being the only one I watched without fast-forwarding (much). One of her personal favorites, though according to her own perceptive commentary (Russell, as you all should know, was a damn smart broad) it ended up foundering on a difference in vision between herself and the director, Norman Taurog. She wanted a more serious satiric film, in black and white–he wanted a color romp. It ended up going both ways. You can see the joins. She’s great in it–one of her best performances–like her chum Bob Mitchum, she never really exerted herself much, unless she found the role challenging. With looks like theirs, it wasn’t necessary. Neither is a synopsis. There’s no point in my trying to prove Westlake saw this film prior to writing his take, since Westlake only wrote that half-baked kidnap caper after working up a script with that general premise at the behest of disreputable film producers (very nearly the only kind he ever got to work with. The flick was never lensed, but he retained the novel adaptation rights (hated to waste work). I have no idea who first had the idea of kidnapping a sexy starlet and holding her for ransom, but Taurog’s comedy is the earliest instance I know of where somebody actually made a film with this precise subject, and given that it had been just about ten years since the last attempt, some producer probably figured it was worth another go. It’s not easy to write a romantic comedy about an ex-con (wrongly convicted, of course) who decides to kidnap a famous sex bomb who is bored with her life (though very good at her job), roughs her up a bit when she gets out of line, and they end up falling madly in love with each other. Westlake probably did know the earlier film (maybe had it screened for him), and would have noted all the gyrations you have to go through to make that work. He decided to switch the romantic angle from the star who is bored with her life to a younger woman who wants that life for herself, or so she thinks. The kidnapping in the Taurog film is very perfunctory, and far too easy. Westlake, who had only written capers as Stark up to that point, made it into a carefully planned girl heist (computer-planned, in fact) that gangs a mite aglae, but still works out well for all concerned (except for the English grifters who for all I know were a legacy from the original film concept). The kidnappers, sterling lads all, actually get their cash, get away clean, and the gangleader gets his girl, while the movie star goes home well-rested. Were they going to do all that if the film was made? They didn’t in Russell’s flick. There’s little point in trying to decipher how much of Sassi is Westlake, how much is the fuzzy nightgown, and how much is the threadbare borrowed concept he was handed by his former employers. That’s not my point of interest here. It is rather the origin of the earlier film, which was, if you’d believe it, based on a novel that may have been the basis for the self-faked kidnapping of a very minor Hollywood starlet. (No, her name wasn’t Jimmy, but she was some kid.) So did Westlake know about Marie McDonald’s fictionally inspired self-snatch? Did he check out the Sylvia Tate novel? I would, but damn, expensive–though the first edition hardcover is often cheaper, because it doesn’t have Jane Russell on the cover, like the paperbacks that came out with the movie. The book is not e-vailable, and life is short, you know? Shorter all the time. Life imitating art imitating life imitating whatever. Shades of the Peugeot snatch, that inspired the third Dortmunder book. Did all that stick in his mind, and a few years later, he found an opportunity to tell a version of the same story, only this time exploiting all the latent satiric potential that Russell and Taurog couldn’t get close to? With a gang that wasn’t the least bit glamorous, but were always good for a laugh. (Incidentally, the great Keenan Wynn plays the kidnapper’s best friend and confederate, and wouldn’t he have been a great pick to play Kelp, if Kelp had actually been a thing in the 1950’s?) I think that’s all I want to say about this one. So elsewhere amidst all the quaint and curious volumes of forgotten lore I’m helping to catalogue (some of which were penned by Poe), I became aware of Mary Roberts Rinehart. One of the most influential and successful of early mystery novelists, by no means forgotten today, though not quite the icon she used to be. (Through her industrious sons, her last name decorated several major publishing houses over the years.) She it was who inspired The Butler Did It meme that everybody knows, and almost nobody knows the origin of (it was actually a stage adaptation of a novel of hers that got that into popular parlance–the line does not appear in her novel, but people would describe what happened, and the rest is history). Her most famous and influential novel of all is the one you see up top. (That link leads to Project Gutenberg.) And that novel (along with many others that followed in its train) inspired a less well-known term, that subsequently inspired the ribaldry of Ogden Nash– Personally, I don’t care whether a detective-story writer was educated in night school or day school So long as he doesn’t belong to the H.I.B.K. school, The H.I.B.K. being a device to which too many detective-story writers are prone; Namely the Had-I-But-Known. In this case, the critics done it. Readers loved her books, bought them by the carload, but were not required to read them for a living, and become overly innured to the inevitable tropes. So peevish reviewers began pointing out that book after book would begin with the narrator of the ensuing mystery lamenting that if she (it was often a she) had only known what would happen, things would have gone much differently. Foreshadowing, a technique for getting the mystery reader interested in finding out what terrible things would happen, as if the genre itself wasn’t a damned good clue. But isn’t that life, friends? Don’t we all go around lamenting thusly, of our unfortunate uninformedness, that led us into one pickle after another, and sometimes the waiting embrace of a body bag? Is the mystery writer to ignore this inevitable outcome of being an autonomous, self-aware, yet not omniscient being? (“Had I but known that when I went to the corner store to buy Kleenex, a woman would just walk up to the counter, right next to me, her unworn mask dangling down her neck, wanting to buy a pack of gum….” Three days ago. I’ll stop obsessing over it in another eleven. I trust. “Had we but known Donald Trump was a self-obsessed idiot…”–oh wait, we did know that. But what’s the worst that could happen, huh? Better not waste any more time on second-guessing.) Let it be said, Rinehart was not a bad writer at all (most styles date at least a bit) and Westlake was hardly the first, by a very long shot, to inject wry humor into the mystery trade. This is the story of how a middle-aged spinster lost her mind, deserted her domestic gods in the city, took a furnished house for the summer out of town, and found herself involved in one of those mysterious crimes that keep our newspapers and detective agencies happy and prosperous. For twenty years I had been perfectly comfortable; for twenty years I had had the window-boxes filled in the spring, the carpets lifted, the awnings put up and the furniture covered with brown linen; for as many summers I had said good-by to my friends, and, after watching their perspiring hegira, had settled down to a delicious quiet in town, where the mail comes three times a day, and the water supply does not depend on a tank on the roof. And then—the madness seized me. When I look back over the months I spent at Sunnyside, I wonder that I survived at all. As it is, I show the wear and tear of my harrowing experiences. I have turned very gray—Liddy reminded me of it, only yesterday, by saying that a little bluing in the rinse-water would make my hair silvery, instead of a yellowish white. I hate to be reminded of unpleasant things and I snapped her off. “No,” I said sharply, “I’m not going to use bluing at my time of life, or starch, either.” The opening passage of The Circular Staircase. And here is a less whimsical, more existential approach to the same answerless rhetorical question. The ticket window was to my left, and on impulse I went over and asked the man when was the next train back to New York. Without checking anything, he said “Four-ten.” It was not yet eleven-thirty. Would I have gone back if there’d been a train right away? Possibly, I don’t know. The house would have been empty, Kate and Bill already gone to Long Island. I would have had a month to myself, Kate wouldn’t have had to know I’d stayed home until she herself returned. And of course by then it would have been too late to make me go back to The Midway. Would that have been better, as things turned out? But that’s a meaningless question, really. In a life in which nothing really matters, nothing can be either better or worse. If you’re looking for it, it’s not at all hard to see (which I suppose is one possible answer to the Had-I-But-Known thing–we are not sufficiently mindful of our surroundings, or of past life lessons learned, then forgotten–not our stars, but ourselves.) However, he knows better–having read Rinehart, and many others–not to harp on it too much. It’s all so much less busy, and there is far more attention paid to motivation, character development–to making it a story about people, not plot devices. This much I can know–Westlake wrote Wax Apple quite consciously in the H.I.B.K. vein. It is entirely about belated recognitions, Mitch Tobin figuring things out just a moment too late to avoid the consequences, to himself and others. He typically feels no sense of triumph in identifying the guilty party here, already in stir, you might say. It’s diverting, gripping–but there’s no sense of fun to it. What’s so fun about people dying? (Rinehart’s protagonist is already missing the excitement by the end, planning to find another country house to rent, hoping for more distractions from her boring existence, which is of course what people read books like this for.) While this is not an uncommon feature in detective stories, and Tobin especially, it is especially pronounced here, and to exceptionally fine effect. I consider this the best of the Tobin novels, and far as I’m concerned, the best H.I.B.K anyone ever wrote, though I’d have to slog through a whole lot of so-so mystery books to know that for sure. He indubitably read some of Rinehart’s work. He probably knew about the disdain some critics held this type of story in (most of them being male, and filled with the usual derision towards lady scriveners not named Austen or Sand), and while he was something of a critic himself, he knew professional book reviewers are mainly good at missing the point of things, as they did so often with him. But would they even notice the well-worn plot device here, in a hard-boiled detective story, whose protagonist is not an aging spinster, but a disgraced and depressed former police detective, visiting not a grand old country manor, but a halfway house for mental patients? I am not aware of anyone but myself ever twigging to that, and me only by virtue of being stuck at home, pouring over endless lists of books most people will never read again. That doesn’t mean no one ever did. Could I but know…… So to sum up, this is my lament for all the things that had I but known them, I would have put in my earlier reviews of these three books, and so many others. But I did not know, had nary the inkling, and all I can do now is bewail my past ignorance, and be grateful the consequences here are relatively inconsequential. Nobody died. Right? And the upside is, I can write many more articles about all the things I didn’t know heretofore. And since I know so very little, I can bore you all here for years to come with my belated recognitions. If I can but avoid being one of the many casualties of ignorance. Would that you all avoid that as well. How happy could I be with either, Were t’other dear charmer away! But while you thus teaze me together; To neither a word will I say; But tol de rol, &c. John Gay. “Humor is like a fountain,” I said. “That’s life. Are you a native New Yorker?” I frowned at her. “What’s that got to do with comedy?” “There are theories about the humorist as the outsider,” she said. “We can make it work both ways. If you were born and raised in New York City, you must feel isolated from the rest of the country: ergo, comedy. If you came from Kansas or somewhere, you feel isolated and rootless here in New York: ergo, comedy. I just want to know whether you go under Column A or Column B.” “I go with the West Lake Duck.” “Foreign or domestic?” Westlake ‘only’ published two novels in 1975: both for M. Evans & Co., both of them stand-alone works, both featuring a thirty-ish unmarried male protagonist who gets into trouble, both ranking among his most interesting works. And I’d say only the latter of the two protagonists would qualify as a Westlake ‘Nephew’ (not that Westlake ever used this term, that I know of). But the protagonist of the book we’re looking at now is, I would suggest, an anti-Nephew. And he’s something else you wouldn’t call most of Westlake’s leading men–an unmitigated cad. Had this book (which inspired two film adaptations) been written three or four decades earlier, and then made into a Hollywood film (notwithstanding the fact that the cad in this book is a Yank), there really would have been only one actor in all the world to play him. For back in that era, who but He Who Was Addison DeWitt could have portrayed such a irredeemable rogue and made you like him? (Errol Flynn may have been the superior cad in real life, but movie-goers only liked him as a hero). The same way he could pull off a line in the film Death of a Scoundrel–when a married lady he propositions says she is already taken, he replies with the most impeccable aplomb, “I don’t want to take you. Just to borrow you.” Mr. Sanders’ scoundrel comes to a bad end in that film, as he did in many others, and he’s forced to recant his wicked ways, as he was in the very disappointing and heavily rewritten ending of the otherwise surprisingly faithful film version of The Moon And Sixpence. Because, you see, the movie-going public is heavily composed of folks like Strickland’s thick-witted son in Maugham’s book, making fatuous comments like “The mills of the gods grind slow–” and thinking they’re quoting scripture when they do. Rarely do we let Don Giovanni descend into hell without making him apologize first. Makes us feel better about ourselves for admiring him. Maybe it doesn’t take a Mozart (or a Da Ponte) to portray an unapologetic cad, but it’s a rare storyteller who can make one work as the hero of a popular work of fiction. Charles Willeford was writing this kind of protagonist as far back as 1953 (High Priest of California), not that anything he wrote before the Hoke Moseley books was popular (and ‘cad’ might be too gentle a word for some of his protagonists). Westlake may have been responding more to Willeford than to any other living storyteller when writing this one, though he’d toyed with this type of character before. Many of Westlake’s best short stories depicted cads (also a novella we’ll be looking at soon), but making one the center of a full-length novel is more challenging. Alan Grofield has his caddish moments, true, but he only dabbles at it. When we first met him, he got involved with a girl while pulling a heist, let her talk him into taking her with him, was ready to stand up to Parker himself to defend her life, and ended up marrying her–a happy and devoted marriage it seems to be, in spite of his wandering eye–and for all his incessant wisecracking, he’s deadly serious about his two professions. Eugene Raxford, narrator and protagonist of The Spy In The Ointment is clearly another prototype for this book’s ‘hero’ in terms of his glib freewheeling anti-authoritarian style, but he’s sincerely devoted to the cause of ethical pacifism, and is madly in love with his beautiful klutzy heiress girlfriend, even if he won’t ever admit that to us. Westlake protagonists, written under any name–with this one exception we’re looking at now–either have a conscience, or (in Parker’s case) a sort of instinctive code of conduct that serves in place of one. This guy has neither. Rotten to the core, and he likes it that way. If he ever feels a pang of remorse, he suppresses it rigorously. As I shall have to do now myself, because cad that I am, I am going to give away some major plot twists of this book (while sparing many others, because I can’t possibly cover them all in one review), but I don’t see how I can talk about what this story means without talking about what happens in it. Seriously, I’m not going to give the whole book away, but if you haven’t read it, stop reading now. This one’s available on Kindle. It won’t take you long. Another thing Westlake protagonists all have in common is that we never see them die. Westlake came close to showing us one of them kick it in Killing Time, but it’s possible–barely–that Tim Smith was telling his story to the cops from a hospital bed. All we know for sure is that a very pissed-off Italian guy pointed a gun at Tim while his girlfriend screamed in the distance. How would you show a first person narrator’s death, anyway? I mean, if you weren’t going the Jim Thompson ‘exit interview in hell’s waiting room’ route, or a spectral voice-over monologue, ala Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard? Westlake has decided to kill this narrator off before our very eyes. Is this a spoiler? Not exactly. I know it must seem I’m avoiding the central point of this book–that it’s about a man pretending to be twins in order to fuck twins. That’s certainly the main point of the two films made from it, and going by the online synopses, they both totally miss the point. The twins are mere matching MacGuffins. This is a book about identity, of course–Westlake wrote it. And the twin motif serves that end most admirably. But it’s not really the axis the plot spins upon. What is? Money. I’ll try to keep the synopsis brief this time, if only because I haven’t done a one-part book review in what seems like ages. What can we say about Art Dodge, aside from the fact that he owes his pun-laden name to Charles Dickens? He’s thirty years old–the age Westlake believed that we become true adults, and must make choices about how to live the rest of our lives, or else have them made for us. He’s a philanderer par excellence, exceptionally successful with women, through some combination of good looks, wit, and roguish self-confidence, but he also has bad eyesight and a receding hairline–as did Westlake himself. He’s a former military brat, who lived all over the place, and has a sister he’s not very close to–Westlake was in the Air Force, and had a sister he rarely if ever referred to in public. Art’s mother ran out on Art’s dad–and on Art–when Art was still a kid. This doesn’t seem to refer to Westlake’s own mother, but the hero whose mom checked out on him in some way is a theme you can find in other of Westlake’s books, such as 361. I don’t know what that’s about–I do know Westlake’s mother had to work long hours to help support the family. That can feel like abandonment, even though it isn’t. His children’s book Philip has no father, and an ever-present mother. That is not an autobiographical work–that is an expression of a lifelong yearning for female attention that permeates most if not all Westlake’s work for adults, and it can also help explain how a fellow gets married three times in twenty-two years. Art apparently used to work in advertising, but at some point he struck out on his own, and founded a tiny and perpetually indigent greeting card company, Those Wonderful Folks, aka Folksy Cards. The cards are all ribaldly humorous, full of not terribly subtle sexual innuendo and the occasional ethnic slur. Art writes them all himself, then cons artists into doing the visuals, then finds ways to avoid paying them, and then his distributor finds ways to avoid paying him, and this is the rugged capitalist spirit that made America great, folks. He has a long-suffering secretary named Gloria, who is equal parts gal friday, best friend, mother confessor, and more of a sister to him than his actual sister. He does pay her–occasionally. She puts up with the irregular paychecks because working for him is so much more interesting than her last gig at Met Life (my mother sold insurance for Met Life–small world). His best male friend is an earnest and staggeringly innocent young attorney named Ralph, who vicariously enjoys hearing about Art’s many conquests, and never once suspects that the mother of his children is one of them. Her name is Candy, and she’s not really that sweet, but neither is Art. Anyway, as the story begins, Art is staying with Ralph and Candy and their kids in their tiny summer cottage on Fire Island. Since Ralph has to go into Manhattan on work days, Art has ample opportunity to take Candy from–eh–too easy. Anyway, he’s only borrowing her. In Candy’s mind, she’d like to be on permanent loan. Then at a party he meets Liz Kerner, a busty brunette in a blue bikini, who turns out to have a house in Point o’ Woods, a tiny exclusive enclave on the island. It’s not her only place of residence–not by a long shot. Liz is loaded, being the daughter of a self-made lumber magnate and a mother who came from old money (that had started to run out, hence the lumber magnate). She’s also a twin. Their parents perversely named them both Elizabeth, only the other twin spells it with an ‘s’. Her sister’s everyday name is Betty. If you want to know what this name game means, I refer you to a quote I put in my review of Adios Scheherazade (Part 2). But in brief, Liz is a party girl, and Betty is more straight-laced and respectable–in her own fashion. The sisters, now in their mid-twenties, were orphaned a few years before, when a piano fell on their parents’ limo. Yes, I suppose we all would love to drop a piano on some rich people from time to time, but the nice thing about being a writer of fiction is you can actually do it and not get arrested. We get a few more conservative justices on the Supreme Court, probably even that imaginary loophole will be closed. So Art and Liz, much to Candy’s disgust, head off for bed, and that outcome was never in doubt, so Art doesn’t really know why he suddenly piped up and said he was a twin as well–with an identical brother named Bart. But clearly somewhere in the back of his mind is the dream all men have dreamed ever since seeing an attractive pair of siblings (please note I left room for gay guys in there), and particularly twins–“Could I have both, please?” And having tried to pull the sister-switch before, he knows it just does not work. There’s only so much even the most intrepid of men can accomplish–but suppose he were not one man, but two? As he meets the equally well-endowed Betty, and finds himself expanding upon the myth of Bart, Art realizes he’s just got to try it. He normally wears contacts, but he’s got an old pair of glasses, and he does something with his hair, and without really trying he comes up with an alternate personality for himself–he basically just leaves out all the things that make him interesting, becomes a real straight-arrow gee-whiz kind of guy (a male Betty, in other words), and somehow this seems to give him depth in the very gullible Betty’s eyes (the more cynical Liz is not impressed, but she’s got Art). Art, as Bart, gets very drunk the night he beds Betty, and when he wakes up, they’re engaged. Art can’t believe it either. He’s so overwhelmed by his success, he keeps ignoring the little warning bells going off in his head, telling him that you can take a con too far (Kenny Rogers hadn’t yet recorded that song about how you gotta know when to fold ’em, and anyway, when it comes to busty brunettes, it’s so much more fun to hold ’em). Art started out looking for random sex with a sultry stranger who smells of salt and sand and sweat–but now he smells money, something he’s never had enough of, and it’s skewing his judgment. How much can he wangle out of these two matching marks before it’s time to call the charade off? As he puts it, “I’ve never been familiar enough with money to feel contempt for it,” but like his creator, he feels no end of contempt for those who are excessively familiar with it. He meets Betty at a party the sisters are throwing to find a suitable buyer for their Point o’ Woods house, and he just can’t believe what a bunch of hopeless squares they are. You know, the way most of us reacted to the Romneys once we’d had a good look at them? What kind of party was this to be hosted by two girls in their mid-twenties? There were perhaps forty people present, but only about a quarter of them were under thirty, and they were as stiff as their elders. There was no dancing. In fact, there was scarcely any commingling of the sexes at all; women stood with women to discuss department stores, Arthur Hailey novels, absent friends and other parties, while men grouped with men to talk transportation, taxes, politics, and horses–breeding, not racing. I actually did hear one man say, as I was strolling past, “After all, racing does improve the breed.” “Quite the contrary,” I said. “In point of fact, all our effort is the other way, to make breeding improve the race.” This being the most incisive remark any of them had ever heard in their lives, I was immediately absorbed into the group, where the man I’d contradicted thrust his hand out and said “Frazier.” I gave him my honest grip, and said “Dodge.” Another man said “Of the New Bedford Dodges?” “Distantly,” I said. So if the unscrupulous Mr. Dodge is the hero of this story, who could the villain possibly be? Well, you can’t go wrong with a lawyer, can you? Mr. Volpinex had apparently been my age when he’d died, several thousand years ago, and in the depths of the pyramids had been given this simulacrum of life. The ancient chemists had died his flesh a dark unhealthy tan, and painted his teeth with that cheap gloss white enamel used in rent-controlled apartments. His black suit was surely some sort of oil by-product, and so was his smile. “I take it,” this thing said, extending its hand, “I am addressing Mr Arthur Dodge?” “That’s right.” His hand was as dry as driftwood. “I am Ernest Volpinex,” he said, and gave himself away. No real thirty-year-old would have reached into his vest pocket at that juncture and given me his card. So my first guess was right; he was the undead. Volpinex introduces himself as the attorney for the Kerner estate, though it comes out later he only works for Liz, not Betty–and he would like very much to marry either of them, Betty in particular, but he’d settle for Liz. He’s as mercenary as Art, but so much less amiable, and he sees the more charming Art and his more virtuous twin as threats to his supposed hegemony over the Kerner sisters, which is indeed the case–though not in quite the way he thinks of course, because a man of his humorless temperament couldn’t imagine the twin con in a million years. Volpinex–is this a little wink of the eye at Ben Jonson’s Volpone? I rather think so, but I also think he’s another of Westlake’s beast-men, like Parker, only corrupted (like Quittner, or Leon Ten Eyck)–a fox in human form, but no Reynard the Trickster he (that would be more Art’s line). He readily admits to having no functioning sense of humor, seeing it as a sign of unreliability. Rather critically to our story, he is exactly the same age, height, and build as Art, though no one could ever mistake them for twins. He’s a Starkian doppelganger, invading the world of a Westlake protagonist, but in his mind, Art is the intruder. In a later, very telling conversation he and Art have at his club, Art tells him humor is what separates us from the animals, to which Volpinex responds rather perceptively that parrots tell jokes and hyenas laugh. Art asks him what does separate man from the other animals, then. “Nothing,” he responds, and they proceed to have a very civilized lunch, full of raw oysters, fine wine, and veiled threats. As Volpinex runs background checks on him and Bart, Art asks the thick-headedly loyal Ralph (still in the dark about Candy) to run a check in the other direction, and it comes out that Mr. Volpinex’s wife died under mysterious circumstances a few years previous. We are left in little doubt that he has already murdered someone very close to him to clear a path between him and the Kerner fortune. In for a penny, in for a pound. To make things worse, Mr. Volpinex is a martial arts expert, as well as a squash player who takes the name of his game a mite too literally, as Art finds out after lunch at the club. And perversely, his ever-escalating threats, mingled with the occasional bribe, just make Art more determined to follow through with his scheme, even though he’s just making it up as he goes along, and he hasn’t really figured out any kind of endgame yet. This is very much out of Peter Rabe, by the way–the criminal protagonist keeps getting himself deeper and deeper into an impossible situation, partly because he’s determined to defeat a rival even worse than him who is after the same unreachable prize–he wins–and it doesn’t matter. The game was not worth the candle. But hey, a Pyrrhic victory is better than none. Before he actually ties the knot with Betty, Art meets a rather different kind of girl than either of the Kerner sisters. Linda Ann Margolies, a grad student at Columbia, finishing her master’s thesis on comedy. She’s extremely familiar with Art’s work, both as an ad copywriter and a purveyor of snarky greeting cards, and she arranges to meet with him at his office, looking to do some research. You know how I like to say that while Westlake’s protagonists don’t invariably make the right choices, he always gives them a chance to do so? Linda’s the chance. Ah, yes, there are moments when I understand cannibalism. Food imagery kept filling my head as I looked at this lush morsel: home-baked pastry, crepes suzette, ripe peaches. If she were any shorter, it would be too much, overblown, fit for a gourmand rather than a gourmet, but she was just tall enough to cool the effect slightly and thereby become perfect. Sex without loss of status, how lovely. “Come in, Miss Margolies,” I said, and ignored the jaundiced lip-curl of Gloria in the background. You know how I know when Westlake is describing his feminine ideal? When his description of her is simultaneously rapturously evocative and frustratingly vague. Just as with Claire Carroll, we never learn the color of her eyes or hair or anything, we just know she’s very full-figured (in contradistinction to the model-slim Claire–like any true admirer of female beauty, Westlake knew that perfection comes in many sizes and shapes). Margolies is typically a Jewish name, of course. Which doesn’t tell us what she looks like, but we can make some educated guesses. If they made yet another movie adaptation right now– (Hey, Linda’s got to work her way through Columbia somehow). So we have a lively exchange of questions, answers, ideas, and one-liners, part of which you can see up top, climaxing with Art, feeling correctly that Linda has dared him to come around his desk and take her on the floor, does precisely that, to their very mutual pleasure. You know, maybe Don Juan will always wind up in hell in the end, and Captain MacHeath is going to the gallows in all but the most contrived of finales, but somehow one can’t help feeling there are compensations… Westlake had by this time fully mastered the art of having a narrator tell us more than he intends, or even realizes, and it’s obvious to us–but not to Art–that Linda is more than just another easy lay to him. Mr. Westlake has dangled a potential soulmate in front of his anti-Nephew, someone who can not only accept him as he is, but prefer him that way. Only she’s got no money. She’s just another penniless adventurer, albeit of a more intellectual bent. And he finds it oddly disconcerting that she knows him so well when they’ve only just met. She was reading those cards very closely. She knows what the clown is hiding behind his puns and pratfalls. She was seeing what he wrote between the lines. Somebody please love me. The real me. Whoever that is. And this is, sadly, the last we see of the luscious Linda in this novel, though she periodically reaches out to Art, by phone and by mail, sensing their connection, wanting to make something of it, and he thinks about it, even yearns for it, but there’s so much else going on right now, you see. And this is Westlake testing Art, hitting him over the head really, yelling in his ear, “Hey–dummy! That’s The Girl.” But Art is just too much in love with his own cleverness to listen. Until it’s much too late. And much as I wish we men were not that stupid–well, as my female readers (I must have some) will know all too well, we’re just precisely that stupid at times–even when we don’t have rich sexy twins to distract us. So it’s back to the fortune hunt, and what follows is not so much a tango as a lively gavotte, with Art changing partners (and identities) at a rate that both we and he have a hard time keeping pace with. The only variation we don’t get is Liz sleeping with Bart, but she does propose marriage to Art, much to his horror–and temptation, because she’s offering (via a contract drawn up by Volpinex) an arrangement any penniless Lothario would cheerfully sell his soul for, if he had one. No romantic strings attached, on either side–and two thousand a month for Art. And hey–what is it about these Kerner sisters that makes them so eager to get hitched to twin brothers they barely know, who they’ve never even seen in the same place at the same time? The answer keeps coming out the same way–money. See, Liz had told Art half a truth–that if she didn’t get married soon, she’d take a huge tax hit (Pre-Reagan era, remember, the rich had to work harder to hold onto their money back then). But in fact, she and Betty are suing each other for control of the Kerner fortune, along with a host of minor relations, and because of the terms of their father’s will, they both need a husband to win out, and their social circle simply doesn’t include anyone who is both presentable and available, the way Art and Bart so prodigiously are. Okay, it probably doesn’t hurt that they’re both so good in the sack (though in a rather identity-rattling moment for Art, when Betty cheats on her non-existent husband with his increasingly confused ‘brother’ one night, she whispers in Art’s ear that he’s better). Betty, more accomplished at fooling herself than Liz (because she’s so much more invested in the culture that goes with their class), believes she is genuinely in love with Bart, who was concocted mainly as a male version of herself. Liz, by contrast, is genuinely like Art in many ways, and has been rebelling against her class with her hard-partying lifestyle and sarcastic asides, but it’s all an act, and she knows it. She doesn’t own the money, it owns her–at one point, she asks Art how he thinks she’d have reacted if he’d turned down her very unromantic proposal. “You would have loved me more, but you wouldn’t be marrying me,” Art suggests. And she’s very unhappy to realize that’s exactly right. He sees her looking at herself in the mirror later, frowning strangely. Art’s is by no means the only identity crisis in this story. But it’s the only one that gets definitively resolved. So many twists and turns in this one, so many ruses, reversals, and revelations. I could easily turn this review into a two or even three-parter recounting only half of them, but you all know what bedroom farce is, right? That’s the fun part of the book, and there’s quite a lot of it (286 pages in the first edition hardcover) but it’s not all sex, lies, and gigolo japes. It’s got a lot to say, and as Bernard Shaw had his Don Juan remark, there is much to be learned from a cynical devil–you definitely won’t find a sentimental one here. The identity of an adventurer–or a comedian, same difference–isn’t terribly well-rooted to begin with. Constantly putting on masks, rarely if ever letting them slip, Art is barely on speaking terms with himself, but he is capable of moments of real insight when prodded. Like what he tells Linda, about a minute before he fucks her on the floor. She’s just asked him why some people choose comedy as their defense against the many dangers of this world. Taking a deep breath, I said “Because the comic is a killer himself, that’s why. The comic is the last civilized man to feel the killer inside himself. We’re omnivores, little girl, and that means we’ll eat anything that stands still, we’ll eat anything that doesn’t have flashing lights. ‘Comedy instead of some other defense,’ you said, and that’s right. Comedy is surprise. I make you laugh, that means I surprise you, that means you’ll keep your distance, you won’t attack. Laugh meters should record in megadeaths, because that’s what comedy is all about; I kill you for practice to keep you from killing me for real.” And, self-evidently, to keep from having to kill anyone else for real, and here’s the thing about Art–he’s a complete and total bastard, not a redeeming trait in him, but he’s got not one ounce of malice in him–towards anyone. He just wants to enjoy his brief time on earth as best he can, to have both a variety of pleasurable experiences and absolute liberty, and that’s hard, folks. Very few ever manage that balancing act for long (some rich and famous people can fake it to beat the band, but it’s all done with mirrors) and he’s been teetering on the high wire for some time now. He wants the money the Kerners proffer, because he thinks that will stabilize him. Oh that it will, Art. Volpinex had him pegged, at the club, when he offered Art 30 grand in venture capital in exchange for backing away from the Kerner sisters. It seems an improbably on-target assessment from such a soulless drip, but we all have hidden depths, I suppose. “You are not quite the standard fortune-hunter,” he said, “some money-mad chauffeur out to make a quick killing. You are better than that, more educated, more intelligent, more talented.” I put my fork down and stared at him. “Now you’re trying to sell me an encyclopedia.” He ignored that, saying, “If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll admit that you enjoy the life you already have: the freedom, some sense of adventure and experiment, the opportunity to employ your talent.” “And the bill collectors,” I said. “They’re my favorites.” He nodded, thoughtfully. “The money Elizabeth offered you has gone to your head, and why not? It’s a lot of money. But it isn’t what you really want.” Ah, but you see, Mr. Volpinex, for a man to know what he really wants, he has to know what he really is. Maybe you know it reflexively, being more of a Starkian figure, however corrupted. But Art Dodge is just a man, and he’s never taken the time to figure himself out, because the answers would have come with a few too many inconvenient questions, that might get in the way of his fun. That might force him to grow up. He just figures he can kill Bart off when the time is right, so Art can thrive–or the other way around–what’s the difference? What’s in a name? It’s just another Dodge. When the whole twin act falls to bits, as Art always knew must happen eventually, he’s unprepared for it–he’s got no escape hatch ready. He has to start killing people to keep his secret. Or else honestly face up to the consequences of his myriad deceptions, something no cad ever willingly does–that’s what makes him a cad. And if the comedian kills you symbolically, to keep from having to kill you for real, that means Art Dodge is comedian no more. He’s the other kind of murderer, and his identity has been irreparably compromised. Not least by the fact that he has become fabulously wealthy and powerful–and it turns out he’s very good at it. Money has no loyalties, you know. The Kerner money is Dodge money now. And it couldn’t care less. A strange way to punish a rogue. A strange hell for Don Giovanni to descend into. But that is precisely what we’re witnessing here. Art Dodge is dead. And damned. And there’s not enough left of him to care. It doesn’t happen all at once. He resists. He tells himself “I am becoming Volpinex” and the thought truly horrifies him (choose your enemy carefully…). But the inexorable twin pulls of survival and money keep dragging him down, forcing him to become an alien creature, as spiritually mummified as his now-deceased rival. As the story concludes, he’s in his old office, giving up Folksy Cards, giving Gloria two thousand bucks severance–clearly saddened at the end of their relationship, she asks won’t he need a secretary where he’s going? He suggests she talk to the consortium of disgruntled artists he’s held at bay for years, who will take his place. She can see something is terribly wrong, but she can’t understand it. He tells us she squints at him, as though he’s surrounded by smoke. We realize that there really was somebody who loved this clown for himself–and will mourn his passing. And maybe one other. Gloria hands Art a card from Linda Ann Margolies–whose master’s thesis he tried to read, found it rather frivolous, how could he have been attracted to someone so common, so immature? Sitting at his desk for the very last time, he concludes what we now realize was an extended epitaph for his soul. I very nearly tossed it out at once–something about my brief encounter with that girl bothered me, I couldn’t say what–but curiosity got the upper hand. Opening it, I found a greeting card inside of the kind I used to publish, though not one from my company. The front showed a man in the front half of a horse suit, with a theater’s stage in the background. Inside, it said, “I just can’t go on without you.” Was that supposed to be funny? I threw it away. Brrrrr! In the massed ranks of the books Westlake published in his lifetime, there is only one that can stand beside this in terms of a truly chilling anti-climax (still a ways off, and much more in the Starkian mode, with more than a touch of Coe). For all his understandable cynicism about the human race, his black Irish melancholia, Westlake was a hopeful optimistic person by nature, and something in him hated to let his heroes die–even if they lost everything, they still had themselves (indeed, losing everything might prove the very best way to find yourself, as many a visionary has opined). Perhaps this aversion to killing his protagonists stemmed from him wanting to be a just God to the people he breathed life into–perhaps because it was too much like suicide by typewriter. But in this breezy bedroom farce of his, having so much in common in its style and plot material with the desultory sleaze novels he’d cranked out under false names earlier in his career, he truly does rise above the material at last, even as he shows his hero sinking ever-deeper into moral quicksand. There were a million ways he could have ended this one, and he chose the truest and most painful. And it seems damned few people at the time appreciated that. ‘Newgate Callendar,’ whose New York Times review of Butcher’s Moon I referenced a few weeks back, just could not seem to wrap his mind around the fact that Mr. Westlake was never going to be content to be a mere composer of light entertainments for our momentary diversion. The first edition of the next book we’ll be looking at bore a blurb from his review of this one, acclaiming Westlake “The Neil Simon of the Crime Novel,” but read in context, that’s not so much a compliment as a politely worded put-down. Callendar always paid warm tribute to Westlake’s skill as a writer, while obtusely failing to understand his choices as a storyteller (it’s tragic but hardly surprising that he succeeded the far more qualified Anthony Boucher as the prime writer on the mystery genre for the Times). As he saw it, this book “belabors a situation that is impossible to begin with, ends up with too pat a solution and turns farce into tragedy. The author of the book is the deus ex machina and that is always a cop-out.” Leaving aside the tiresomely obvious fact that the author of every book ever written is the deus ex machina, it is precisely the turning of farce into tragedy that elevates this book above most of the other stories Westlake wrote about confused harried bachelors with overly complex personal lives. Newgate Callendar, in his everyday guise of Harold C. Schonberg, may have been a brilliant music critic–when it came to discussing mere technique–but why do I suspect that if he’d been critiquing Mozart while the latter was still alive, he’d have missed the point of every opera? Just like most of Mozart’s contemporaries did. Diabolus ex machina would be more to the point, since Westlake has tempted his hero with Mephistophelian ingenuity–while still clearly pointing him towards the path to redemption, which he fails to follow, or even recognize. And this is entirely logical for the character we’ve been shown. It’s no cop-out–it’s a fair cop, as the Brits say. And yes, contrived as all hell, but that’s no less true of the Dortmunders, which Callendar heartily approved of–because he didn’t take them seriously. More fool he. All this modern-day Faust had to do was say to Linda “Stay, thou art beautiful!” (the precise meaning of her name in Spanish) and he would have been saved, even if he remained as lecherous, light-fingered, and leering as ever. His damnation lay in his failure to know himself well enough to withstand temptation–not of the flesh, but of filthy lucre (Westlake whole-heartedly approved of temptations of the flesh; much as they may need to be resisted at times, to resist them at all times is to fail at life). And yet, I fear it was Newgate Callendar’s take on this book that won out, at least in the short term. People wanted the farce, bedrooms and all, sans the tragedy–the people making movies certainly did. Film producers hear “Neil Simon” and think “Money”, so it got two film adaptations, as already noted–one French and one American. The French one starred one of those comic actors nobody but the French care about, and had a happy ending. I suspect this is the better of the two, but it still sounds pretty bad. The American one came ten years later, and starred Antonio Banderas (well, at least that makes Art’s romantic prowess more believable), and the sisters were played by Melanie Griffith and Daryl Hannah, which of course destroys the whole twin angle, and Art is an artist (the kind who paints), and I’ve never seen it, and I don’t care if I ever do. I mean, if you have to stick a happy ending on it, why not Art and Linda going off into the sunset? Because Linda is too small a part to tempt a big star, and of course one big star has to end up with another big star. And virtue has to be rewarded–not self-understanding, which was the point of the book. For some reason, self-understanding isn’t usually a big thing in Tinseltown. “Thus do we artists adapt the facts of our own lives to the purposes of our art.” So Art Dodge tells us, as he scrawls the text for yet another witty greeting card on the Fire Island Ferry. Westlake knew the temptations of money very well–and I think he often lusted for big material success, the blockbuster best-seller he never got–and feared it at the same time. Somebody as talented and prolific as him really should have been rich at some point, right? Why didn’t he ever get there? Maybe, on some level, because he didn’t want to. Because without the need to get up every day and dodge bill collectors, dodge exes, dodge rivals, the supreme dodge that is art would fall away from him, never to be regained. It wouldn’t necessarily for everyone. I’m sure Stephen King is a nice enough person in real life, and he’s written some very good books since he got rich. If he’s written anything as good as Two Much, I’m not aware of it. Well, that’s just my opinion. And it’s a different thing to earn your money through creativity than through connivance. Not all rich guys with political aspirations are stick-in-the-mud bores, as we’ve had occasion to learn recently–but self-understanding will never be theirs. And their only real love affairs are with themselves. But they provide ample material for the true clowns of the world. So ridi, Pagliacci. Ridi. Our next book could not be more different from this one, and yet I’d argue it was intended as a companion piece to it–Westlake must have written one right after the other, maybe working on both at the same time. It features a slightly older and ultimately much wiser protagonist, and a Nephew he is, to his very core–but he’s a Nephew with lots of brothers, and that makes all the difference. And if you’ll excuse me now, I’ve got to try and get that review finished by October 25th. I must say, I’ll be very impressed with any of my readers who understand why that particular date. Oh, for a muse of fire…. (Part of Friday’s Forgotten Books)
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"https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/dbb9f3691ba55b2f1ad4476210f2797fb20bfff4485f7150d9edb92ed5198dc9?s=32&d=identicon&r=G", "https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/a9b7a299f2f5abcf66a3edf7819403096ac6557bd5f5bd870ff7fa8991860491?s=32&d=identicon&r=G", "https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/ef8399785909910fb872db558a668ad64f5c716d03afbba0ed954223575a369b?s=32&d=identicon&r=G", "https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/ddbfbdf2048740811846c0b56e691a0ccbd939465b91500f9ae71125a2ebdb5c?s=32&d=identicon&r=G", "https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/0a66fe4a5e347ba6749490f88821169a90097b05b85c4486090ca73b817658dc?s=32&d=identicon&r=G", "https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/c335ae3635af5896ca1d3770e4d7faec7a7b5678cb451dc3682b92b63f87ef8a?s=32&d=identicon&r=G", "https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/02d8dacd03c2fc4eb4d3863ee5a78e320ef41968418c2d4600c30d30907fd3f9?s=32&d=identicon&r=G", "https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/da782f20d7f85b24eb52be246a7e51c900aab83c27daaee312dba227d3c77cc7?s=32&d=identicon&r=G", 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"https://blog.meadpl.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/cropped-site-logo-1.png?w=50", "https://blog.meadpl.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/cropped-site-logo-1.png?w=50", "https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?v=noscript" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2024-07-19T08:03:00+00:00	Posts about Mystery written by Molly, abbiebourelle, Anneliese, and Carol	en	https://blog.meadpl.org/…-logo-1.png?w=32	Mead Public Library Blog	https://blog.meadpl.org/category/genre/fiction/mystery/	When I go through a reading slump, it is generally related to how long I need to wait for my next hold to come in on Libby. I read like I eat fast food; it’s incredibly enjoyable in the moment, but not necessarily nourishing, and mainly forgettable. If I get really stuck I switch to podcasts until I get sick of skipping through ads every 20 minutes. Below, I listed a few remedies to the common reading slump. Maybe they strike seasonally, maybe it’s a regular occurrence, or maybe this reading slump is totally out of character. Hopefully, one of these techniques can help shake things loose regardless of why things are slumping. Try a Novella Novellas range from 60-120 pages by definition, but I am rounding up to 200 for my purposes. A shorter book will take the perceived pressure off of finishing a novel that tends to be 400 or more pages in length. They say that hunger is the best pickle, but I know for a fact that snacks whet the appetite prior to a meal, too. The same can go for reading. Mr. Majestyk (1974) by Elmore Leonard; 150 pages Leonard was the best in the business when it came to writing hard-boiled, violent, and near-mythical characters. This novella is one of my favorites, and pits a watermelon farmer against a bunch of extortionate mobster pinecones. If this book holds any appeal, please see Mr. Leonard’s back catalog. It is extensive. Every Heart a Doorway (2016) by Seannan McGuire; 176 pages This is the first in McGuire’s excellent School for Wayward Children series that is now up to ten books. These interconnected portal fantasies are so gorgeous and compelling, I feel envious of anyone reading them for the first time. McGuire also writes horror novels under the name Mira Grant that are a lot of fun, too. The Little Prince (1943) by Antoine de Saint-Exupery; 96 pages Everyone has had about 80 years to get their hands on this charming and affecting novella. It still fills me with wonder and takes me to a place of imagination that can be hard to access as an adult. Silver in the Wood (2019) by Emily Tesh; 112 pages Green Man British Isles mythology meets a sweet and tender queer romance. This book is beautifully written and absorbing. There’s a part two out to enjoy, as well. Juvenile Fiction Returning to the books that made readers out of us in the first place is another way to shake off the cobwebs and light up various dusty brain parts. I was a nascent reader in the 1980s, so many of my formative reads were written before I was born. James and the Giant Peach (1961) by Roald Dahl It might be time for a re-read to remember why this author is still massively popular decades after his death. James was always a favorite of mine, but The Twits are a close runner-up. That Quentin Crisp illustration work is so primo. The Black Stallion (1941) by Walter Farley The Black Stallion was one of the first chapter books I read on my own. I’ve reread the book here and there over the years, and to me, it holds up. The writing is good and the story sweeps along at a good clip. Don’t sleep on the 1979 film based on the book, either. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1967) by EL Konigsburg Total nostalgia ball for the Oregon Trail generation. Who among us didn’t spend an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out ways to sneak into and stay in a museum, or a zoo, or a mall after hours? It’s the city kid equivalent to being marooned on a desert island with a spirited Arabian horse. The Westing Game (1978) by Ellen Raskin Yes, I’ve written about this book in the past, and yes I will write about it in the future. This is the book at the nexus of my reading life. It fascinated me in ways that no other book has matched, and spurred me on to read for pleasure in a purposeful way. It’s in heavy rotation as recommended reading for book lovers of all ages. Graphic novels When I was a kid, comic books still had a bad rap and were not readily available at the school library. My old man loved comic books like Dick Tracy and TinTin, so I would read them too. He encouraged me to look at stuff like Art Spiegleman’s Maus when I was in junior high. It expanded my perception of what literature could be and look like. Graphic novels are great for people who would like to read a book from cover to cover, but maybe don’t have hours in the day to devote to it. Fangs (2020) by Sarah Anderson Get to know a vampire and werewolf as they fall in love. Anderson is an excellent and hilarious illustrator, and this book puts her talents on full display. Fun Home (2006) by Alison Bechdel This might be one of the best autobiographical graphic novels of all time. Bechdel recounts her complex childhood and early adulthood through the lens of life at the funeral parlor her family owned and ran. She is a literal genius, and to me, Fun Home is a 21st century must-read. Ice Haven (2005) by Daniel Clowes A tidy one-off story from the hipster prince of 1990s indie publishing. Clowes is most famous for his seminal title Ghost World, which was turned into a Major Motion Picture, but I prefer this unusual volume. It’s part mystery, part meditation on life in the Midwest, but mostly another fascinating character exploration from a master of sequential art. Tales From the Loop (2014) by Simon Stalenhag This is a crowd-funded book that caught on with popular audiences. Tales from the Loop is filled with the most unbelievably beautiful illustrations of a past that never existed, but that we still feel nostalgia for. Also: DINOSAURS. All-time classics If a book is still in publication years and years after initial release, and still widely loved, chances are it’s worth the time to read. “Classic” can be a very malleable descriptor, by the way. How would you define a classic book? Jane Eyre (1847) by Charlotte Bronte It’s not just a good book, it’s GREAT. Many English speakers probably know the story beats just by virtue of living in the world, but letting the book unwind in print is almost spiritual. Sorry for the gushing, but this book is really really good. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (2000) by Michael Chabon To me, this is one of the more accessible and engaging Pulitzer Prize winners from the last 30 years. I read it when it was first published, and still have vivid memories of entire passages of text. Chabon is known for several highly readable titles like Wonder Boys, and The Yiddish Policeman’s Union that I freely and often recommend. The Count of Monte Cristo (1844) by Alexander Dumas Who doesn’t adore epic tales of revenge spanning decades? This book can still be found in practically any library, book store, and thrift shop in half the world. It has staying power for a reason. The Catcher in the Rye (1951) by JD Salinger While this may be a divisive suggestion, the work of JD Salinger changed my life. To me, he defines the ennui, despair, and dissatisfaction that has been percolating through the country since World War II. I read this book as soon as I understood how nervous the story made mid-20th century parents. I didn’t understand all the pearl-clutching, but I DID understand that this was literature, and something different than what I had been reading before. Murderbot The ultimate solution for smashing that reading slump is to read Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries. They are the best books ever written in the history of the written language. Sorry to you James Baldwin, William Shakespeare, and Annie Proulx, but Martha has you all beat. Start with All Systems Red and thank me later for curing your depression and anxiety. Still feeling uncertain about what to read? Consider using Mead’s Your Next Five Books reader’s advisory tool. List your favorite books, authors, and genres, and we will prepare a custom list of five books you’re likely to enjoy. We’re always happy to help people in-person, at the second floor desk, too. Happy reading! Summer is here, and that means it’s time to grab a shiny stack of library books to take on vacation. To help cut through the noise and abundance, I listed several common vacation locations and which books might be best in each case. Book descriptions are sourced from the publisher. The Woods (books to freak you out while camping) Little Heaven (2017) by Nick Cutter A trio of mismatched mercenaries is hired by a young woman for a deceptively simple task: check in on her nephew, who may have been taken against his will to a remote New Mexico backwoods settlement called Little Heaven. Shortly after they arrive, things begin to turn ominous. Stirrings in the woods and over the treetops—the brooding shape of a monolith known as the Black Rock casts its terrible pall. Paranoia and distrust grips the settlement. The escape routes are gradually cut off as events spiral towards madness. Hell—or the closest thing to it—invades Little Heaven. The remaining occupants are forced to take a stand and fight back, but whatever has cast its dark eye on Little Heaven is now marshaling its powers…and it wants them all. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999) by Stephen King On a six-mile hike on the Maine-New Hampshire branch of the Appalachian Trail, nine-year-old Trisha McFarland quickly tires of the constant bickering between her older brother, Pete, and her recently divorced mother. But when she wanders off by herself and then tries to catch up by attempting a shortcut, she becomes lost in a wilderness maze full of peril and terror. As night falls, Trisha has only her ingenuity as a defense against the elements, and only her courage and faith to withstand her mounting fears. For solace, she tunes her Walkman to broadcasts of Boston Red Sox baseball games and follows the gritty performances of her hero, relief pitcher Tom Gordon. And when her radio’s reception begins to fade, Trisha imagines that Tom Gordon is with her – protecting her from an all-too-real enemy who has left a trail of slaughtered animals and mangled trees in the dense, dark woods… Thornhedge (2023) by T. Kingfisher There’s a princess trapped in a tower. This isn’t her story. Meet Toadling. On the day of her birth, she was stolen from her family by the fairies, but she grew up safe and loved in the warm waters of faerieland. Once an adult though, the fae ask a favor of Toadling: return to the human world and offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child. Simple, right? But nothing with fairies is ever simple. Centuries later, a knight approaches a towering wall of brambles, where the thorns are as thick as your arm and as sharp as swords. He’s heard there’s a curse here that needs breaking, but it’s a curse Toadling will do anything to uphold… The Beach (mysteries best read on the beach) Rum Punch (1992) by Elmore Leonard Ordell Robbie makes a fine living selling illegal high-powered weaponry to the wrong people. Jackie Burke couriers Ordell’s profits from Freeport to Miami. But the feds are on to Jackie – and now the aging, but still hot, flight attendant will have to do prison time or play ball, which makes her a prime ‘loose end’ that Ordell needs to tie up … permanently. Jackie, however, has other plans. And with the help of Max Cherry – an honest but disgruntled bail bondsman looking to get out – she could even end up with a serious nest egg in the process. The Lost Girls of Penzance (2023) by Sally Rigby Detective Lauren Pengelly has only been part of the Penzance police force for less than two years, but that’s enough time to know that the sleepy Cornish town doesn’t see many murders. So, when the bones of a woman with a hole in her skull are discovered behind a derelict cottage, she immediately assumes the worst. Fortune Favors the Dead (2020) by Stephen Spotswood It’s 1942 and Willowjean “Will” Parker is a scrappy circus runaway whose knife-throwing skills have just saved the life of New York’s best, and most unorthodox, private investigator, Lillian Pentecost. When the dapper detective summons Will a few days later, she doesn’t expect to be offered a life-changing proposition: Lillian’s multiple sclerosis means she can’t keep up with her old case load alone, so she wants to hire Will to be her right-hand woman. In return, Will is to receive a salary, room and board, and training in Lillian’s very particular art of investigation. The City (books to read on vacation in a city) The Indifferent Stars Above (2009) by Daniel J. Brown In April of 1846, twenty-one-year-old Sarah Graves, intent on a better future, set out west from Illinois with her new husband, her parents, and eight siblings. Seven months later, after joining a party of emigrants led by George Donner, they reached the Sierra Nevada Mountains as the first heavy snows of the season closed the pass ahead of them. In early December, starving and desperate, Sarah and fourteen others set out for California on snowshoes and, over the next thirty-two days, endured almost unfathomable hardships and horrors. In this gripping narrative, Daniel James Brown sheds new light on one of the most infamous events in American history. Following every painful footstep of Sarah’s journey with the Donner Party, Brown produces a tale both spellbinding and richly informative. The Library Book (2018) by Susan Orlean On the morning of April 29, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. As the moments passed, the patrons and staff who had been cleared out of the building realized this was not the usual fire alarm. As one fireman recounted, “Once that first stack got going, it was ‘Goodbye, Charlie.’” The fire was disastrous: it reached 2000 degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. Investigators descended on the scene, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library—and if so, who? The City We Became (2020) by NK Jemisin Five New Yorkers must come together in order to defend their city. Every city has a soul. Some are as ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York City? She’s got five. But every city also has a dark side. A roiling, ancient evil stirs beneath the earth, threatening to destroy the city and her five protectors unless they can come together and stop it once and for all. Staycation (books to help you dream of where to go next) Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1994) by John Berendt Shots rang out in Savannah’s grandest mansion in the misty, early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. John Berendt’s narrative reads like a thoroughly engrossing novel, and yet it is a work of nonfiction. Berendt interweaves a first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case. My Brilliant Friend (2011) by Elena Ferrante A modern masterpiece from one of Italy’s most acclaimed authors, My Brilliant Friend is a rich, intense and generous-hearted story about two friends, Elena and Lila. Ferrante’s inimitable style lends itself perfectly to a meticulous portrait of these two women that is also the story of a nation and a touching meditation on the nature of friendship. Through the lives of these two women, Ferrante tells the story of a neighborhood, a city and a country as it is transformed in ways that, in turn, also transform the relationship between her two protagonists. The Travels of Marco Polo (1298) by Marco Polo Marco Polo (1254-1329) has achieved an almost archetypal status as a traveler, and his Travels is one of the first great travel books of Western literature, outside the ancient world. The Travels recounts Polo’s journey to the eastern court of Kublai Khan, the chieftain of the Mongol empire which covered the Asian continent, but which was almost unknown to Polo’s contemporaries. Encompassing a twenty-four year period from 1271, Polo’s account details his travels in the service of the empire, from Beijing to northern India and ends with the remarkable story of Polo’s return voyage from the Chinese port of Amoy to the Persian Gulf. Alternately factual and fantastic, Polo’s prose at once reveals the medieval imagination’s limits, and captures the wonder of subsequent travel writers when faced with the unfamiliar, the exotic or the unknown. All of the books I have listed above are available in the Monarch catalog, often in a variety of formats. For additional summer book recommendations, please consider using Mead’s Your Next Five Books service. Not feeling up to a book today? We also offer movie recommendations here: Your Next Five Movies. Before I moved to Sheboygan I had to commute to work. I had about a 40 minute drive at the time. I fought the boredom of the long drive by listening to audio books on CD. I had been getting into mysteries and knew that Agatha Christie was one of the big names in that genre. My journey began by picking up The Mysterious Affair at Styles (narrated by Hugh Fraser, who stars as Hastings in the Poirot TV show.) From that mystery I was hooked and needed more of the little Belgian detective and his excitable sidekick. After moving to Sheboygan a few years ago I switched from audiobook to paperback, the voices from the audio series still in my head for the various main characters. I finally came to the end of my journey with Hercule Poirot this past week with finishing the final book: Curtain. What a worthy ending to a great series and brilliant detective! The Hercule Poirot Series by Agatha Christie Agatha Christie started writing her Poirot series in 1916 and had the first novel published in 1920. While the series is of the mystery genre it is fascinating as it provides a window into the time period it was written in. The series kicks off with Captain Hastings coming home with a war injury. WWI and WWII are not the focus of the books, but the impact of the wars are clearly seen throughout the series. From a historical standpoint it is interesting to get a glimpse of how WWII was affecting the English people as they tried to continue with their daily lives. This is most clearly shown in the title Taken at the Flood in which Poirot casually waits in a bomb shelter during a raid and listens to a stranger discuss a suspicious death. The series continues into the 1960’s where they provide a glimpse into the changing times and culture of that era. As I enjoy historical fiction as well, I found this element to be just as engaging as they mysteries themselves. The mysteries kept me guessing from beginning to end. If you are a fan of mysteries like myself, you probably find yourself trying to solve it before the detective by the end. As for this series, just when I thought I had the system figured out, there would be some huge twist that I certainly was not expecting. If you are a fan of twist endings the book I most recommend in this series is The Murder of Roger Ackroyd as I believe that book had the biggest twist of the lot. As for the characters, after the first book it felt as if they were already friends I had known for ages. Captain Hastings is young. He has a hopeless romantic personality and always tries to see the bright side of life. He is Poirot’s best friend and sidekick in the early books. In the later books Poirot meets Ariadne Oliver, the author of a mystery fiction series. She is also a lot of fun and has a quirky personality. Due to her fame as a writer of mystery fiction in the series, she ends up getting caught up in real murder mysteries and often has to come seek out Poirot for help. Hercule Poirot is of course the main hero of the series. He is a short Belgian detective who is known for his impressive mustache. He believes that any mystery can be solved by “using the little grey cells”. A student of psychology and the study of human nature, Poirot uses this to figure out the connections and motives in cases. It is interesting to see how the human mind works from his point of view. He has a very analytical mind which often plays against Hastings’ more fantastic theories. Poirot is a very immaculate person with an obsession for symmetry. These quirks provide often needed humor and serve to make him a rather endearing character in addition to helping him notice anything suspiciously out of place while solving a crime. I started trying to compile a list of favorite titles to share in this article. Going back over each book I realized that I loved almost all of them. Elephants Can Remember seemed perhaps the weakest of them as Poirot did not seem to be in it as much as I would have liked. However that title comes right at the end before Curtain. Curtain, being the last novel, finished the series with a bang! (No pun intended). I was very satisfied with the ending and felt Agatha Christie did right by her characters and the series to wrap it up in the way she did. Now that I have finished the book series I have been binge watching the TV show Poirot staring David Suchet and Hugh Fraser. I find it to be just as good as the books! There have also been three new movies based on Poirot books (A Haunting in Venice VERY loosely based.). The movies star Kenneth Branagh. You can also listen to Agatha Christie’s Poirot series on audio. When I first started searching for audio, I found there are a few different voice narrators. I recommend finding the set narrated by Hugh Fraser. He does the best in doing the various voices and pulling the reader into the story. Of course, you can also find all the titles in book format at the library or through our online catalogue. Happy reading! Hercule Poirot books in order: 1. The Mysterious Affair at Styles 2. The Murder on the Links 3. Poirot Investigates 4. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd 5. The Big Four 6. The Mystery of the Blue Train 7. Black Coffee 8. Peril At End House 9. Lord Edgware Dies 10. Murder on the Orient Express 11. Three Act Tragedy 12. Death in the Clouds 13. The ABC Murders 14. Murder in Mesopotamia 15. Cards on the Table 16. Dumb Witness 17. Death on the Nile 18. Murder in the Mews 19. Appointment With Death 20. Hercule Poirot’s Christmas 21. Sad Cypress 22. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe 23. Evil Under the Sun 24. Five Little Pigs 25. The Hollow 26. The Labors of Hercules 27. Taken at the Flood 28. Mrs. Mcginty’s Dead 29. After the Funeral 30. Hickory Dickory Dock 31. Dead Man’s Folly 32. Cat Among the Pigeons 33. The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding only in audio CD format in the catalog 34. The Clocks 35. Third Girl 36. Hallowe’en Party 37. Elephants Can Remember 38. Curtain Continue reading “Adventures and Murder with Hercule Poirot” → Have you taken a look at Kanopy lately? There is so much great content I can barely make up my mind when it comes to choosing something to watch. Below, I listed several dynamic pictures to suit many tastes and aesthetics. Gather your friends, your family, and the snacks you love. Pull on your jim jams, get comfy, and enjoy the miracle of light that is moving pictures. Classic movie night: The Outlaw (1943) starring Jane Russel and directed by Howard Hughes This is a Billy the Kid story, but the only thing people remember about this movie is Hughes’ supposedly engineered a bra to make sure Russel’s prominent chest was as chesty as a chest could ever boob. While Hughes may have applied his airplane smarts to brassiere design, the resulting garment was uncomfortable to the point of excessive pain. Russel would wear a regular bra and tell Hughes she was fitted in the monstrosity of his design. He wasn’t going to check, after all. No, I do not care if this story is apocryphal. The Stranger (1946) written, directed by, and starring Orson Welles One of Welles’ lesser known, but greatly enjoyable noir pictures. Welles plays a former Nazi supervillain who has disguised himself as a small New England town boy’s school teacher. He has to do a murder real quick to hide his true identity, which attracts the attention of a tenacious Edward G. Robinson, a man who prosecutes war criminals for the UN. A tense and entertaining game of cat and mouse ensues. Sunset Boulevard (1950) starring Gloria Swanson and directed by Billy Wilder I don’t think it’s hyperbolic to call this one of the great pictures of the 20th century. We see the herald of old Hollywood colliding with new that wouldn’t actually happen for another 20 years. Here, the narrative is driven by the effects of film transitioning from silent to talkies a further 20 years prior. Blink and you’ll miss “wax work” stars like Buster Keaton and H.B. Warner portraying themselves. Eric Von Stroheim, the legendary and unfairly maligned silent picture director, stuns as Norma Desmond’s protective manservant. Mark your calendars and join the Movie Club discussion of this film at 8th Street Ale Haus on Thursday, August 15 2024. Family movie night: The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) directed by Lotte Reiniger Gorgeous, meticulous animation using cut paper techniques of the Victorians. This may be slightly slow-moving for the very littles, but could be a good show to put on when it’s winding down to sleepy time. The Water Horse (2007) directed by Jay Russell Delightful fantasy adventure with lots of cryptid action. This is based on a book of the same name by author Dick King-Smith. Wouldn’t it be fun to read this book as a family before you watch the movie? You could compare and contrast and decide which you like better and why. Kedi: The Cats of an Ancient City (2016) directed by Ceyda Torun Enflame your family’s itch to travel with this charmer. The ancient city of Istanbul is famous for its numerous stray cats who are cared for by many but owned by none. Learn the reason why as the filmmaker follows seven different cats throughout their respective days. Horror movie night: Battle Royale (2000) directed by Kinji Fukasaku This is not a horror movie in the same vein as say, your Friday the 13ths or your Paranormal Activities or whatever, but it IS horrific. The film begins with a bus full of Japanese school kids getting gassed. They awake on an island, surrounded by various weapons. The group learns that only one person will be allowed to leave the island, and they have to do so by killing everyone else. Sometimes these high-concept films lose momentum or have muddy plots, but Battle Royale is as sharp and deadly in action and dialogue as the day it came out. Super creepy, exciting, and unforgettable. This is based on a very successful book of the same name. House on Haunted Hill (1959) starring Vincent Price and directed by William Castle This little oddball is an incredible cultural time capsule. Watch it straight on Kanopy to appreciate the scenery-chewing of a marvelous Vincent Price and the campy special effects. After that, check out this Rifftrax DVD. Rifftrax is where the boys from Mystery Science Theater 3000 took their brand of movie house heckling after the original cable show got canceled. They are joined by a razor sharp and always hilarious Paul F. Tompkins as they heckle, lampoon, mock, and adore House on Haunted Hill. Night of the Living Dead (1968) directed by George Romero This film is foundational to almost all other horror movies to follow. The low budget thrills are still effective, and often shocking. Tom Savini did a remake in 1990, and his monster makeup effects are so good you can practically smell them (so, SO glad you cannot). The remake also addresses the weakest aspect of the original: Barbara’s ineffectiveness. The 1990 Barbara takes action against the ravening hordes and is such a total badass. Original Barbara is panicking and weak when she’s not outright catatonic. This diminishes my personal enjoyment of Romero’s otherwise extremely entertaining film, but then again I have seen it approximately five thousand times. Wildcard night: In the Heat of the Night (1967) starring Rod Steiger and Sidney Poitier I recently read the excellent and extraordinary 2008 book Pictures at a Revolution by Mark Harris. The author does a deep dive into how the five 1968 Best Picture nominees came to be and what they signified for Hollywood’s trajectory. It made me feel desperate to re-watch In the Heat of the Night, which won the Best Picture Oscar of that year, so imagine my delight when I found it streaming on Kanopy, and not a single other streaming service for free. Hot Rod (2007) starring Andy Samberg and directed by Akiva Shaffer The character of Hot Rod is himself, a wild card. Turn your brain off and let your mouth go slack. Let those silly Lonely Island boys take you on an adventure so unusual, many of the principal actors said they “did not understand” what the movie was about up to and past its release date. Rumble in the Bronx (1995) starring Jackie Chan Have you ever heard of a cooler movie title?! This was Jackie Chan’s breakout crossover hit for American audiences. He’d already been making movies in Hong Kong for like 20 years up to this point, and this is one of his best. Known for mind-boggling action pieces, and tightly choreographed fight sequences, it’s not hard to understand how this picture won over American audiences and increased the already blazing light of Chan’s international celebrity. All of the films I mentioned above are available for checkout on Kanopy as of April 26th, 2024, but may be subject to change over time as the lineup can shift from month to month. In fact, when I REALLY can’t make up my mind about what I would like to watch, I go to the “leaving this month” category and choose something I won’t have access to for long. I think the urgency helps me make a choice. I linked each title to the Monarch catalog DVD listing, if one prefers physical media. Click the link to see the listing which also tends to include a brief description. Still not finding something you’re excited to watch? Please consider using Mead’s Your Next Five Movies service by clicking HERE. Share some of your favorites with us and we’ll send you five movie titles you might love. We are always happy, nay, THRILLED to help people find the library material they love whether it’s books, movies, music or something else. Baking tool collection, anyone? One thing I love about working as a librarian is the ability to provide classic services and programs. It doesn’t get much classic-er than the good ol’ book club. We here at Mead run a variety of book clubs to suit an array of tastes and interests. We also provide circulating book kits (six to twelve copies of one title) available for public checkout. Below, I listed a few book club themes along with some titles that would make for excellent discussions in each category. Mystery Club Mead already has a fantastic mystery book club called Moonlight and Murder. Meetings occur every other month at The Black Pig. It’s a long-established group that even COVID could not defeat. Since mysteries are my main jam, I thought it couldn’t hurt to list some of the best books in this genre that I’ve encountered lately. The mystery titles I picked are highly sought-after new releases that all came out within the last year. None of This is True (2023) by Lisa Jewell; excellent use of the unreliable narrator trope. I had to read this as fast as possible or I would have lost my mind. Bright Young Women (2023) by Jessica Knoll; a feminist and fictionalized account of a famous 1979 Florida sorority house murder spree that focuses on the victims and not the booger-eating alcoholic dipshit who committed the crimes. Important AND infuriating. The Frozen River (2023) by Ariel Lawhon; easily one of the best books I have read in the past 10 years. It’s based on the real-life diaries of 18th century midwife Martha Ballard. Her diary is in circulation, too. Books featuring elements of pregnancy and childbirth are usually off-putting to me, but this was different. This made me feel how powerful we can be as women, and reminded me not to take for granted all the gains we’ve made socially, politically, and professionally over the intervening two hundred years. The Teacher (2024) by Freida McFadden; if you’re not familiar with McFadden’s brand of bonkers, you are in for a treat. In this book, everyone is making terrible choices all the time and no one is very likable, which makes the comeuppance all the more delicious. Messy messy messy. Film Criticism Club I run a movie club. It’s awesome. We watch a movie on our own and come together to discuss as a group, just like a book club. Join us at 8th Street Ale Haus third Thursdays to see what I mean. Film is a particular interest of mine, and I have been encountering more and more film writing and criticism when I prepare for a movie club meeting. This list represents some high points of film writing from over the last few decades, while still being accessible to popular audiences. Doesn’t that sound like a fun book club? I KNOW!!!!! Life Itself: a Memoir (2011) by Roger Ebert; I love him. I LOVE HIM. Fascinating man living through fascinating times. The passages about trying to interview Robert Mitchum made me laugh so hard I cried, and that’s just the first thing that comes to mind. The world is a poorer place without my beloved Ebert. “Movies are like a machine that generates empathy.” Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of New Hollywood (2008) by Mark Harris; inventive breakdown that uses the five 1967 Best Picture nominees- Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner; The Graduate; In the Heat of the Night; Doctor Doolittle; and Bonnie and Clyde to examine the transition from Old Hollywood to New that came to pass in the late 1960s. For Keeps (1994) by Pauline Kael; one of the more important and original voices in 20th century film criticism. Her opinions often contradicted prevalent voices of the day. She was famous for only ever watching a picture once before reviewing it. Cinema Speculation (2022) by Quentin Tarantino; it doesn’t matter how you feel about his oeuvre, this man loves movies and his enthusiasm only serves the medium. Tarantino literally grew up in Los Angeles movie houses when his mother started bringing him along at the age of seven in 1970. He formats this book into ten chapters, one for each year of the 1970s, and focuses on one film for each year as a departure point to expound on. YA Book Club, but for adults About one out of four books I read could be considered Young Adult. This genre label is more useful as a tool to identify reading level as opposed to quality, with the understanding that reading really is ageless. Some among us have knee-jerk reactions to material produced for a younger audience, but fellas, y’all are missing out when avoiding YA and juvenile material. The books I listed are all titles I encountered as a whole adult. Most shattered me emotionally, in the best way possible (looking at you, The Outsiders). Another thing they all have in common are killer plotlines, accessible prose, and relatable depictions of memorable characters. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (1990) by Avi; o! To be a 13-year-old girl matching wits with an amoral ship’s captain on the high seas in the mid-19th century! The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999) by Stephen Chbosky; remember what it was like to feel ugly, vulnerable, beautiful, and powerful all at once? This story helps to remember. The Outsiders (1967) by S.E. Hinton; this book made me sob real tears. What a beautiful story, which still resonates with readers old and new, fifty years later. Ghost (2016) by Jason Reynolds; part one of the Track series. If I had the time and inclination I would assign all four volumes of this series for an adult book discussion. Each novella highlights one of four members of a junior high track team, and each stands alone as narratives. The real magic lies within the intertwining and deepening of the stories with each successive installment. If you haven’t read any Jason Reynolds at all yet, what are you even doing? One of the best YA writers in all the land, maybe ever. Horror Book Club At one time I thought I did not like horror fiction, but then I saw some best-of lists, and it turns out I have read a lot of horror fiction. Once I realized my affinity for the genre, I started cultivating my own best-of list. Mead does not have a horror book club! Maybe you should start one! Here are some of my favorites that could work great in a book club scenario: My Heart is a Chainsaw (2021) by Stephen Graham Jones; this truly upsetting love letter to slasher films is proof positive that Jones is one of the foremost voices in modern horror lit. Lots to discuss here, from treatment of indigenous people to family dynamics and mental health. Don’t worry, the library owns most of the slasher movies mentioned in this book. Ring Shout (2020) by P. Djeli Clark; what if the racist 1915 film Birth of a Nation caused actual demons to walk the earth? This book freaked me out bad, but in the hands of a writer as talented as Clark, it was tough to put down. The Hollow Places (2020) by T. Kingfisher; this author is a particular favorite of mine, so I write about her a lot. Kingfisher has a way of tilting the world off kilter just so. Atmospheric, humorous, and unexpectedly gooey at times (I mean like, people turn into goo, not emotionally-speaking), no one does horror like this. How to Sell a Haunted House (2023) by Grady Hendrix; this guy has been cranking out bangers since 2016’s My Best Friend’s Exorcism. In How to Sell a Haunted House, Hendrix brings actual scares and dread to his take on grief portrayed as a haunted house. Most of the work in his back catalog would work great for a book club discussion, too. Honorable mention YA/Horror Book Club crossover: Clown in a Cornfield (2020) by Adam Cesare; thinly veiled criticism of the MAGA crowd that imagines what would happen if conservatives straight up started murdering people they didn’t align with politically. Super violent and grody, this book practically has a smell to it. Despite all that, it is such a lot of fun to read if you love slasher fiction as much as I do. While I personally dislike reading on a schedule (hence running movie club which only cuts into two hours of my leisure time as opposed to several), many thrive on it. My goal was to provide a starting point and some solid book picks for those who are interested in running their own book group. Figure out a venue and some snacks, and a charming evening awaits. Don’t want to start your own book group? Consider attending one of ours. Click the links to see current book picks (as of March 28, 2024), meeting locations, and timings: Non-Fiction Book Discussion; second Mondays In the Weeds Book Club; second Thursdays Fiction Book Discussion Group; third Mondays Maywood Nature-Based Book Club; first Saturdays Sheboygan County LGBTQ Alliance Book Club; first Thursdays Moonlight and Murder; every other fourth Wednesday Romance on the Rocks; every other fourth Wednesday Book to Art Club; second Thursdays Movie Club; third Thursdays What is your deepest-held reading habit? Mine is that I don’t force myself to power through any book that I am not enjoying. My to-be-read list is several hundred books deep, so why would I waste my leisure time struggling? Below, I listed several books that many, many, many other readers loved with their whole hearts, but I personally could not bear, and what I would read instead. Proceed with caution as I included some light spoilers. The Moonstone (1868) by Wilkie Collins Why I thought I would enjoy this book: This doorstop of a novel is often considered the first English-language detective story. I love mystery fiction above all genres and I like to spend time looking for and reading titles that are considered ground-breaking or otherwise important to the genre. What went wrong: Books written over one hundred years ago often contain outdated and offensive language that would have been common at the time, or certainly not considered shocking. The titular Moonstone is an object of value taken by theft from a rich Indian household during the British Raj. People from India are depicted throughout the book in a racist light, which ruined any enjoyment of the actual plot and non-stereotyped characters. I wasn’t too hot with the depiction of women, either. Save yourself ten hours of reading and look up the Wikipedia plot summary. Please do not tell my library school professors that I told you to do this. Classic detective fiction I would rather read: The Winteringham Murder (1927) by Anthony Berkeley The Thin Man (1933) by Dashiel Hammet A Rage in Harlem (1957) by Chester Himes The Honjin Murders (1946) by Seishi Yokomizo NOS4A2 (2013) by Joe Hill Why I thought I would enjoy this book: Joe Hill has horror pedigree. He’s Stephen King’s son for one thing, and several of his books routinely appear on “best horror novel” lists. I like vampire stories, and Hill’s take on the genre was intriguing. What went wrong: Although I have read my fair share of skin-crawling horror novels, there was something about the tension running throughout this book that kept my ears up around my shoulders for DAYS after I put the book down for good. This happened at a point in the story in which the protagonist has a retrograde moment after years of progress from dealing with an unnamable supernatural evil, and my poor little heart could not take the suspense. This should be understood as a resounding endorsement of the book. What I would rather read instead: The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires (2020) by Grady Hendrix ‘Salem’s Lot (1975) by Stephen King What Moves the Dead (2022) by T. Kingfisher I am Legend (1954) by Richard Matheson Bigfoot and the Librarian (2019) by Linda Winstead Jones Why I thought I would enjoy this book: A librarian moves to a rural area for work and begins to discover her service area is populated with actual bigfoots and other mythical creatures. Hilarity/inappropriate romance ensues. What went wrong: Being a librarian my own self, it was obvious to me that the author was not of my cohort, and did not understand libraries or librarians. The protagonist was short, so she was fixated on wearing heels and at one time implied only unintelligent women eat carbs. Firstly, I’ve worked in libraries for a total of seven years, and I can assure you that our preferred footwear is geared toward comfort rather than style. Secondly, oh please piss off with your anti-carb food gatekeeping. Everyone knows carbs are the tastiest foods, don’t you dare tell me otherwise. Books featuring libraries and librarians I would rather read: The Secret, Book, & Scone Society (2017) by Ellery Adams The Librarian of Crooked Lane (2022) by C.J. Archer The Name of the Rose (1980) by Umberto Eco The Woman in the Library (2022) by Sulari Gentill The Woods are Always Watching (2021) by Stephanie Perkins Why I thought I would enjoy this book: Stephanie Perkins’ 2017 title There’s Someone Inside Your House was a tight, creepy, effective teen slasher novel that I really enjoyed. It’s also a fun title to shriek at your friends. Try it, you’ll like it. This led me to believe the 2021 followup The Woods are Always Watching would be more of the same. Plus, I love books with spooky woods shit. What went wrong: Both teen girl protagonists were insufferable. So insufferable, in fact, that I decided to look up the plot summary on Wikipedia (as I do) to determine if the initial aggravation was worth it. It turned out that a major plot point involves one of the insufferable girls falling into a hole in the woods and breaking her leg. This mattered a lot to me, because I had suffered a pretty bad leg break days before I picked up this book. Reading about someone else’s pain and trauma did not sound like the light-hearted escapism I needed, so this book went straight into my DNF pile. What I would recommend instead for those who also enjoy stories with spooky woods shit: Small Spaces (2018) by Katherine Arden Near the Bone (2021) by Christina Henry (TW for domestic abuse and cryptids) The Box in the Woods (2021) by Maureen Johnson The Twisted Ones (2019) and The Hollow Places (2020) by T. Kingfisher (I REALLY like her) Mistborn (2006) by Brandon Sanderson Why I thought I would enjoy this book: Sanderson is a big name in fantasy fiction, and several of my workmates adore his oeuvre. An informal survey pointed towards this series as a good entry point to Sanderson’s deep back catalog. What went wrong: Before the Sanderson stans come after me with their pitchforks and torches, please understand that I can DNF a book and still understand its cultural and historical import; see The Moonstone above. Perhaps Lord of the Rings ruined me for all other high fantasy, but I simply could not muster the enthusiasm needed to care about the rag-tag group of underdogs and the Very Special Boy at the center of the story. Fantasy books I would rather read instead: Sorcerer to the Crown (2015) by Zen Cho Ring Shout (2020) by P. Djeli Clark Pet (2019) by Akwaeke Emezi Middlegame (2019) by Seanan McGuire Dial A for Aunties (2021) by Jesse Q. Sutanto Why I thought I would enjoy this book: I was looking forward to this one. The premise reads like Weekend at Bernie’s meets Crazy Rich Asians; what could go wrong? What went wrong: One major trope I despise in any of the media I consume are circumstances that would never happen if at least one person involved were an effective communicator. Incredibly unappealing trope. This book was full of these situations from top to bottom. Although the characters are admittedly charming, I could not cope with the screwball nature of it all. What I would prefer to read instead: The Stranger Diaries (2018) by Elly Griffiths Arsenic and Adobo (2021) by Mia P. Manansala The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches (2022) by Sangu Mandanna The Guncle (2021) by Steven Rowley Hey, maybe you are the kind of reader who enjoys difficulty or discomfort while you read. I know John Waters is this type of reader, and I really respect his approach (check out his fantastic collection of essays, Role Models, to learn what I mean. Audio copy available in Hoopla). And that’s cool, I do not judge the hows and the whys surrounding individual reading habits. It’s if you don’t read at all, that’s when I start to reassess one’s character. If none of the above books come across as appealing, and you are still unsure what to read next, you’re in luck. Consider utilizing Mead’s book recommendation service Your Next Five Books and/or our brand new Your Next Five Movies tool. We usually respond within a few days with a list of books/movies you might love. Call us at 920-459-3400 option 4 for additional book pick help, or for help requesting materials.
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Times	https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-caw-dark-passages21-2008dec21-story.html	Earlier this fall, the small press publisher Academy Chicago did what publishers seem to do every few years: re-release the first two books in a series by an American writer named Earl DerrBiggers (1884-1933). That seems like a remarkable occurrence for one of the Golden Age’s lesser-known authors of detective fiction, but Biggers is an example of a writer subsumed by his creation, all but forgotten as his main character inspires a cultural shift that’s both good and bad. Up until the mid-1920s, Biggers wrote well-received and popular novels such as “Seven Keys to Baldpate” (1913), adapted several times for the silver screen and given regards to Broadway by George M. Cohan. Then a chance encounter with a newspaper article while on vacation in Hawaii introduced Biggers to the horsewhip-carrying, scar-inflected, Chinese American police detective Chang Apana, whose fluency in several languages and frequent (if unorthodox) crime-solving proved to be just the creative catalyst Biggers needed. And so, Charlie Chan was born, approximately 80 pages into “A House Without a Key” (1925), and proved so popular he returned for five more adventures, starting in 1927 with “The Chinese Parrot.” It’s hard to separate the book version of Charlie Chan from the myriad of spinoffs in film, television, radio and even comics, whose collected oeuvre has come under a great deal of fire for playing up stereotypes and casting white actors such as Warner Oland (of Swedish descent) and Sidney Toler as the detective. But going back to the novels is a pleasant surprise: Sure, Biggers prefers to extol Chan’s kind and saintly virtues -- not to mention his penchant for mangling English language aphorisms -- instead of using the harder-boiled source material of Apana’s life and background. But the early Chan novels combine solid entertainment value with a quest, however misguided, to portray both Hawaii’s culture and Asian Americans’ place within said culture in a positive light. Many decades would pass, however, until good intentions matched execution. John P. Marquand’s Depression-era novels featuring Japanese secret agent Mr. Moto were an immediate sensation but traffic more in stereotype and likely won’t be back in print anytime soon. Several novels by Harry Stephen Keeler involve Asian characters or settings but are remembered less for them than for the author’s wildly pyrotechnic writing style. And Robert van Gulik made use of the prism of history for his 7th century-era detective Judge Dee to get around issues of cultural appropriation. More authentic (if not always sympathetic) portrayals of Asian Americans are in abundance today, due in large part to increased interest in crime fiction set outside traditional borders. New York’s Chinatown teems with life and mayhem in S.J. Rozan’s P.I. novels featuring Lydia Chin (who returns after several years’ absence in “The Shanghai Moon,” published in February) and Henry Chang’s two novels starring homicide detective Jack Yu, whose exploits in “The Year of the Dog” (Soho, 244 pp., $23.95) mine far darker streets than Charlie Chan ever traveled. The door’s also kicked open to a slew of top-notch crime fiction set in Asia proper, especially China. Before Lisa See’s name became a bestselling staple with “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan,” she penned a trilogy of detective novels exploring U.S.-China relations as seen through the eyes of her cop heroine, Liu Hulan. Diane Wei Liang turns the private investigator trope on its ear with “The Eye of Jade” (Simon & Schuster: 256 pp., $24.95) by exploring the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square massacre. And Qiu Xialong’s Inspector Chen, due to reappear in March in “The Mao Case,” must navigate China’s often-inexplicable bureaucracy to perform his job even adequately. Thailand, Taiwan, Japan and Malaysia yield additional superior crime fiction titles too numerous to name. That brings us to Inspector Jian, the mercurial, morally ambiguous detective thrown into one perilous situation after another in Simon Lewis’ outstanding thriller debut, “Bad Traffic” (Scribner: 380 pp., $24). The impetus for leaving his native China is to look for his daughter, a university student gone missing in rural Scotland, setting up a classic fish-out-of-water story: “Back home Jian had rank and status and was used to people rushing to do his bidding. But he was nothing here, just a nuisance. If he wanted things done, he’d have to do them himself.” What Jian has to do is descend into the once-secret world of human trafficking, a milieu Lewis depicts in harrowing detail. There is a disaffected youth, a psychopath adept at pulling the puppet strings of the desperate and a young English-speaking illegal named Ding Ming, who will serve as Jian’s guide even as he’s staying only a stutter-step ahead of his smugglers, who want money and his life to boot. “Bad Traffic” is a rabbit-hole that a reader is willingly sucked into, its fast pace and staccato style a preliminary enticement to deeper insights into the changing nature of Chinese mores. When thinking of his educated daughter, Jian wonders, “Was there ever such a gilded generation as the urban Chinese born in the Eighties? Their whole lives they had surfed the edge of a glorious wave of progress. . . . For them, the world could be trusted to just keep on delivering the goods. They had known nothing but bounty, so there was something green about them. They were as alien as foreigners.” This sense of entitlement was built on the backs of those surviving the wreckage of the Cultural Revolution, where those in power like Inspector Jian humiliated intellectuals in the name of Mao. But when ideology disappears, all that’s left to believe in is “love and money, and you’d better have one or the other.” But Jian’s nihilism may manifest itself in steeling himself up to kill regardless of consequence, but it is exactly those consequences -- the fate of his daughter -- that allows for personification. The scarred contemporary landscape of China created his veneer, but having to function in the greater existential nightmare of a Western world is what restores Jian’s humanity, little by little.
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"https://ahsweetmystery.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/cropped-cropped-cropped-lord-peter-wimsey-gideon-fell-jules-maigret-sherlock-holmes-charlie-chan-ellery-queen-jane-marple-father-brown-auguste-dupin-hercule-poirot-nero-wolfe-1.jpg?w=50", "https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?v=noscript" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2021-01-10T00:00:00	Growing up, I watched so much television that it’s a wonder I can form words into sentences. Today, with cable and streaming services, we have access to four hundred options at any given minute, and yet all too often I find there’s nothing to watch. In the 1960’s, we had six or seven stations to…	en	https://ahsweetmystery.c…wolfe-1.jpg?w=32	Ah Sweet Mystery!	https://ahsweetmystery.com/2021/01/10/midnight-lace-or-you-cant-go-home-again/	Growing up, I watched so much television that it’s a wonder I can form words into sentences. Today, with cable and streaming services, we have access to four hundred options at any given minute, and yet all too often I find there’s nothing to watch. In the 1960’s, we had six or seven stations to choose from – all for free, by the way – and I couldn’t get enough. Now, it’s true that I was a child and my tastes were much, er, broader than they are today. My readers know how much I loved Perry Mason, but I was just as happy with The Beverly Hillbillies or Time Tunnel. Oh, and I was crazy about old movies, especially Universal horror films, Charlie Chan mysteries, and those old house thrillers. My parents knew how much I watched, but they also knew that I got my homework done and managed to also be an inveterate reader. (Honestly, they used to be so many more hours in the day.) Thus, my folks adopted pretty much a laissez faire attitude regarding my viewing choices. Well, my mom did, but it drove my father crazy if he caught me watching anything featuring two actresses. The first was Shirley Temple. I loved Shirley Temple movies with a passion. Still do, if you must know. I can sing along with any tune she performed as a child star, although I tend to love the songs that introduced by other players, like Alice Faye, Jack Haley, and George Murphy. Maybe my dad thought the films too “girly?” I thought they were wonderful. I still do. The other actor my dad couldn’t stand, for some reason, was Doris Day. When I was younger, I really enjoyed her musicals. My parents had an album called Day in Hollywood, and I memorized it. As time went on, and I had a chance to watch the films that had featured these songs, I realized that there was something about Day’s sunny disposition that relaxed a very nervous kid like me. Doris Day had wanted to be a dancer, but an injury changed her plans. She sang with big bands and then debuted in movies in 1948’s Romance on the High Seas. It’s not a very good picture, and she’s not even the star, but after she sings “It’s Magic” in the movie, she’s the one you remember. She was maybe the biggest musical comedy star of the 1950’s, but she never took on the big Broadway roles, settling instead for original movie plots. Nowadays, I don’t think I can sit through most of the musicals I used to adore, although I would gladly watch Calamity Jane over and over. What interests me most about Day is that she wouldn’t settle for the niche in which she so comfortably fit and branched out into drama. Her most indelible role for me is as Jo McKenna in Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much. If you have ever doubted Day’s skill as an actress, two scenes from this film will change your mind. The first is when James Stewart, as her husband, insists his wife take a tranquilizer before he will tell her some important news – that their son has been kidnapped. The second is a wordless scene in a symphony hall where Jo has to decide if she will allow an assassin to do his work and thus save her son. The story goes that Day grew quite neurotic making this film because her director never gave her a word of praise. She finally confronted him, and he explained that he would have let her know if she was doing anything wrong. In fact, he very much liked her performance and saw that she was made for thrillers. Ah, but then came Midnight Lace. I just re-watched this film for the first time in many years. It’s the only other suspense film I’ve seen her in (the other famous one, Julie, a noir made in 1956, the same year as The Man Who Knew Too Much was a success for her but remains unseen by me), and as a kid I liked it very much. We all know that sometimes we can go years without seeing something and then when we finally return to it, it doesn’t pack the same punch as it used to do. Would that happen to me with Midnight Lace? Well, yes and no. Context is everything. The last time I watched this movie, I hadn’t taught film studies for twenty years. I wasn’t as well-versed in the patterns and predilections of mystery/suspense films. I just knew what I liked. Like so many before me, I have come to realize that a little knowledge can be both a blessing and a curse. A more critical eye can rob you of dumb enjoyment. (Beverly Hillbillies, anyone?) Midnight Lace is a high-class production all the way. It was produced by Doris Day’s husband, Marty Melcher, who had to convince her to take the role, as she didn’t particularly enjoy the emotional strain of doing a thriller. Indeed, making this movie did a number on her. It’s said that she accessed memories of life with her abusive first husband to get some of the more harrowing scenes right, and that at one point she got so hysterical that she fainted on set. If you have never seen a movie like this before, I imagine that it would be a lot of fun. It follows a lot of the precepts of a classic whodunnit, although there is no murder here. Day plays Kit Preston, a wealthy newlywed living with her executive husband Tony (Rex Harrison) in a posh apartment in London. In a harrowing opening in a fog-shrouded park, Kit is harassed by a voice, a creepy falsetto presence, that taunts her with the idea that it will torment and, eventually, kill her. After that, Kit receives a series of phone calls, each accelerating the threat. Unfortunately, we don’t hear the voice during these calls; we have to settle instead for Doris Day getting increasingly hysterical with each call. Pretty quickly, she and her husband turn to Scotland Yard, where the Inspector, played by John Williams, who always plays the Scotland Yard inspector in these films (which is fine because he’s the best), seems a little doubtful about the whole affair. That’s because Theory Number One is that Kit is making things up to get her husband’s attention since he’s always at the office. Even a first-time thriller watcher will cross this theory off their list and start looking for possible culprits. The film provides many of these, perhaps a few too many. Still, they’re all played by fine actors, so let’s rattle them off: There’s the treasurer at Tony’s office (Herbert Marshall) who is fond of gambling and is suspected of embezzling a million pounds from the books; there’s the ne’er-do-well son of Kit’s housekeeper (Roddy MacDowell), who tries to wheedle money out of his mom’s employer; there’s the very good-looking construction manager with a really bad British accent (John Gavin) who seems to have a thing for Kit, as well as a touch of PTSD from the war; and there’s even a mysterious stranger with a scarred face who seems to follow Kit everywhere. Each of these men gives Day a chance to be hysterical: at home, on the street, in the path of an oncoming bus, in a stuck elevator, on a scaffold way above her home. What sets apart each of these episodes turns out to be . . . . Miss Day’s wardrobe. She managed to lure her dear friend, famous Hollywood designer Irene, to her side, and the woman made seventeen outfits for Day to wear in this film. That, and the use of Eastmancolor, gives a too slick gloss to the film that makes you wonder when she will break out into a chorus of “It’s Magic” – or maybe just a verse of “Que Sera Sera.” Wisely, no singing was used in the making of this picture. Unfortunately, a fine cast and lots of cool dresses cannot substitute for some creativity, and even if you’ve never seen a thriller before – and who hasn’t? – I don’t think too many people will be fooled over who is behind this and what’s going on. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen this sort of thing so many times before. Maybe it’s because I’ve read my Christie! And maybe it would have helped if any of the red herrings here truly had a reason to terrorize Kit. That said, the villain of the piece offers a fine performance, underplaying the reveal to give it a nicely chilling tone. And while the whole finale seems a little tacked on, and the rescue comes out of nowhere – as in nowhere do you ever feel that Kit is truly in danger with so many people looking out for her – at least Doris Day finally stops whimpering and does something reckless to give herself a chance at survival. Ultimately, I have mixed feelings about having watched Midnight Lace again. Perhaps some fond experiences from long ago don’t bear repeating. Next time, I’ll watch Casablanca or The Maltese Falcon for the hundredth time. They only get better with age.
2205	dbpedia	3	0	https://rideback.com/if-sherlock-holmes-can-come-back-why-not-charlie-chan/	en	IF SHERLOCK HOLMES CAN COME BACK, WHY NOT CHARLIE CHAN?	https://rideback.com/wp-…nature_White.png		[ "https://rideback.com/wp-content/themes/rideback/assets/img/Rideback_Signature_White.png", "https://rideback.com/wp-content/themes/rideback/assets/img/Rideback_Signature_White.png", "https://rideback.com/wp-content/themes/rideback/assets/img/Rideback_Signature_White.png", "http://linpictures.com/images/articleimgs/other.jpg", "https://rideback.com/wp-content/themes/rideback/assets/img/Rideback_(r)_White.png" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	<p>The next new “Sherlock Holmes” movie is out, and if you loved the first film, it’s more of what you loved — more slam-bang Victorian action, more whimsically anachronistic dialogue, more sly homoerotic innuendo and of course, more Robert Downey Jr. doing what he does best, which is to say, upend every convention of the…</p>				null	DECEMBER 19, 2011, 1:01 PM ET The next new “Sherlock Holmes” movie is out, and if you loved the first film, it’s more of what you loved — more slam-bang Victorian action, more whimsically anachronistic dialogue, more sly homoerotic innuendo and of course, more Robert Downey Jr. doing what he does best, which is to say, upend every convention of the action hero with Thorazine-smacked mania and tightrope-dancing wit. Also, Jude Law’s in it, doing his Jude Law thing, neither objectionable nor memorable — and rather eclipsed by more interesting turns from Jared Harris, Noomi Rapace and Stephen Fry (Stephen Fry!). Of course, this isn’t a movie review column, so that’s as far as I’ll go in talking about the film, its plot and whether or not you should see it. (Maybe try Joe Morgenstern?) Instead, let me share a quick spoiler synopsis of the scene from “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” that precipitated my musings this week. About ten minutes into the film, our hero Holmes, per his usual modus operandi, dons a disguise in order to freely observe and tail the object of his investigations, Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams, briefly returning from the first film). What’s startling here is the masquerade Holmes chooses — that of a pipe-puffing Chinese layabout, complete with long queue, Fu Manchu facial hair and pronounced squint. Though the costume isn’t presented as broad ethnic caricature, it’s still a bit of a blink-and-gulp moment for viewers aware of the long and uncomfortable tradition of racial mimicry in movies. Especially detective movies. Because the most famous Asian gumshoe in the grand canon of Hollywood cinema is also the one most famously played by non-Asian actors: Charlie Chan, the rotund spouter of fortune-cookie wisdom portrayed onscreen in forty-odd feature films by the likes of Warner Oland, Sidney Toler and Roland Winters, all of them white guys wearing makeup very similar to Downey’s “Chinaman” outfit. Now, to be clear, I don’t think the passing yellowface moment in “A Game of Shadows” is particularly offensive; there’s a context for it in the plot, and even if it’s played for laughs, well, so are all of Holmes’s fanciful disguises. The reason I bring this up is because it actually raises an interesting question: If Sherlock Holmes can be resurrected and refreshed for a brand new generation…why not Charlie Chan? You might think the comparison is laughable; Sherlock Holmes is a classic character, rooted in stories that stood the test of generations. Hollywood has produced dozens of film and television adaptations of Arthur Conan Doyle’s tales. He’s a known quantity. But Dan Lin, producer of the new Sherlock Holmes franchise, says that his idea to do a new take on the chronicles of 221-B Baker Street’s celebrated tenant initially met with broad skepticism. “We were pitching a period action film with actors speaking in British accents,” says Lin. “People didn’t think it would play with contemporary audiences.” Until, of course, they found out otherwise. The first Holmes film made half a billion dollars worldwide. And believe it or not, Charlie Chan’s track record in Hollywood stands toe-to-toe with that of his British counterpart: Most of the 46 movies made in the ’30s and ’40s featuring the mild-mannered Hawaiian detective were huge box office successes. (According to New Yorker writer Jill Lepore, they were the primary engine keeping 20th Century Fox alive during the Great Depression.) Though Chan faded from the spotlight in the ’50s, two decades later, he was revived in the oddest of contexts: An animated Hanna-Barbera kids’ series called “The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan,” featuring a cartoon version of the detective and his ten crime-solving kids, which ran for two seasons on CBS in the early ’70s, and can still be seen in reruns today on the cable channel Boomerang. So there’s no commercial reason to believe that Chan couldn’t make a comeback, given the right cast, director and revisionist reboot. The forces that have stopped prior attempts to reclaim this piece of Hollywood history aren’t economic, but political. “There’s just one reason why Charlie Chan is still dead today, and that’s the history of yellowface,” says Yunte Huang, whose book “Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective” is a fascinating investigation into the history and real-life inspiration behind Earl Derr Biggers’s character. “Anyone who wants to bring him back hits that taboo. And that’s something that I argue with. I think we need an honest reckoning with America’s racist past, which is also very rich with creativity. Instead of suppressing it, you have to come to terms with it. How can we take these stories and do them in a better way today?” The reinvention of Holmes offers a fascinating example of how that could happen. “The thing we saw was that the original stories were really classic buddy-cop adventures that happened to be told in a period setting,” says Lin. “Holmes and Watson, [Lethal Weapon’s] Riggs and Murtaugh, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. That’s a classic setup for any generation — yin meets yang.” Lin’s invocation of yin and yang calls out another interesting dimension in the new Holmes franchise: Its embrace of action choreography, visuals and even humor that have, well, a distinctively Asian flavor. For example, Holmes is presented as an expert martial artist — and not in the quintessentially English “sweet science” of boxing, but in a distinctively Asian-inspired discipline, full of chops, kicks, throws and holds that wouldn’t be out of place in a dojo or octagon. There’s even a running device in the franchise that’s a direct homage to classic martial arts concepts, an artifice Lin refers to as “Holmes Vision,” in which Holmes imagines all of the options and consequences of a fight prior to it actually happening, mentally beating his opponent before the first move is made. The antecedent to Holmes Vision can be seen onscreen in Zhang Yimou’s 2002 film “Hero,” in the incredible fight sequence between Jet Li’s Nameless and Donnie Yen’s Sky: The two masters stand motionless as they play out the eventual combat in their minds again and again, knowing that the first person forced to move has lost. When these elements are called out, Lin is initially surprised. “I wouldn’t say that there’s been a conscious inspiration from Asian sources in the Holmes films,” he says. But then, on further consideration, he warms to the idea: “With [director] Guy Ritchie you have someone who’s immersed in pop culture, in graphic novels and in world cinema. And all of that is what shapes his work. The particular type of big action you see, the fighting styles he uses, you can definitely see that influence. And then there’s the theme behind the franchise, which is really brotherhood. That’s a fundamentally Asian theme: Fealty, fraternal loyalty, doing whatever you can to get your guy’s back. That’s right out of John Woo.” Lin notes that even Holmes’s traditional characterization has some similarities to Asian stereotypes: “He’s depicted as being stoic, cerebral, emotionally reserved,” he says. “He’s intensely focused on his work, and he’s not interested in glory or credit, so his motivations are hard to understand.” Huang goes one step further. “What makes Sherlock Holmes interesting — what makes any detective character interesting — is that he’s inscrutable,” he says. “That’s been a stigma for Asians, the idea that people don’t know what we’re thinking and that we’re impossible to understand. But for a movie sleuth, being mysterious and inscrutable is a strength, not a weakness.” So imagine a reinvented Charlie Chan — younger, leaner, rawer and primed for action; a Hawaiian Chinese cop shaped by the tradition and philosophy of his ancestors, but firmly embedded in American culture. Someone with humble beginnings (and the humility to remember them), who’s risen to his position as a top crimefighter through sheer wit, will and the ability to be tough when it counts and smooth when needed. That’s a pretty fair description of the real-life “Charlie Chan” — Hawaiian police officer Chang Apana, whose career inspired Harvard-educated novelist Earl Derr Biggers to create his iconic P.I., although Biggers’s translation of Apana erased the original’s flamboyant personality and daredevil ways. (Apana often went out in disguise to root out drug dealers and gamblers, rode a stallion through town like a Wild West marshal, and wielded a mean rawhide bullwhip in his fight against the denizens of Honolulu’s dark underbelly.) Huang says he’s fascinated by those contrasts, between the historical Chang and his fictional counterpart Chan — the hot-blooded real Asian and the mild-mannered faux one — and he’s found a like-minded collaborator in filmmaker Wayne Wang, who’s optioned Huang’s book for the silver screen. “Wayne and I are co-writing the script,” says Huang. “We’ve been back and forth with a few drafts already. And what we want to do is tell the story of something that actually happened: The meeting between Chang Apana and Warner Oland, the Swedish-born actor who played Charlie Chan on the big screen.” Huang and Wang are hoping to get Jack Nicholson for the role of Oland. “That’s our dream, and it’s a very real possibility,” says Huang. The film would reveal the real story of Apana, even as it revisited the history of the Hollywood version. But it wouldn’t be a biopic. “There are documentary aspects, because we’re talking about real human beings here,” says Huang. “But really, we see it more as a buddy film.” Making a film that people will actually want to see, as opposed to a dry historical document, is critical, he says. “We want to do this right, because we probably only get one chance. If we can’t do it right this time, Charlie Chan really will be completely dead.” Huang points out that the film that launched Wayne Wang’s directorial career was titled “Chan Is Missing”: “So doing this movie is really a full circle for him. Forty years later, he wants to say, Chan Is Back.” Though Charlie Chan is the most iconic Asian sleuth in the annals of detective fiction, he’s not the only one. The success of Biggers’s best-selling books spawned imitators, most notably John Marquand’s Japanese detective Mr. Moto and Hugh Wiley’s “gentlemanly Oriental” snoop Mr. Wong. Both of these characters were brought to the silver screen in successful film franchises, with white actors cast in the lead: Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto, and Boris Karloff as Mr. Wong. Interestingly, the first three Charlie Chan films actually starred Asian actors — Japanese Americans George Kuwa and Kamayama Sojin played Chan in 1926’s “The House Without a Key” and 1927’s “The Chinese Parrot,” and Korean American E.L. Park played him in the third outing, 1929’s “Behind That Curtain.” All three did middling business. It was only when Warner Oland debuted his eyelid-taped, fake-goateed Chan that the series became a box-office sensation, making Hollywood gun-shy of casting actual Asians to play Asian roles for the next three decades. Though the rapid growth of the Asian American population and the rise of the civil rights movement began to make the practice more rare by the Sixties, the last Charlie Chan film to see production — 1981’s “Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen” — starred Peter Ustinov. Given that track record, it’s understandable that producers have wary about a reboot. “A Charlie Chan project has been in development at Fox for years,” says Dan Lin. Individuals rumored to be considered as a next-gen Chan have included Russell Wong of “Joy Luck Club” fame, and Lucy Liu (going from “Charlie’s Angels” to gender-flipped Charlie). As for me, I’d like to see someone revive “The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan,” which I still have fond memories of from childhood. Chu-chu the dog! The Chan Clan Band! The Chan Clan Mystery Van! Smartass tomboy Anne Chan (who, bizarrely enough, was voiced by a young Jodie Foster)! Someone make it happen! Tao Jones Index Must-click quick-hits from across Asia and Asian America: Trailer for Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame: Blink and you missed the U.S. release of Tsui Hark’s incredible period actioner, but if you’re hankering for a real Asian sleuth — based on the historical Judge Di Renjie of the Tang Dynasty — Detective Dee is out on DVD now. Or is that DeeVDee? A prequel (in 3D!) is in the works. “Woks and Lox” on December 24 at the Queens Kickshaw in Astoria, Queens: Say the organizers: “Ever since the first lonely Jew ordered Chinese take-out on Christmas, there has been an undeniable bond between Jews and Asians. This Christmas Eve, we want to celebrate that combined heritage at Woks and Lox, the very first Jewish and Asian Christmas.” Awesome. George Takei bridges the greatest divide: The awesome George Takei goes boldly where no man has gone before: Into the breach between fans of “Star Wars” and “Star Trek.” The lost “All-American Muslim” Lowe’s commercial: You probably know hardware chain Lowe’s yanked their ads from TLC’s Muslim reality show “All-American Muslim” after being attacked by far-right sources. But did you know they actually had an ad ready to go before they pulled the plug? Okay, not really. But this fake ad by Outsourced’s Rizwan Manji and Parvesh Cheena is still pretty funny.
2205	dbpedia	2	39	https://www.dvdplanetstore.pk/shop/mystery/charlie-chans-courage-1934/	en	Charlie Chan's Courage (1934)	https://www.dvdplanetsto…XtwhAPBIj21t.jpg	https://www.dvdplanetsto…XtwhAPBIj21t.jpg	[ "https://www.dvdplanetstore.pk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/dvd-planet-store-pakistan.png", "https://www.dvdplanetstore.pk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/dvd-planet-store-pakistan.png", "https://www.dvdplanetstore.pk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/670a1OLwWwwX1wYXtwhAPBIj21t.jpg", "https://www.dvdplanetstore.pk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/670a1OLwWwwX1wYXtwhAPBIj21t-150x150.jpg", "https://www.dvdplanetstore.pk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/t8RHhRk1rXkRmE2y9QjZmiXjITm-150x150.jpg", "https://www.dvdplanetstore.pk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/aQ9RmucKM5v7KXUwTSpVOfgEjYX-150x150.jpg", "https://www.dvdplanetstore.pk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/eIeKrXU8GdmfhrR1wqcDNmM4GhU-150x150.jpg", "https://www.dvdplanetstore.pk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/eIeKrXU8GdmfhrR1wqcDNmM4GhU-100x100.jpg", "https://www.dvdplanetstore.pk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/5whLj2Y8vVGegFudQW8Qz0bz9F9-150x150.jpg", "https://www.dvdplanetstore.pk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/5whLj2Y8vVGegFudQW8Qz0bz9F9-100x100.jpg", "https://www.dvdplanetstore.pk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/g0z9BoefLOkY2uVlZwXdCP00rA1-150x150.jpg", "https://www.dvdplanetstore.pk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/g0z9BoefLOkY2uVlZwXdCP00rA1-150x150.jpg", "https://www.dvdplanetstore.pk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/3AlILWcTnD1VWR6t0C6mH5VR5AO-150x150.jpg", "https://www.dvdplanetstore.pk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/3AlILWcTnD1VWR6t0C6mH5VR5AO-150x150.jpg", "https://www.dvdplanetstore.pk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/tmdb-logo-150x31.png", "https://www.dvdplanetstore.pk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/payment-options-dvdplanetstorepk.png" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "www.facebook.com" ]	null	Charlie is hired to deliver a pearl necklace to a millionaire at his ranch. When murder intervenes he disguises himself as a Chinese servant and begins sleuthing.	en	//www.dvdplanetstore.pk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/favicon.ico	DVD PLANET STORE	https://www.dvdplanetstore.pk/shop/mystery/charlie-chans-courage-1934/	Product Availability Please note that a product being listed on our website does not necessarily mean it is in stock and readily available for order. Our catalog is built as a reference for our customers, while we do our best to sync our in-stock items on our website. The items that are not released yet, or not out on DVD / Blu-ray are indeed unavailable, and that is what we would tell our customers if the requests ever come in. Our aim is to build a comprehensive listing of movies and TV shows available to date. Since, we do not take payments online at this time, there is 0% risk in placing order for movies you like on our website. Our representative will get in touch with the customer with the availability of the items when an order is placed. Notice and Takedown policy As a professional and reputable online store, DVD Planet Store is fully committed to the twin issues of copyright and trademarks. Please read our notice and takedown policy by clicking here. Best Effort Policy Should an item be unavailable, we would inform you if it was possible to provide an on-Demand DVD-R version of the requested item, but we offer no guarantees. Many DVD stores now offer MOD service, and so do we to keep a competitive edge. We would not make any profit out of such sale. The price of the items would only cover the operational / raw material / shipping costs; and would be sold for personal use only. Processing Our processing time is 1-2 days for in-stock items for domestic orders. For MOD requests, processing time could be up to 1 week on average. We do our best to fulfill orders as quickly as we can.
2205	dbpedia	2	15	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Chan	en	Charlie Chan	https://upload.wikimedia…Warner_Oland.jpg	https://upload.wikimedia…Warner_Oland.jpg	[ "https://en.wikipedia.org/static/images/icons/wikipedia.png", "https://en.wikipedia.org/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg", "https://en.wikipedia.org/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-tagline-en.svg", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/94/Symbol_support_vote.svg/19px-Symbol_support_vote.svg.png", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ad/Warner_Oland.jpg/220px-Warner_Oland.jpg", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Dangerous_Money_%281946%29_-_Sidney_Toler_1.jpg/220px-Dangerous_Money_%281946%29_-_Sidney_Toler_1.jpg", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/21/Charliechan060640.jpg", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Nuvola_apps_bookcase.svg/28px-Nuvola_apps_bookcase.svg.png", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e7/Video-x-generic.svg/28px-Video-x-generic.svg.png", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/34px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png", "https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1", "https://en.wikipedia.org/static/images/footer/wikimedia-button.svg", "https://en.wikipedia.org/static/images/footer/poweredby_mediawiki.svg" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Contributors to Wikimedia projects" ]	2002-11-07T13:23:35+00:00		en	/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png		https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Chan	Fictional detective For other people named Charlie Chan, see Charlie Chan (disambiguation). Fictional character Charlie ChanFirst appearanceThe House Without a Key (1925)Last appearanceKeeper of the Keys (1932)Created byEarl Derr BiggersPortrayed byVoiced byKeye LukeIn-universe informationGenderMaleOccupationDetectiveChildren14ReligionBuddhistNationalityAmerican-Chinese Charlie Chan is a fictional Honolulu police detective created by author Earl Derr Biggers for a series of mystery novels. Biggers loosely based Chan on Hawaiian detective Chang Apana. The benevolent and heroic Chan was conceived as an alternative to Yellow Peril stereotypes and villains like Fu Manchu. Many stories feature Chan traveling the world beyond Hawaii as he investigates mysteries and solves crimes. Chan first appeared in Biggers' novels and then was featured in a number of media. Over four dozen films featuring Charlie Chan were made, beginning in 1926. The character, featured only as a supporting character, was first portrayed by East Asian actors, and the films met with little success. In 1931, for the first film centering on Chan, Charlie Chan Carries On, the Fox Film Corporation cast Swedish actor Warner Oland; the film became popular, and Fox went on to produce 15 more Chan films with Oland in the title role. After Oland's death, American actor Sidney Toler was cast as Chan; Toler made 22 Chan films, first for Fox and then for Monogram Studios. After Toler's death, six films were made, starring Roland Winters. Readers and moviegoers of America greeted Chan warmly. Chan was seen as an attractive character, portrayed as intelligent, heroic, benevolent, and honorable; this contrasted with the common depiction of Asians as evil or conniving which dominated Hollywood and national media in the early 20th century. However, in later decades critics increasingly took a more ambivalent view of the character. Despite his good qualities, Chan was also perceived as reinforcing condescending Asian stereotypes such as an alleged incapacity to speak idiomatic English and a tradition-bound and subservient nature. No Charlie Chan film has been produced since 1981. The character has also been featured in several radio programs, two television shows, and comics. Books [edit] The character of Charlie Chan was created by Earl Derr Biggers. In 1919,[1] while visiting Hawaii, Biggers planned a detective novel to be called The House Without a Key. He did not begin to write that novel until four years later, however, when he was inspired to add a Chinese-American police officer to the plot after reading in a newspaper of Chang Apana and Lee Fook, two detectives on the Honolulu police force.[2] Biggers, who disliked the Yellow Peril stereotypes he found when he came to California,[5] explicitly conceived of the character as an alternative: "Sinister and wicked Chinese are old stuff, but an amiable Chinese on the side of law and order has never been used.":[6] It overwhelms me with sadness to admit it … for he is of my own origin, my own race, as you know. But when I look into his eyes I discover that a gulf like the heaving Pacific lies between us. Why? Because he, though among Caucasians many more years than I, still remains Chinese. As Chinese to-day as in the first moon of his existence. While I – I bear the brand – the label – Americanized.... I traveled with the current.... I was ambitious. I sought success. For what I have won, I paid the price. Am I an American? No. Am I, then, a Chinese? Not in the eyes of Ah Sing. — Charlie Chan, speaking of a murderer's accomplice, in Keeper of the Keys, by Earl Derr Biggers[7] The "amiable Chinese" made his first appearance in The House Without a Key (1925). The character was not central to the novel and was not mentioned by name on the dust jacket of the first edition.[8] In the novel, Chan is described as "very fat indeed, yet he walked with the light dainty step of a woman"[9] and in The Chinese Parrot as being " … an undistinguished figure in his Western clothes."[10] According to critic Sandra Hawley, this description of Chan allows Biggers to portray the character as nonthreatening, the opposite of evil Chinese characters, such as Fu Manchu, while simultaneously emphasizing supposedly Chinese characteristics such as impassivity and stoicism. Biggers wrote six novels in which Charlie Chan appears: The House Without a Key (1925) The Chinese Parrot (1926) Behind That Curtain (1928) The Black Camel (1929) Charlie Chan Carries On (1930) Keeper of the Keys (1932) Film, radio, stage and television adaptations [edit] Films [edit] The first film featuring Charlie Chan, as a supporting character, was The House Without a Key (1926), a ten-chapter serial produced by Pathé Studios, starring George Kuwa, a Japanese actor, as Chan.[12] A year later Universal Pictures followed with The Chinese Parrot, starring Japanese actor Kamiyama Sojin as Chan, again as a supporting character.[12] In both productions, Charlie Chan's role was minimized.[13] Contemporary reviews were unfavorable; in the words of one reviewer, speaking of The Chinese Parrot, Sojin plays "the Chink sleuth as a Lon Chaney cook-waiter … because Chaney can't stoop that low."[14] For the first film to center mainly on the character of Chan, Warner Oland, a white actor, was cast in the title role in 1931's Charlie Chan Carries On, and it was this film that gained popular success.[15] Oland, a Swedish actor, had also played Fu Manchu in an earlier film. Oland, who claimed some Mongolian ancestry,[16] played the character as more gentle and self-effacing than he had been in the books, perhaps in "a deliberate attempt by the studio to downplay an uppity attitude in a Chinese detective."[17] Oland starred in sixteen Chan films for Fox, often with Keye Luke, who played Chan's "Number One Son", Lee Chan. Oland's "warmth and gentle humor"[18] helped make the character and films popular; the Oland Chan films were among Fox's most successful.[19] By attracting "major audiences and box-office grosses on a par with A's"[20] they "kept Fox afloat" during the Great Depression.[21] Oland died in 1938, and the Chan film Charlie Chan at the Ringside was rewritten with additional footage as Mr. Moto's Gamble, an entry in the Mr. Moto series, another contemporary series featuring an East Asian protagonist; Luke appeared as Lee Chan, not only in already shot footage but also in scenes with Moto actor Peter Lorre. Fox hired another white actor, Sidney Toler, to play Charlie Chan, and produced eleven Chan films through 1942.[22] Toler's Chan was less mild-mannered than Oland's, a "switch in attitude that added some of the vigor of the original books to the films."[17] He is frequently accompanied, and irritated, by his Number Two Son, Jimmy Chan, played by Victor Sen Yung,[23] who later portrayed "Hop Sing" in the long-running Western television series Bonanza. When Fox decided to produce no further Chan films, Sidney Toler purchased the film rights from the author's widow. He had hoped to film more Charlie Chan pictures independently, to be released through Fox, but Fox had already discontinued the series and had no interest in reviving it. Toler approached Philip N. Krasne, a Hollywood lawyer who financed film productions, and Krasne brokered a deal with Monogram Pictures. James S. Burkett produced the films for Monogram. The budget for each film was reduced from Fox's average of $200,000 to $75,000.[22] For the first time, Chan was portrayed on occasion as "openly contemptuous of suspects and superiors."[24] African American comedic actor Mantan Moreland played chauffeur Birmingham Brown in 13 films (1944–1949) which led to criticism of the Monogram films in the forties and since;[24][25] some call his performances "brilliant comic turns",[26] while others describe Moreland's roles as an offensive and embarrassing stereotype.[25] Toler died in 1947 and was succeeded by Roland Winters for six films.[27] Keye Luke, missing from the series after 1938's Mr. Moto rework, returned as Charlie's son in the last two entries. Spanish-language adaptations [edit] Three Spanish-language Charlie Chan films were made in the 1930s and 1950s. The first, Eran Trece (There Were Thirteen, 1931), is a multiple-language version of Charlie Chan Carries On (1931). The two films were made concurrently and followed the same production schedule, with each scene filmed twice the same day, once in English and then in Spanish.[28] The film followed essentially the same script as the Anglophonic version, with minor additions such as brief songs and skits and some changes to characters' names (for example, the character Elmer Benbow was renamed Frank Benbow).[29] A Cuban production, La Serpiente Roja (The Red Snake), followed in 1937.[30] In 1955, Producciones Cub-Mex produced a Mexican version of Charlie Chan called El Monstruo en la Sombra (Monster in the Shadow), starring Orlando Rodriguez as "Chan Li Po" (Charlie Chan in the original script).[30] The film was inspired by La Serpiente Roja as well as the American Warner Oland films.[30] Chinese-language adaptations [edit] During the 1930s and 1940s, five Chan films were produced in Shanghai and Hong Kong. In these films, Chan, played by Xu Xinyuan (徐莘园), owns his detective agency and is aided not by a son but by a daughter, Manna, played first by Gu Meijun (顾梅君) in the Shanghai productions and then by Bai Yan (白燕) in postwar Hong Kong.[5] Chinese audiences also saw the original American Charlie Chan films. They were by far the most popular American films in 1930s China and among Chinese expatriates; "one of the reasons for this acceptance was that this was the first time Chinese audiences saw a positive Chinese character in an American film, a departure from the sinister East Asian stereotypes in earlier movies like Thief of Baghdad (1924) and Harold Lloyd's Welcome Danger (1929), which incited riots that shut down the Shanghai theater showing it." Oland's visit to China was reported extensively in Chinese newspapers, and the actor was respectfully called "Mr. Chan".[5] Modern adaptations [edit] In Neil Simon's Murder By Death, Peter Sellers plays a Chinese detective called Sidney Wang, a parody of Chan. In 1980, Jerry Sherlock began production on a comedy film to be called Charlie Chan and the Dragon Lady. A group calling itself C.A.N. (Coalition of Asians to Nix) was formed, protesting the fact that non-Chinese actors, Peter Ustinov and Angie Dickinson, had been cast in the primary roles. Others protested that the film script contained a number of stereotypes; Sherlock responded that the film was not a documentary.[31] The film was released the following year as Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen and was an "abysmal failure".[32][33] An updated film version of the character was planned in the 1990s by Miramax. While this Charlie Chan was to be "hip, slim, cerebral, sexy and... a martial-arts master," and portrayed by actor Russell Wong, nonetheless the film did not come to fruition.[33] Actress Lucy Liu was slated to star in and executive-produce a new Charlie Chan film for Fox.[34] The film was in preproduction by 2000; as of 2009, it was slated to be produced,[35] but it also did not come to fruition. Radio [edit] On radio, Charlie Chan was heard in several different series on three networks (the NBC Blue Network, Mutual, and ABC) between 1932 and 1948 for the 20th Century Fox Radio Service.[36] Walter Connolly initially portrayed Chan on Esso Oil's Five Star Theater, which serialized adaptations of Biggers novels.[37] Ed Begley, Sr. had the title role in N.B.C.'s The Adventures of Charlie Chan (1944–45), followed by Santos Ortega (1947–48). Leon Janney and Rodney Jacobs were heard as Lee Chan, Number One Son, and Dorian St. George was the announcer.[38] Radio Life magazine described Begley's Chan as "a good radio match for Sidney Toler's beloved film enactment."[39] Stage [edit] Valentine Davies wrote a stage adaptation of novel Keeper of the Keys for Broadway in 1933, with William Harrigan as the lead. The production ran for 25 performances.[40] Television adaptations [edit] In 1956–57, The New Adventures of Charlie Chan, starring J. Carrol Naish in the title role, were made independently for TV syndication in 39 episodes, by Television Programs of America. The series was filmed in England.[41] In this series, Chan is based in London rather than the United States. Ratings were poor, and the series was canceled.[42] In the 1960s, Joey Forman played an obvious parody of Chan named "Harry Hoo" in two episodes of Get Smart. In the 1970s, Hanna-Barbera produced an animated series called The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan. Keye Luke, who had played Chan's son in many Chan films of the 1930s and '40s, lent his voice to Charlie, employing a much-expanded vocabulary; Luke thus became the first actual Chinese person to portray Chan on screen. (The title character bears some resemblance to the Warner Oland depiction of Charlie Chan.) The series focused on Chan's children, played initially by East Asian-American child actors before being recast, due to concerns that younger viewers would not understand the accented voices. Leslie Kumamota voiced Chan's daughter Anne, before being replaced by Jodie Foster.[43] The Return of Charlie Chan, a television film starring Ross Martin as Chan, was made in 1971 but did not air until 1979. Comics and games [edit] A Charlie Chan comic strip, drawn by Alfred Andriola, was distributed by the McNaught Syndicate beginning October 24, 1938.[44] Andriola was chosen by Biggers to draw the character.[45] Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the strip was dropped; the last strip ran on May 30, 1942.[46] In 2019, The Library of American Comics reprinted one year of the strip (1938) in their LoAC Essentials line of books (ISBN 978-1-68405-506-7). Over decades, other Charlie Chan comic books have been published: Joe Simon and Jack Kirby created Prize Comics' Charlie Chan (1948), which ran for five issues. It was followed by a Charlton Comics title which continued the numbering (four issues, 1955). DC Comics published The New Adventures of Charlie Chan,[47] a 1958 tie-in with the TV series; the DC series lasted for six issues. Dell Comics did the title for two issues in 1965. In the 1970s, Gold Key Comics published a short-lived series of Chan comics based on the Hanna-Barbera animated series. In March through August 1989 Eternity Comics/Malibu Graphics published Charlie Chan comic books numbers 1 - 6 reprinting daily strips from January 9, 1939 to November 18, 1939. In addition, a board game, The Great Charlie Chan Detective Mystery Game (1937),[48] and a Charlie Chan Card Game (1939), have been released. On May 21, 2020 casino video games website Play'n GO released Charlie Chance in Hell to Pay,[49] a slot machine video game, for desktop and mobile browsers. This is not an officially branded game, however, the game's main character Charlie Chance is directly based on the original Charlie Chan character, sharing a similar name, trademark moustache and sharp dress sense. This game was followed by two sequels in 2021, Charlie Chance XREELZ and Charlie Chance and the Curse of Cleopatra. Modern interpretations and criticism [edit] The character of Charlie Chan has been the subject of controversy. Some find the character to be a positive role model, while others argue that Chan is an offensive stereotype. Critic John Soister argues that Charlie Chan is both; when Biggers created the character, he offered a unique alternative to stereotypical evil Chinamen, a man who was at the same time "sufficiently accommodating in personality... unthreatening in demeanor... and removed from his Asian homeland... to quell any underlying xenophobia."[50] Critic Michael Brodhead argues that "Biggers's sympathetic treatment of the Charlie Chan novels convinces the reader that the author consciously and forthrightly spoke out for the Chinese – a people to be not only accepted but admired. Biggers's sympathetic treatment of the Chinese reflected and contributed to the greater acceptance of Chinese-Americans in the first third of [the twentieth] century."[51] S. T. Karnick writes in the National Review that Chan is "a brilliant detective with understandably limited facility in the English language [whose] powers of observation, logic, and personal rectitude and humility made him an exemplary, entirely honorable character."[26] Ellery Queen called Biggers's characterization of Charlie Chan "a service to humanity and to inter-racial relations."[8] Dave Kehr of The New York Times said Chan "might have been a stereotype, but he was a stereotype on the side of the angels."[18] Keye Luke, an actor who played Chan's son in a number of films, agreed; when asked if he thought that the character was demeaning to the race, he responded, "Demeaning to the race? My God! You've got a Chinese hero!"[52] and "[W]e were making the best damn murder mysteries in Hollywood."[21][53] Other critics, such as sociologist Yen Le Espiritu and Huang Guiyou, argue that Chan, while portrayed positively in some ways, is not on a par with white characters, but a "benevolent Other"[54] who is "one-dimensional."[55] The films' use of white actors to portray East Asian characters indicates the character's "absolute Oriental Otherness;"[56] the films were only successful as "the domain of white actors who impersonated heavily-accented masters of murder mysteries as well as purveyors of cryptic proverbs. Chan's character "embodies the stereotypes of Chinese Americans, particularly of males: smart, subservient, effeminate."[57] Chan is representative of a model minority,[58]: 43 the good stereotype that counters a bad stereotype: "Each stereotypical image is filled with contradictions: the bloodthirsty Indian is tempered with the image of the noble savage; the bandido exists along with the loyal sidekick; and Fu Manchu is offset by Charlie Chan."[59] However, Fu Manchu's evil qualities are presented as inherently Chinese, while Charlie Chan's good qualities are exceptional; "Fu represents his race; his counterpart stands away from the other Asian Hawaiians."[45] Some argue that the character's popularity is dependent on its contrast with stereotypes of the Yellow Peril or Japanese people in particular. American opinion of China and Chinese Americans grew more positive in the 1920s and '30s in contrast to the Japanese, who were increasingly viewed with suspicion. Sheng-mei Ma argues that the character is a psychological over-compensation to "rampant paranoia over the racial other."[60] In June 2003, the Fox Movie Channel cancelled a planned Charlie Chan Festival, soon after beginning restoration for cablecasting, after a special-interest group protested. Fox reversed its decision two months later, and on 13 September 2003, the first film in the festival was aired on Fox. The films, when broadcast on the Fox Movie Channel, were followed by round-table discussions by prominent East Asians in the American entertainment industry, led by George Takei, most of whom were against the films.[5] Collections such as Frank Chin's Aiiieeee! An Anthology of Asian-American Writers and Jessica Hagedorn's Charlie Chan is Dead are put forth as alternatives to the Charlie Chan stereotype and "[articulate] cultural anger and exclusion as their animating force."[61] Fox has released all of its extant Charlie Chan features on DVD,[26] and Warner Bros. (the current proprietor of the Monogram library) has issued all of the Sidney Toler and Roland Winters Monogram features on DVD. Modern critics, particularly Asian Americans, continue to have mixed feelings on Charlie Chan. Fletcher Chan, a defender of the works, argues that the Chan of Biggers's novels is not subservient to white characters, citing The Chinese Parrot as an example; in this novel, Chan's eyes blaze with anger at racist remarks and in the end, after exposing the murderer, Chan remarks "Perhaps listening to a 'Chinaman' is no disgrace."[62] In the films, both Charlie Chan in London (1934) and Charlie Chan in Paris (1935) "contain scenes in which Chan coolly and wittily dispatches other characters' racist remarks."[18] Yunte Huang manifests an ambivalent attitude, stating that in the US, Chan "epitomizes the racist heritage and the creative genius of this nation's culture."[63] Huang also suggests that critics of Charlie Chan may have themselves, at times, "caricatured" Chan himself.[64] Chan's character has also come under fire for "nuggets of fortune cookie Confucius" and the "counterfeit proverbs" which became so widespread in popular culture. The Biggers novels did not introduce the "Confucius say" proverbs, which were added in the films, but one novel features Chan remarking: "As all those who know me have learned to their distress, Chinese have proverbs to fit every possible situation." Huang Yunte gives as examples "Tongue often hang man quicker than rope," "Mind, like parachute, only function when open," and "Man who flirt with dynamite sometime fly with angels." He argues, however, that these "colorful aphorisms" display "amazing linguistic acrobatic skills." Like the "signifying monkey" of African American folklore, Huang continues, Chan "imparts as much insult as wisdom." Bibliography [edit] Biggers, Earl Derr. The House Without a Key. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1925. —. The Chinese Parrot. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1926. —. Behind That Curtain. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1928. —. The Black Camel. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1929. —. Charlie Chan Carries On. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1930. —. Keeper of the Keys. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1932. Davis, Robert Hart. Charlie Chan in the Temple of the Golden Horde. 1974. Charlie Chan's Mystery Magazine. Reprinted by Wildside Press, 2003. ISBN 1-59224-014-3. Lynds, Dennis. Charlie Chan Returns. New York: Bantam Books, 1974. ASIN B000CD3I22. Pronzini, Bill, and Jeffrey M. Wallmann. Charlie Chan in the Pawns of Death. 1974. Charlie Chan's Mystery Magazine. Reprinted by Borgo Press, 2003. ISBN 978-1-59224-010-4. Avallone, Michael. Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen. New York: Pinnacle, 1981. ISBN 0-523-41505-2. Robert Hart Davis. "The Silent Corpse". Feb.1974. Charlie Chan's Mystery Magazine. Robert Hart Davis. "Walk Softly, Strangler". Nov. 1973. Charlie Chan's Mystery Magazine. Jon L. Breen. "The Fortune Cookie". May 1971. Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. Swann, John L.. Death, I Said: A Charlie Chan Mystery. Utica, New York: Nicholas K. Burns Publishing, 2023. ISBN 978-0-9755224-5-5. Filmography [edit] Unless otherwise noted, information is taken from Charles P. Mitchell's A Guide to Charlie Chan Films (1999). American Western Film title Starring Directed by Theatrical release DVD release Notes Production company The House Without a Key George Kuwa Spencer G. Bennet[68] 1926 Lost Silent Pathé Exchange The Chinese Parrot Sojin Paul Leni 1927 Lost Silent Universal Behind That Curtain E.L. Park Irving Cummings 1929 Charlie Chan, Volume Three (20th Century Fox, 2007) First sound film in the series Fox Film Corporation Charlie Chan Carries On Warner Oland Hamilton MacFadden 1931 Lost[69] Fox simultaneously filmed this with "Eran Trece," which survives. Eran Trece Manuel Arbó[70] David Howard (uncredited) 1931[71] Charlie Chan, Volume One (20th Century Fox, 2006) [72] Fox simultaneously filmed this with "Charlie Chan Carries On." The Black Camel Warner Oland Hamilton MacFadden 1931 Charlie Chan, Volume Three (20th Century Fox, 2007) Charlie Chan's Chance John Blystone 1932 Lost Charlie Chan's Greatest Case Hamilton MacFadden 1933 Lost[73] Charlie Chan's Courage George Hadden and Eugene Forde 1934 Lost[74] Charlie Chan in London Eugene Forde Charlie Chan, Volume One (20th Century Fox, 2006) Charlie Chan in Paris Lewis Seiler 1935 Charlie Chan in Egypt Louis King 20th Century Fox Charlie Chan in Shanghai James Tinling Charlie Chan's Secret Gordon Wiles 1936 Charlie Chan, Volume Three (20th Century Fox, 2007) Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. Charlie Chan at the Circus Harry Lachman Charlie Chan, Volume Two (20th Century Fox, 2006) Charlie Chan at the Race Track H. Bruce Humberstone Charlie Chan at the Opera Charlie Chan at the Olympics 1937 Charlie Chan on Broadway Eugene Forde Charlie Chan, Volume Three (20th Century Fox, 2007) Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo Oland's last film. Charlie Chan in Honolulu Sidney Toler H. Bruce Humberstone 1939 Charlie Chan, Volume Four (20th Century Fox, 2008) Charlie Chan in Reno Norman Foster Charlie Chan at Treasure Island City in Darkness Herbert I. Leeds Charlie Chan in Panama Norman Foster 1940 Charlie Chan, Volume Five (20th Century Fox, 2008) Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise Eugene Forde Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum Lynn Shores Murder Over New York Harry Lachman Dead Men Tell 1941 Charlie Chan in Rio Castle in the Desert 1942 Charlie Chan in the Secret Service Phil Rosen 1944 The Charlie Chan Chanthology (MGM, 2004) Monogram Pictures The Chinese Cat Black Magic [75] The Jade Mask 1945 The Scarlet Clue Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. The Shanghai Cobra Phil Karlson The Red Dragon Phil Rosen 1946 Charlie Chan 3-Film Collection (Warner Archive, 2016) Dangerous Money Terry O. Morse TCM Spotlight: Charlie Chan Collection (Turner Classic Movies, 2010) Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. Dark Alibi Phil Karlson Shadows Over Chinatown Terry O. Morse Charlie Chan Collection (Warner Home Video, 2013) The Trap Howard Bretherton TCM Spotlight: Charlie Chan Collection (Turner Classic Movies, 2010) Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. Toler's last film. The Chinese Ring Roland Winters William Beaudine[76] 1947 Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. Winters' first film. Docks of New Orleans Derwin Abrahams 1948 Charlie Chan Collection (Warner Home Video, 2013) Shanghai Chest William Beaudine The Golden Eye Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. The Feathered Serpent William Beaudine[76] Charlie Chan 3-Film Collection (Warner Archive, 2016) Sky Dragon Lesley Selander 1949 The Return of Charlie Chan (aka: Happiness Is a Warm Clue) Ross Martin Daryl Duke[77] 1973 TV film[78] Universal Television Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen Peter Ustinov Clive Donner[77] 1981 American Cinema Productions Latin America Film title Starring Directed by Theatrical release DVD release Notes Production company La Serpiente Roja Aníbal de Mar Ernesto Caparrós 1937 Cuban film[79] El Monstruo en la Sombra Orlando Rodríguez Zacarias Urquiza[80] 1955 Mexican film[81] China Film title Starring Directed by Theatrical release DVD release Notes The Disappearing Corpse (in Chinese) Xu Xinyuan Xu Xinfu 1937 [5] The Pearl Tunic (in Chinese) 1938 [5] The Radio Station Murder (in Chinese) 1939 [5] Charlie Chan Smashes an Evil Plot (in Chinese) 1941 [5] Charlie Chan Matches Wits with the Prince of Darkness (in Chinese) 1948 [5] Mystery of the Jade Fish (in Chinese) Lee Ying Lee Ying c.1950 (distributed in New York in 1951) [82] See also [edit] Books portal Film portal Portrayal of East Asians in Hollywood Mr. Wong Notes [edit] References [edit]
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(Charlie Chan, #2), Behind That Curtain (Charlie Chan, #3), The Black Camel (Charlie Chan...				https://www.goodreads.com/series/49758-charlie-chan	Shelve Charlie Chan Volume 1: The House Without a Key & The Chinese Parrot Shelve Charlie Chan Volume 3: Charlie Chan Carries On & Keeper of the Keys
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2205	dbpedia	2	9	https://www.npr.org/2010/09/07/129424778/investigating-the-real-detective-charlie-chan	en	Investigating The Real Detective Charlie Chan	https://media.npr.org/as…400&c=100&f=jpeg	https://media.npr.org/as…400&c=100&f=jpeg	[ "https://media.npr.org/chrome_svg/npr-logo.svg", "https://media.npr.org/chrome/programs/logos/morning-edition.jpg", "https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2019/02/26/we_otherentitiestemplatesat_sq-cbde87a2fa31b01047441e6f34d2769b0287bcd4-s100-c85.png", "https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2019/02/26/we_otherentitiestemplatesun_sq-4a03b35e7e5adfa446aec374523a578d54dc9bf5-s100-c85.png", "https://media.npr.org/chrome/programs/logos/all-things-considered.png", "https://media.npr.org/chrome/programs/logos/fresh-air.png", "https://media.npr.org/chrome/programs/logos/up-first.jpg?version=2", "https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2024/01/11/podcast-politics_2023_update1_sq-be7ef464dd058fe663d9e4cfe836fb9309ad0a4d-s100-c100.jpg", "https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2024/05/15/throughline_tile-art_sq-b72bcfb6d8705d7761d4f421f0be3047631b709c-s100-c100.jpg", "https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/11/10/trumps-trial_tile-art_small_sq-71cfb7f3a96f3029db4ca7230c5704c61a351b81-s100-c100.jpg", "https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2024/04/19/tile-wild-card-with-rachel-martin_sq-c9e842a167bab21c50f45fbde9d7d33776e87eda-s100-c100.jpg", "https://media.npr.org/chrome_svg/music-logo-dark.svg", "https://media.npr.org/chrome_svg/music-logo-light.svg", "https://media.npr.org/assets/artslife/books/2010/08/charlie-chan/chan-poster_wide-51e292fcffc22c0ca958c3055c6b7dc7caff53c8.jpg?s=1100&c=50&f=jpeg", "https://media.npr.org/assets/artslife/books/2010/08/charlie-chan/charlie-chan_custom-daa2b7bd430cdf21765ae73d3d5f3b1b512ac4bc.jpg?s=1100&c=50&f=jpeg", "https://media.npr.org/assets/artslife/books/2010/08/charlie-chan/huang_custom-71ace9477631650b5543bee26ca2ed0892bcc3fd.jpg?s=1100&c=50&f=jpeg", "https://media.npr.org/assets/artslife/books/2010/08/charlie-chan/charlie-chan_sq-d1844530b8a025f02476de9942f1af2ba604d076.jpg?s=100&c=85&f=jpeg", "https://media.npr.org/assets/bakertaylor/covers/c/charlie-chan/9780393069624_custom-c9106f1a8c876331f6a3daa6b675d7ab77f7ae9b.jpg?s=1100&c=85&f=jpeg", "https://media.npr.org/assets/artslife/books/2010/08/charlie-chan/charlie-chan_sq-d1844530b8a025f02476de9942f1af2ba604d076.jpg?s=100&c=85&f=jpeg" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "NPR" ]	2010-09-07T00:00:00	The fictional, aphorism-spouting Chinese detective is best known today as a stereotypical relic from a less sensitive time. Yunte Huang tells the story of the real man who inspired the caricature in Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History.	en	https://media.npr.org/ch…icon-180x180.png	NPR	https://www.npr.org/2010/09/07/129424778/investigating-the-real-detective-charlie-chan	Action speak louder than French. Door of opportunity swing both ways. Smart fly keep out of gravy. Tongue often hang man quicker than rope. All gems of fortune-cookie-worthy wisdom spoken by Charlie Chan, the crafty, fictional Chinese detective. In a series of novels and movies, Chan captured American imaginations between the 1920s and the 1950s. But today, he's considered a stereotypical relic from a less racially sensitive time. English professor Yunte Huang hopes to change that with his new book, Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History. Huang was a student in Buffalo, N.Y., when he first stumbled onto Chan's character. "I went to an estate sale, and I found these two Charlie Chan novels," he tells NPR's Linda Wertheimer. "I had never been to an estate sale before because they don't really exist in China." (In China, there is a stigma attached to buying items that belong to a person who has died, Huang explains.) "I was literally terrified to buy these two books," he admits. " But I did anyway, and I took them home -- and I was immediately hooked." Huang subsequently left Buffalo to teach at Harvard, where he researched E.D. Biggers, the author who created the character of Charlie Chan. Huang was surprised to learn that Chan was based on a real Chinese policeman who "had been neglected in history," he says. Huang set out to give that honorable policeman, Chang Apana, the recognition he deserves. Apana "was a 5-foot-tall Cantonese cop in Honolulu in the early 20th century," Huang explains. Originally, Apana had worked as a paniolo, or Hawaiian cowboy. In 1898 -- the same year that the United States officially annexed Hawaii -- he joined the police force. "As a police officer, he worked almost the most dangerous beats in Chinatown, carrying a bullwhip in hand," says Huang. "He never used a gun, and he was a master of disguise. One time, he single-handedly arrested 40 people without firing a shot" -- apprehending a large group of Chinese gamblers using only his bullwhip. Though Apana was an adventurous, fearless figure, Biggers took several liberties when he transformed the Hawaiian cowboy into a wise, stereotypical detective. In his films, especially, Chan barely resembles Apana -- while his real-life counterpart was small and wiry, the onscreen investigator is portly, formally dressed, and effeminate in his movements. In the well-known Charlie Chan films, the detective wasn't played by actors of Chinese descent -- but rather by Swedish actor Warner Oland and American Sidney Toler. It seems an odd casting choice now, but consider the racial climate of the U.S. in the 1920s. Chan made his first appearance in 1925, just one year after the Johnson-Reed Immigration Act was passed -- a law Huang describes as "the first kind of legislative, shall we say, racism against foreigners." The act limited immigration for people of Southern-European, Eastern-European and Japanese origin. It did not restrict Chinese immigration, but only because a different law passed in 1882 had already done so. "At that critical moment when the country had just closed its door to so-called foreigners," Charlie Chan appeared "with all his exoticism [and] aphorisms," Huang says. The complicated reactions Americans had to Chan would be echoed later by Asian-Americans, who had a "love-hate relationship" with the character. Curiously enough, Chinese natives were much less conflicted when they were introduced to Charlie Chan. His movies were big hits across Asia -- and in China especially -- despite the fact that Chan was being played by a white man. Huang has a theory about why the Chinese embraced the faux-Chinese Chan. "I grew up in China, and I used to watch a lot of Chinese operas," he explains. "And it is a very common thing in Chinese opera to do these kind[s] of ventriloquism, or to have cross-dressing, for instance. So performing 'the other' -- that kind of imitation -- is always part of ... artistic culture of China." When Chan movies were being shown in the 1930s, "people flocked to the theaters and they loved him -- especially with his pseudo fortune-cookie aphorisms," Huang says. It's hard to know what to make of Chan's odd and unexpected popularity with Chinese audiences -- but perhaps its significance is in the eye of the beholder. As Chan himself might have said: Optimist only sees doughnut. Pessimist sees hole.
2205	dbpedia	1	3	https://charliechan.org/the-films-charlie-chans-chance/	en	Charlie Chan's Chance	https://charliechan.org/…6/FILMScha-1.jpg	https://charliechan.org/…6/FILMScha-1.jpg	[ "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/FILMScha-1.jpg?resize=350%2C260&ssl=1" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2022-09-28T20:33:11+00:00	Fox Film CorporationDistributed: Fox Film Corporation, January 24, 1932Production: November 16 to early December 1931Copyright: Fox Film Corporation, December 29, 1931, LP2752Opened: Roxy, New York, N.Y., the week of January 22, 1932SoundFilm: Black and whiteLength: 7 reels; 6,400 or 6,749 feetRunning Time: 71 or 73 minutesSource: Based on the novel Behind That Curtain by Earl DerrContinue reading "Charlie Chan’s Chance"	en	https://s0.wp.com/i/webclip.png	The Charlie Chan Family Home	https://charliechan.org/the-films-charlie-chans-chance/	Fox Film Corporation Distributed: Fox Film Corporation, January 24, 1932 Production: November 16 to early December 1931 Copyright: Fox Film Corporation, December 29, 1931, LP2752 Opened: Roxy, New York, N.Y., the week of January 22, 1932 Sound Film: Black and white Length: 7 reels; 6,400 or 6,749 feet Running Time: 71 or 73 minutes Source: Based on the novel Behind That Curtain by Earl Derr Biggers Director: John Blystone Assistant Director: Jasper Blystone Original Story: Earl Derr Biggers Screenplay: Barry Conners; Philip Klein Photography: Joseph August Second Camera: Charles Fetters Assistant Camera: Harry Webb; Lou Kunkel Art Direction: Gordon Wiles Film Editor: Alex Troffey Costumes: David Cox Sound Recording: Albert Protzman Still Photography: Alexander Kahle CAST (As credited in the “Screen Continuity”): Warner Oland: Charlie Chan Alexander Kirkland: John [R.] Douglas H. B. Warner: Inspector Fife Ralph Morgan: Barry Kirk James Todd: Kenneth Dunwood Charles McNaughton: Paradise Marion Nixon: Shirley Marlowe Linda Watkins: Gloria Garland James Kirkwood: Inspector Flannery Herbert Bunston: Garrick Enderby James Wang: Kee Lin Joe Brown: Doctor Edward Peil, Sr.: Li Gung UNCREDITED CAST (alphabetical): William P. Carleton Thomas A. Curran Tom Kennedy: John Hawkins Puzzums: Cat in Li Gung’s Apartment SUMMARY Charlie Chan of the Honolulu Police, and Inspector Fife of Scotland Yard tour the offices of the New York Police Department with Inspector Flannery, in order to study the methods used by that department. While dining with Chan in a Chinese restaurant, Fife receives a telephone call informing him that Sir Lionel Grey, former chief of Scotland Yard, has dropped dead in the penthouse apartment office of Barry Kirk on Wall Street. Grey had been using Kirk’s residence as his base of operations while investigating a case. As Fife and Chan meet Flannery at the scene, Kirk informs the group that, before his death, Grey was about to solve a big murder case that had baffled Scotland Yard for years, and had invited several guests to a party. He had left the party to take a phone call in Kirk’s office where he died suddenly and mysteriously. The doctor on the scene assures the group that Grey died of a heart attack, but Chan notices a dead cat in the room, stating, “Cat is like rich man’s heir – never dies out of sympathy.” The detective surmises that Grey’s death was not natural, and, whatever method was used to kill Grey also killed the cat. After Fife asks Chan if the simultaneous deaths may be mere coincidence, Chan replies, “I always suspect coincidence – same as nose always suspect ancient cheese.” The assembled guests are all questioned, and each person seems to be hiding something. In the office, the police discover that the safe has been robbed – a possible motive for the crime – and learn that John R. Douglas, a chemical manufacturer, had made the last phone call to Grey. Even though Chan has plans to return to Honolulu after the birth of his newest baby (the Chans’ eleventh – a boy), he decides to stay on for the investigation. At a cafe, Shirley Marlowe meets with John Douglas, and he tells her that Sir Lionel Grey had demanded to know the whereabouts of Alan Raleigh, threatening to take Shirley, Raleigh’s former lover, back to England as an accessory to murder if John would not give the information. John then asks Shirley to marry him, stating that the two of them can go away together. After an interview with one of the assembled guests, Chan seeks out and finds Shirley, a Follies performer at a theater where she is a well-known masked dancer. Shirley confesses to the detective that, years ago, she had fallen in love with Raleigh before she had discovered the crime that he had committed. When she learned of the crime, Shirley fled, not wishing to incriminate a man whom she had once loved, and she has been pursued around the world by Scotland Yard ever since. Chan promises to keep Shirley’s secret and goes out to find Li Gung, Raleigh’s servant, whom Shirley had mentioned during their conversation. Locating Li Gung’s residence, with the help of information given to him by Kee Lin, owner of the Chinese restaurant in which Chan and Fife had dined, the detective gains no useful information and only succeeds in arousing the suspicions of Li Gung. Back at Kirk’s office, it is revealed to Kenneth Dunwood, another guest on the night of the murder, and Kirk, that gas masks were found at Douglas’ chemical factory. Back at the theater, Shirley writes a note to Chan, stating that she will tell the police everything. The note is given to her chauffeur to deliver to the detective. However, an unidentified man drops a small poison gas-filled bottle into the car, killing the driver. At the police station, John is brought in. He denies his acquaintance with Shirley until she tells him that she has confessed to everything. John then informs the group that he had seen a “Chinaman” enter the building with a basket on the day that he had met with Grey. Chan then returns to the home of Li Gung where the latter attempts to kill him using an elaborately contrived trap involving a hidden gun. However, at the last moment, a black cat nudges the gun, which causes it to point instead at Li Gung, who falls victim to his own trap. Later, at the check-in room at the Cosmopolitan Club, Chan discovers Sir Lionel’s briefcase, which he determines from the register, was checked in after the murder. Fife and Flannery watch with him who comes to retrieve it, and the trio is surprised to see that it is Barry Kirk who picks up the important item. CONCLUSION: After Kirk has explained that he was picking up the briefcase for someone else, Chan, Fife, and Flannery secretly wait in Kirk’s office, along with Shirley, and Kirk is instructed to answer the door and pretend that he is alone. Soon, Kirk opens the door for Dunwood who thanks Kirk for getting his briefcase at the club. Kirk asks Dunwood when he had gotten his membership card to the club, and it is revealed that Dunwood had not been to the club that day as he had told Kirk earlier, but that he had really dropped off the briefcase just after Grey had been murdered. After Shirley identifies Dunwood as Alan Raleigh, Dunwood grabs a gun that Chan had “clumsily” dropped on the floor while “sneezing.” After confessing to Grey’s murder as he holds everyone at gunpoint, Dunwood attempts to escape but Chan subdues him as Dunwood tries to shoot the detective with the gun that is actually unloaded. “Old habit,” Chan tells a relieved Inspector Fife, “wife never likes loaded gun, on account of children.” NOTES: This is one of the four “lost” Charlie Chan films, having been destroyed in the fire that consumed the 20th Century-Fox film storage facility at Little Ferry, New Jersey on July 9, 1937. An illustrated script-based reconstruction of Charlie Chan’s Chance can be viewed in our collection of “lost” Charlie Chan films. The novel, Behind That Curtain, upon which this film was based was originally published as a serial in The Saturday Evening Post between March 31 and May 5, 1928. Fox also produced a film based on the same source entitled Behind That Curtain, in 1929, which was directed by Irving Cummings. The film starred Warner Baxter and featured E. L. Park as Charlie Chan, who appeared but briefly in the movie. The cat who saves Charlie Chan’s life in this film (Charlie Chan’s Chance) by accidentally redirecting the aim of a gun that instead kills the villainous Li Gung, was named Puzzams and was owned by Nadine Dennis, the sister of child actress Marjean Dennis. Adapted from: AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE CATALOG – Within Our Gates: Ethnicity in American Feature Films, 1911-1960 CHARLIE CHAN’S APHORISMS Some heads, like hard nuts, much better if well-cracked. Under strong general there are no weak soldiers. Good kitchens kill more men than sharp sword. Cat is like rich man’s heir – never dies out of sympathy. Sometimes very small cloud hide sun. Maybe some people on sea of matrimony wish they had missed boat. Chef who cooks with gunpowder make quick fire. Nothing but the wind can pass the sun without casting shadow. When friend asks, friend gives. Silence is golden except in police station. Even wise fly sometimes mistake spider web for old man’s whiskers. Only foolish mouse plays with cat. Do not tangle foot in fringe of murder. One at a time is good fishing. It is difficult to pick up needle with boxing glove. Friends, like fiddle strings, should not be stretched too tight. Out of the darkness of the unknown comes bright spark of light. A fool and his money never become old acquaintances. Guest who lingers too long – becomes stale like unused fish. It takes very rainy day to drown duck. Remember kind-hearted elephant who tried to help hen hatch chickens. Busy as one-eyed cat watching six mouse holes. The impossible sometimes permits itself the luxury of occurring. Useless as life preserver for fish. Do not wave stick when trying to catch dog. Good head always gets own new hat. Dead as sardine in honorable tin can. Sometimes hope become scarce as midnight rainbow. Man is not incurably drowned – if he still knows he is all wet. The geese who laid the eggs deserve the credit. OTHER WORTHY STATEMENTS: The Islands are not yet so civilized as New York. (After being asked by Inspector Flannery if the Honolulu Police Department has a “Rogue’s Gallery” of criminals as they do at the NYPD) I always suspect coincidence – same as nose always suspect ancient cheese. (To Inspector Fife) Perhaps person who removed [killed] him [Sir Lionel Grey] also removed papers [from the safe]. (To Barry Kirk) (Inspector Flannery: “Fits – doesn’t it?”) Yes – like duck’s foot in mud pond. (Regarding a clue) On subject of drink I am one-round prize-fighter. Second round always knock-out. (To Barry Kirk) (Inspector Flannery: “Well I hope you dig up something. It sometimes takes two heads to.”) Also takes two heads to make empty barrel. (Second Chorus Girl: “No laundry today.” [To Chan, thinking he is from a “Chinese laundry”]) (Noting the chorus girls’ decidedly scanty costumes) So I notice. (To Henry, an over-jealous Boy Scout) …every day when you are doing kind deed, remember kind-hearted elephant who tried to help hen hatch chickens. (Henry: “What did he do?”) He sat down on hen’s eggs. It adds more water to an ocean of puzzlement. (To Inspector Fife, regarding an additional suspect) Innocent and guilty in this case are harder to separate than Siamese Twins. (To Inspector Fife) …it may be long time before the beginning and ending of this case shake hands. (To Inspector Flannery) (Inspector Flannery: “Was the boy born in hospital?” [Referring to Chan’s new son]) Oh no – homemade! Well I’m surprised to find out I myself man I was looking for. (To Flannery after store clerk identifies Chan as Li Gung) Even now Li Gung is preparing to attend his own unworthy funeral. (To Inspector Flannery) (Inspector Flannery: “Dead?”[referring to Li Gung]) Dead as sardine in honorable tin can. He invited me into trap but caught wrong fox. (Inspector Flannery: “Did you kill him [Li Gung]?”) No – he saved me trouble by politely killing himself. REVIEW Variety, January 26, 1932 Previous chapters of Fox’s Charlie Chan series are bound to bring comparisons, but this latest won’t suffer. A compact, frequently suspenseful and sufficiently convincing detective feature, it rates with its predecessors as entertainment and should equal the fair grosses they registered. Because Fox isn’t overdoing the Charlie Chan character with too frequent repetition, the Oriental detective is still on his pins as a reliable screen character, with the quality of ‘Charlie Chan’s Chance’ setting things up for a future return. As long as they don’t kill Charles with more than bi-annual release, Warner Oland and Fox can probably continue along the same lines indef. Earl Derr Biggers’ magazine and novel yarns on the subject provide the structure for this chapter, like the others. It has Biggers also – absence of billing for a dialoger discounts the possibility of another author – who provided the constant philosophical sayings which are delivered through the principal character as a means of sewing the action together and maintaining a regular pace. Chan rolls them off his proverbial knife, giving Oland the pushover job of sounding like a resident of Mott street by simply dropping his prepositions like ‘Some heads, like hard nuts, much better if well cracked.’ In solving the new mystery Chan has the help of Inspector Fife of Scotland Yard and Inspector Flannery of New York. But as far as really helping they’re just a couple of stooges. Assistant solvers of Biggers’ murder puzzle, H. B. Warner and James Kirkwood can’t conceal the suppressed desires behind their finely drawn performances. They don’t seem real when so easily baffled by foolish facts which can’t fool Chan. But, after all, Chan is the boy who’s getting the build-up. Another British detective, who gets into the plot as a corpse, is murdered while working on a case in New York. The path to solution is studded with countless false clues and the all-important erroneous arrest of the juve love interest team, Marion Nixon and Alexander Kirkwood. Three people are killed on the way. One is Li Gung (Edward Peil, Sr.), the Chinese accessory to the criminal master mind. The m. m. is James Todd, whose too youthful appearance in the heavy role accounts the picture’s chief note of implausibility. The killing of Li Gung, though arriving some time ahead of the climax, is the most exciting sequence. He’s killed by a bullet intended for Chan, with the stage set and death contraption rigged up for Chan’s benefit before he arrives. A black cat walks across the table, pointing the gun at Li Gung and away from Chan. Li is destroyed by his own creation. Chan is sitting in the hot seat while the audience waits for the trigger to snap. Productionally, this talker is good-looking without denoting undue extravagance. The principal location, a penthouse, is neat, and a helpful attitude of realism is gained through the skyline background which looks like New York from the Empire State building tower. Another standout technical detail is the studio version of the East River at night, whose scenic excellence lends importance to an otherwise unimportant situation that under less expert handling might have been mere padding. SCRIPT NOTES POSSIBLE DATE: Spring 1929 (NOTE: The Chans’ eleventh child, a boy, is born during this adventure. In Charlie Chan Carries On (1931), he is seen in a photograph of the entire Chan family and is referred to as “Duff,” having been named after Inspector Duff of Scotland Yard. As this child appears to be, at least, two years old in the above-mentioned photograph, his birth must have occurred no later than the spring of 1929. With this in mind, we should, perhaps, suggest that the date the adventure depicted in this film takes place, makes this, the third film in the series, actually the earliest of Charlie Chan’s film-documented cases.) LOCATION: New York City BUREAU OF THE NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT VISITED BY CHARLIE CHAN AND INSPECTOR FIFE OF SCOTLAND YARD: Bureau of Criminal Investigation TWO FAMOUS DETECTIVES MENTIONED BY INSPECTOR FLANNERY: Sherlock Holmes and Arsene Lupin THE NAME OF THE FIRST PERSON INTERVIEWED FROM THE POLICE LINE-UP: Hawkins THE LOCATION WHERE HAWKINS “PUT A MAN TO SLEEP WITH A BLACKJACK”: Washington Heights THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WAS STOLEN FROM HAWKINS’ VICTIM: $50 THE NAME OF THE SECOND PERSON INTERVIEWED: Isador Rosenblatt THE CHARGE AGAINST ISADOR ROSENBLATT, ACCORDING TO INSPECTOR FLANNERY: “…entering a delicatessen store on 116th Street and stealing a ham.” THE NAME OF THE THIRD PERSON INTERVIEWED: Evelyn Vandelear THE CHARGE AGAINST EVELYN VANDELEAR, ACCORDING TO INSPECTOR FLANNERY: “…blackmailing a man out of eight hundred dollars.” THE NAME OF THE FOURTH PERSON INTERVIEWED: The Rajah Mangapore INSPECTOR FLANNERY’S DESCRIPTION OF THE RAJAH MANGAPORE: “This man claims to be the seventh son of a seventh son – born with a veil.’ THE CHARGES AGAINST THE RAJAH MANGAPORE, ACCORDING TO INSPECTOR FLANNERY: “…fortune telling and swindling.” THE RAJAH MANGAPORE’S ACTUAL IDENTITY: “Benny the Dip” THE RESTAURANT WHERE CHARLIE CHAN AND INSPECTOR FIFE HAVE DINNER: Kee Lin’s Restaurant (in Chinatown) THE LATE SIR LIONEL GRAY’S FORMER LAW ENFORCEMENT POSITION: Chief of Scotland Yard THE LOCATION OF BARRY KIRK’S OFFICES: Wall Street ACCORDING TO DR. HAMMOND, THE CAUSE AND TIME OF SIR LIONEL GRAY’S DEATH: “Unquestionably…a case of heart failure. I should say that Sir Lionel has been dead over an hour.” THE TIME THAT GLORIA GARLAND HAD INTENDED TO ARRIVE AT BARRY KIRK’S PENTHOUSE: 8 p.m. GLORIA GARLAND’S ACTUAL TIME OF ARRIVAL, DUE TO THE BREAKING OF HER PEARL NECKLACE: 8:20 p.m. GARRICK ENDERBY’S PLACE OF BIRTH: England A DESCRIPTION OF KENNETH DUNWOOD, ACCORDING TO HIMSELF: “Australian educated in London and Heidelberg.” SIGHTS POINTED OUT TO CHARLIE CHAN VISIBLE FROM BARRY KIRK’S PENTHOUSE: The financial district, the Battery, and the Brooklyn Bridge THE TELEPHONE NUMBER USED BY INSPECTOR FLANNERY TO REACH THE NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT: Spring 7-3100 BARRY KIRK’S TELEPHONE NUMBER: Hanover 2-7700 THE NAME OF BARRY KIRK’S GENTLEMEN’S CLUB: The Cosmopolitan Club WITH THE BIRTH OF THE CHANS’ NEW BABY SON, THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN CURRENTLY IN THE CHAN FAMILY: Eleven THE COMPANY FOR WHICH GARRICK ENDERBY WORKED: Thomas Cook and Sons THE NUMBER OF YEARS SINCE THE PERFORMER, NOW KNOWN AS “THE MASKED DANCER AT THE FOLLIES” HAD DISAPPEARED FROM A SHOW IN LONDON, ENGLAND: Four THE DRESSING ROOM NUMBER OF THE MASKED DANCER AT THE FOLLIES: Number one THE NAME OF SHIRLEY MARLOWE’S MAID: Tanya THE ADDRESS OF HENRY LI, THE COUSIN OF LI GUNG: 1313 Lee Street THE AREA OF LONDON WHERE LI GUNG HAD ONCE LIVED: Limehouse THE YOUTH ORGANIZATION TO WHICH HENRY LI BELONGED: Boy Scouts THE NAME OF THE DOCTOR WHO “HELPED” CHARLIE CHAN WITH HIS ANKLE: Dr. Bloom DR. BLOOM’S FEE FOR HIS “ASSISTANCE”: $5 THE NAME OF THE SECOND POLICE OFFICER AT THE CRASH SCENE WHERE SHIRLEY MARLOWE’S CHAUFFEUR DIED: Sully THE NAME OF THE TUG BOAT WHERE THE GAS MASK WAS FOUND: The O. Kay THE LOCATION OF THE O. KAY: Seventh Street pier THE LOCATION OF THE O. KAY WHEN THE GAS MASK WAS FOUND: East River THE POLICE AGENCY WORKING THE NEW YORK CITY WATERFRONT: Harbor Police WHERE THE OWNER OF THE O. KAY CLAIMED TO BE, IN AN ATTEMPT TO PROVE HIS ‘INNOCENCE”: “…I got six witnesses can prove I was in Donovan’s” ACCORDING TO THE OWNER OF THE O. KAY, THE EXACT LOCATION OF WHERE THE GAS MASK WAS FOUND: “Right off the Ninety-sixth Street pier.” ACCORDING TO THE OWNER OF THE O. KAY, THE DAY HE FOUND THE GAS MASK: “Early last Tuesday.” THE NAMES OF LI GUNG’S TWO FRIENDS WHO WERE WITH HIM WHEN CHARLIE CHAN ARRIVED THE SECOND TIME: Po Ki and Loo Tom THE SERIAL NUMBER OF THE GAS MASK: 118 THE COSMOPOLITAN CLUB CHECK NUMBER ISSUED FOR SIR LIONEL’S BRIEFCASE: 1313 GLOSSARY blackjack – A leather-covered bludgeon with a short, flexible shaft or strap, used as a hand weapon. Inspector Flannery: “Last night in Washington Heights he put a man to sleep with a blackjack…” Chinaman – (Today considered offensive) A person of Chinese descent. Manager: “A Chinaman came here a few days ago trying to get it…” dip – (Slang) To pick pockets. Inspector Flannery: “This is Benny the dip. He used to imagine he was a pick-pocket but he couldn’t get his hand in and out of a sugar barrel.” grilling – (Slang) To question relentlessly; cross-examine. Inspector Flannery: “I’m going down and give him another grilling.” home secretary – The British cabinet minister who is head of the Home Office. John Douglas: “Inspector, isn’t it possible that if the British home secretary knew the facts of this case he would waive extradition?” live wire – (Informal) A vivacious, alert, or energetic person. Inspector Flannery: “This young lady is what we call a live wire.” rogues’ gallery – A collection of pictures of known and suspected criminals maintained in police files and used for making identifications. Inspector Flannery: “This is our Rogues’ Gallery.” rubber – (1) A series of games of which two out of three or three out of five must be won to terminate the play. (2) An odd game played to break a tie. Kenneth Dunwood: “But you left the room just after we lost the third rubber…” For a complete glossary list from all films, please visit our Charlie Chan Glossary. Return to
2205	dbpedia	1	41	http://readingwhilewhite.blogspot.com/2016/09/september-spotlight-on-ownvoices-art-of.html	en	Reading While White: September Spotlight on #OwnVoices: The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye	https://blogger.googleus…u/cchc_cover.jpg	https://blogger.googleus…u/cchc_cover.jpg	[ "http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VJ3FbLWxNNA/XAU6rNFEIjI/AAAAAAAAA04/0B8lgCqyLy0BkkVga48GtkHMXYSoqBI7ACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-12-03%2Bat%2B8.15.55%2BAM.png", "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjILZS5f-kBbVPa4EOIGKap-65OmH9_nV7BLMU9fTV-c7FA3boJgWYeAE-ZpJmiowW0rd8KBvohpw9m36nWhyTWmtYYYZWS3lAM8KV-MM4XRKzif-IE47npOEouEiaECT8pQHb6Pa9Q_j8/s200/cchc_cover.jpg", "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvkuJf24fx4OGtDNooAwnABPWfgumNWn3SYgzqunCJIZgc88mUpmZtk0GotZiCVXjcYvuPRY7pngxDlqZ9yDe4YajB1c0tcVRMQfwfMhw0T_VKJaFiOTDKe5WijdTzVbMFxLy_IwtyM4Y/s320/cchc_detail.jpg", "https://resources.blogblog.com/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif", "http://www.blogger.com/img/blogger_logo_round_35.png", "https://resources.blogblog.com/img/icon_delete13.gif", "http://www.blogger.com/img/blogger_logo_round_35.png", "https://resources.blogblog.com/img/icon_delete13.gif" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Reading While White" ]	null	by Sonny Liew. Pantheon Books, 2016. ISBN: 978-1-101-87069-3. Click here to purchase. A day before The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye’s ...	en	http://readingwhilewhite.blogspot.com/favicon.ico		http://readingwhilewhite.blogspot.com/2016/09/september-spotlight-on-ownvoices-art-of.html
2205	dbpedia	0	76	http://thecinemacafe.com/the-cinema-treasure-hunter/2015/6/5/now-listen-to-me	en	"Now Listen to Me..." — The Cinema Cafe	http://static1.squarespace.com/static/51c542f1e4b08e4e524f79ef/t/55713457e4b07b4f85c001ae/1433482380382/?format=1500w	http://static1.squarespace.com/static/51c542f1e4b08e4e524f79ef/t/55713457e4b07b4f85c001ae/1433482380382/?format=1500w	[ "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51c542f1e4b08e4e524f79ef/1433482373053-OCN6QHL7HE9HMMFJCYHH/image-asset.png", "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51c542f1e4b08e4e524f79ef/1433501954247-ZFS9TUFIO1NHFXU3Q01M/stranger-0000-0000-0000-000000000000_f947180f-0c52-49d9-bd7c-649a2d83586a_20110214045223_strangerCook.PNG", "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51c542f1e4b08e4e524f79ef/1433502091607-4S4R2N4WYZPKG4QEP1DL/image-asset.jpeg", "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51c542f1e4b08e4e524f79ef/1433923661085-4MLH60QXYTOXTYR8TBTB/sullivan1a1e5d05101de0.jpg", "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51c542f1e4b08e4e524f79ef/1433925039139-603TK0M6Y31LD2KJ1X02/image-asset.png", "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51c542f1e4b08e4e524f79ef/1433925239632-ENDZDVKO0HP8EMLXXPVP/image-asset.jpeg", "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51c542f1e4b08e4e524f79ef/1433929788277-TIW5D7FZ346NM2S8RPM1/image-asset.gif", "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51c542f1e4b08e4e524f79ef/1433930469898-TD4BKT18WHL2FBPJJ33R/image-asset.jpeg", "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51c542f1e4b08e4e524f79ef/1433931769911-EJG8F7WJT3N02GUFKD3I/image-asset.jpeg", "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51c542f1e4b08e4e524f79ef/1433932157272-P1P2YLBFFTQNFSQC2XUX/image-asset.jpeg", "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51c542f1e4b08e4e524f79ef/1433932601670-LH4S05GK4IDELQ11JQZX/image-asset.jpeg", "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51c542f1e4b08e4e524f79ef/1528372845982-WT3WLB9349DFO49YDHZO/81X52EHeAZL._SL1500_.jpg" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Arthur Grant" ]	2015-06-05T00:00:00	Just some thoughts on current happenings:	en	https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51c542f1e4b08e4e524f79ef/1371883189538-HU77JUTKY7SHYZCUC53L/favicon.ico	The Cinema Cafe	http://thecinemacafe.com/the-cinema-treasure-hunter/2015/6/5/now-listen-to-me	Just kidding, kind of. I'll highly recommend three for June that are all part of the TCM Summer of Darkness premiering Friday, June 5 and running consecutive Fridays through the entire months of June and July. The series will be hosted by well-known film noir aficionado Eddie Muller and contains numerous films that are exciting, engaging and most of all tremendously enjoyable. More information on the schedule, a free online film noir course and special U.S. theatrical screenings of Double Indemnity (previously reviewed here) can all be explored by clicking on the "TCM Summer of Darkness" image above. Keep in mind this special program lists all showings at Eastern Standard Time. This film has many of what would become noir hallmarks, i.e. a wrong man accused (actually two), expressionistic photography and lighting (care of Nicholas Musuraca’s artistry), plus a pervasive atmosphere of guilt, paranoia and doom. Stranger on the Third Floor also fits my definition of noir as a story whose subject is crime but more importantly, one that focuses on its participants' internal motives. In the crime films of the 30s, like Public Enemy, Little Caesar and The Roaring Twenties, the reason for their characters' criminal pursuits, or those who tried to investigate or stop them, was given little attention. Typically for the bad guys it was external influences, to get ahead in tough times and for the good guys, simply to do their job, i.e. catch the bad guys. The best of these “gangster” films were flashy, fun, full of energy and bravado but didn't tell us much about the human psyche behind all of the nefarious activities their characters engaged in. Stranger on the Third Floor changed that. A reporter helps convict a man to death but later believes he may have made a mistake. Another murder takes place but this time, the reporter himself is accused. He not only finds out first hand what it's like to be wrongly suspected, but to live in fear for his life while helpless to investigate. Thankfully he has a devoted fiancee who can pursue his leads and hopefully uncover the real killer before it's too late. The mindset of this reporter is targeted all the way through, which helps make this film more and more captivating as the story progresses. It contains an outrageously vivid dream sequence full of abstract, disproportionate images, sharp angles and sinister shadows to further absorb us. When we do finally meet the killer (a perfectly cast Peter Lorre), he too has a terrifying but complex psychological back story which provides the added personal dimension noir films are known for. These distinctive and brilliantly conceived RKO films noir were typically short in length but long on staying power. For the noir novice, I can think of no better introduction to this genre. The stranger will reveal himself on TCM (updated) Wednesday, June 12 (2024) at 6:30 am PDT. TCM's current monthly schedule can be confirmed by clicking on either of the above film images. For those who live in parts of the U.S. other than the western region, the time zone can be adjusted in the upper right-hand corner of TCM's programme. Like Stranger on the Third Floor, The Gangster was made on the cheap but contains complex characters that help this distinctive noir punch solidly above its pay grade. Barry Sullivan, playing Shubunka, is as comfortable in the title role as fireside marshmallows, running the numbers racket in a waterfront area known as Neptune Beach with the police and local underlings both securely in his pocket. Shubunka has little charm or grace. He oozes cynical contempt for practically everyone who crosses his path. That’s one of this film’s, and noir’s, greatest strengths: the audacity to place a character’s weaknesses front and centre. Instead of trying to artificially enhance the self-serving Shubunka with likeable 30s gangster mannerisms of poise and class, the noir storytellers here defy us not to care what happens to a person consumed with unpleasant but identifiably realistic personality traits. Not only that, Shubunka’s singular redeeming attribute, namely his genuine concern for a female friend, is the one characteristic that will most contribute to his tragic downfall. This fascinating little known cinematic gem is full of an idiosyncratic group of actors all of whom were, or would become, better known for their appearances in more recognisable films noir such as Joan Lorring (Three Strangers, The Verdict), John Ireland (Railroaded!, Raw Deal), Akim Tamiroff (Mr. Arkadin, Touch of Evil), Henry Morgan (Dark City, Scandal Sheet), Sheldon Leonard (Somewhere in the Night, Decoy) and Elisha Cook Jr. (The Maltese Falcon, Phantom Lady). Even Charles McGraw (T-Men, The Narrow Margin) has a small role. Sullivan’s co-star was the U.K.’s answer to Sonja Henie, Belita. The year before The Gangster was released, she made another impressive noir with Sullivan for the “poverty row” King Brothers Productions entitled Suspense, the plot of which allowed Belita to show off her formidable ice skating skills. The Gangster was the last and most distinguished film directed by Gordon Wiles (Charlie Chan’s Secret, Prison Train) who would return to work as an art director on 1950’s The Underworld Story released the year of his death at the age of only 46. The Gangster will make his way (updated) down Eddie Muller’s Noir Alley Saturday, September 29 at 9 pm PST and again on Sunday, September 30 at 7 am PST. TCM's current monthly schedule can be confirmed by clicking on any of the above images. For those who live in parts of the U.S. other than the western region, the time zone can be adjusted in the upper right-hand corner of TCM's program. My final TCM recommendation will be familiar to readers who frequent this site: Once again it’s Hidden Gem #10 They Won’t Believe Me, previously reviewed here along with some words of admiration from The Summer of Darkness’ host Eddie Muller in the comments section below. Last time the channel organised a screening, it became an understandable casualty of a late substitution for one of Eli Wallach’s films after the actor passed away. I’m sure this time it will be a go and I strongly encourage readers to partake in one of noir’s most strikingly unusual and imaginative tales. It is believed to be appearing on TCM the morning of Friday, June 26 at 5 am PST. TCM's current monthly schedule can be confirmed by clicking on any of the above images. For those who live in parts of the U.S. other than the western region, the time zone can be adjusted in the upper right-hand corner of TCM's program. The film’s primary greatness derives from the depth of its characters, perhaps on a more grandiose scale than say The Asphalt Jungle but highly effective nonetheless. This is achieved through an unflinching focus on their reactions and behaviour in a multitude of ever-changing situations. For instance, parolee Haysbert having to work in an awful fast food joint, Portman's deep desire for some kind of relationship with her biological father, and Noonan's calm and careful description of the bank layout. There's Kilmer's turbulent relationship with his wife Judd, who for Kilmer, will finally take a tremendous chance on by giving him a simple but profound hand gesture. Still another remarkable scene occurs between acting titans Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, the former a cop, the latter his prey, who take time out to have an electrifying meeting of the minds at an L.A. diner. There are plenty of other "wow" moments. Personal insights into relationships abound throughout this towering crime saga. The countless number of craftspeople who helped make this film a supreme artistic achievement should all be extremely proud of the result. Not so well known was an unofficial contribution made by the late author, actor and former convict Edward Bunker. Bunker wrote the novel “No Beast So Fierce” while in prison which Heat's director Mann took a strong liking to. The novel was later optioned by star Dustin Hoffman and made into the film Straight Time (Hidden Gem #51). Bunker was Mr. Blue in Reservoir Dogs. He also wrote Animal Factory and the screenplay for Runaway Train which closes with the “No Beast…” Shakespeare “Richard III” quote he was so fond of. He worked as a technical adviser on both Straight Time and Heat, with the latter’s Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Kevin Gage and Dennis Haysbert, teaching them how to think, act and react like ex-cons. (Of course he didn't have to teach actor Danny Trejo anything since they had previously met in prison). Author James Ellroy praised “No Beast So Fierce” as "the most gritty and realistic novel about armed robbery," which makes sense because that was Bunker's former profession. He was also the inspiration for Jon Voight’s behind the scene fix it man ‘Nate’, in Heat.
2205	dbpedia	3	23	https://www.ranker.com/list/controversial-book-to-film-changes/anncasano	en	Controversial Movie Adaptation Changes That Upset Book Fans	https://imgix.ranker.com/list_img_v2/13956/3253956/original/3253956	https://imgix.ranker.com/list_img_v2/13956/3253956/original/3253956	[ "https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&c2=10600724&cv=3.6&cj=1", "https://static.ranker.com/img/brand/ranker-logo.svg?v=1&auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=png&dpr=2&w=104", "https://static.ranker.com/img/brand/wordmark.svg?v=1&auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=png&dpr=2&w=210", "https://imgix.ranker.com/img/icons/menuSearch.svg?v=2&auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=png&dpr=4&h=30&w=30", "https://imgix.ranker.com/img/icons/vote-on-pill.svg?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=png&dpr=4&h=24&w=105", "https://imgix.ranker.com/user_img/1700/8496580/original/anncasano-u2?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&dpr=2&crop=faces&h=40&w=40", "https://imgix.ranker.com/user_node_img/3167/63337922/original/63337922-photo-u1295426640?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&dpr=2&w=650", "https://imgix.ranker.com/img/icons/voteUp.svg?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=png&dpr=4&h=44&w=44", "https://imgix.ranker.com/img/icons/voteDown.svg?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=png&dpr=4&h=44&w=44", "https://imgix.ranker.com/img/icons/titleChevronRight.svg?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=png&dpr=4&h=11&w=11", "https://imgix.ranker.com/user_node_img/110/2194902/original/2194902-photo-u1748246325?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&dpr=2&w=650", "https://imgix.ranker.com/img/icons/voteUp.svg?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=png&dpr=4&h=44&w=44", "https://imgix.ranker.com/img/icons/voteDown.svg?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=png&dpr=4&h=44&w=44", "https://imgix.ranker.com/user_node_img/357/7131653/original/7131653-photo-u1735663720?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&dpr=2&w=650", "https://imgix.ranker.com/img/icons/voteUp.svg?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=png&dpr=4&h=44&w=44", "https://imgix.ranker.com/img/icons/voteDown.svg?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=png&dpr=4&h=44&w=44", "https://imgix.ranker.com/user_node_img/92/1835947/original/1835947-photo-u-1044325988?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&dpr=2&w=650", "https://imgix.ranker.com/img/icons/voteUp.svg?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=png&dpr=4&h=44&w=44", "https://imgix.ranker.com/img/icons/voteDown.svg?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=png&dpr=4&h=44&w=44", "https://imgix.ranker.com/img/icons/titleChevronRight.svg?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=png&dpr=4&h=11&w=11", "https://imgix.ranker.com/user_node_img/36/705818/original/705818-photo-u-90275658?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&dpr=2&w=650", "https://imgix.ranker.com/img/icons/voteUp.svg?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=png&dpr=4&h=44&w=44", "https://imgix.ranker.com/img/icons/voteDown.svg?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=png&dpr=4&h=44&w=44", "https://imgix.ranker.com/img/icons/titleChevronRight.svg?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=png&dpr=4&h=11&w=11", "https://imgix.ranker.com/user_node_img/111/2219085/original/2219085-photo-u-1239695784?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&dpr=2&w=650", "https://imgix.ranker.com/img/icons/voteUp.svg?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=png&dpr=4&h=44&w=44", "https://imgix.ranker.com/img/icons/voteDown.svg?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=png&dpr=4&h=44&w=44", "https://imgix.ranker.com/img/icons/titleChevronRight.svg?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=png&dpr=4&h=11&w=11", "https://v3api.ranker.com/api/px?lid=3253956" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Ann Casano" ]	2023-08-08T00:00:00	The Controversial Movie Adaptation Changes That Upset Book Fans, as voted on by fans. Current Top 3: 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2': ...	en	/img/icons/touch-icon-iphone.png	Ranker	https://www.ranker.com/list/controversial-book-to-film-changes/anncasano	Voting Rules Vote up the book-to-film changes that make you want to rip up the script. Adapting a beloved novel to the big screen is a difficult task. Whether or not critics praise the film, fans of the book are nearly always going to take umbrage with some aspect of the movie. Sometimes even the authors themselves aren't happy with the translation to the big screen. Book fans often decry changes to a character's physical characteristics, or characters and plot points that get left out. But sometimes such changes are inevitable because a movie can't possibly cover every single detail. Other changes or omissions are more substantial and thus more controversial. These book-to-movie adaptations upset book fans who expected more. In J.K. Rowling's book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Voldemort and Harry Potter square off for their final confrontation inside the Great Hall at Hogwarts. After Voldemort's curse rebounds and kills him instead of Harry, the Dark Lord simply falls to the ground. It's pretty much a pedestrian demise, which fits, because once Voldemort's Horcruxes have been eliminated, he is nothing but a mere mortal, which he was determined to never be. The movie version, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, spices up the final scene. Harry and Voldemort duel with explosions and fireworks, this time outside of Hogwarts. After the Elder Wand fells Voldemort, his body disintegrates into piles of ash and soullessly floats away into the wind. Many fans don't like the added drama in the film. Redditor u/miamental wrote: The filmmakers went for artistic instead of realistic (according to the books), and while artistic expression should be respected, it was such a huge moment for the series that I feel they should have stuck to the source material. I specifically disliked how they cleared everyone out and had the fight in the courtyard… However, the worst part was the whole “Voldemort’s body withering away into bits” scene. That was bogus. The entire point of the series is that once his Horcruxes are gone, Voldemort is again a mortal man. Having his body erupt into flowers defies this point and kind of ruins the amount of time spent discussing Horcruxes. In Lois Lowry's 1993 YA novel The Giver, the dystopian world of the novel is set in The Community, a black-and-white place where there is no pain and no emotion, with the goal of creating “sameness” to avoid suffering. Fiona and Jonas are 12 years old. But in the 2014 screen adaptation, filmmakers cast 17-year-old Odeya Rush in the role of Fiona and 24-year-old Brenton Thwaites to play Jonas. Redditor u/brashandsassy wrote that they were “devastatingly disappointed” with parts of the adaptation: Main character Jonas's age is increased from 12 to 16 and is being played by a 24-year-old. The film will not be in black and white, not even in the beginning of the film, despite the "sameness" nature of its utopian society. How are they going to depict the strange flickers that Jonas experiences when he sees Fiona's hair or an apple? They are changing Jonas's one-sided innocent lust towards Fiona to a full-on "love affair" between the two. Tauriel (played by Evangeline Lilly in the films) does not appear in J.R.R. Tolkien's 1937 novel The Hobbit. Director Peter Jackson created the Wood-elf of Mirkwood for the film adaptation, and she is a strong female presence in the story's male-dominated world. Many fans loved the addition of Tauriel, but weren't so happy about about the love triangle filmmakers created. Lilly herself wasn't thrilled with the idea, because she'd had enough of a love triangle during her days on Lost. She reportedly agreed to play the elf only if the trope was not written into The Hobbit. Lilly said of her Lost character Kate Austen: “I felt that my character went from being autonomous - really having her own story, and her own journey, and her own agendas - to chasing two men around the island. That irritated the sh*t out of me.” Still, the love triangle between Tauriel, Legolas (Orlando Bloom), and Kili (Aidan Turner) became a key component in The Hobbit. Redditor u/Powerful_Artist wrote: In general I think the Hobbit movies would be stronger if they removed the Tauriel love [interest] with the dwarf [Kili]. [It's] one of the worst movie romances [I've] ever seen, and feels completely forced. Not to mention it takes up valuable screen time they [could've] used elsewhere. One problem I have is figuring out who she is and why she is there… How and why is Legolas so committed to her?… [She's] beautiful and she seems like a great actor, but The Hobbit does not need a love story. It just [doesn't]. Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice has been adapted numerous times for the big and small screen. The 2005 film version starring Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet and Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy received four Oscar nominations, for Knightley as best actress, and for best score, costume design, and art direction. Some fans and critics, however, thought the film emphasized romance over realism. Redditor u/KaiG1987 wrote: I'm a big fan of the novel, but unfortunately that meant I couldn't enjoy the 2005 movie much at all. While it does have wonderful cinematography, in my opinion it's like a truncated theme park version of Pride and Prejudice, with too much of the nuance and satire removed. And Redditor u/OldManAbernathy wrote: All of Austen’s interesting commentary about the nature of marriage and happiness is removed for the sake of the main “standard” love story. Tim Burton's 2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory had two different beloved works to be compared with: Roald Dahl's 1964 children's book and the 1971 big-screen adaptation featuring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. In Burton's film, starring Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka, screenwriter John August provided exposition into the candy man's dark past that's not in the book. The audience learns that as a child, Wonka was not allowed to eat candy because his father was a dentist who despised the sugary treat. He left home for a while, and when he returned, his father was gone and he became an orphan. Many fans of the film and book did not care for the dark backstory. Redditor u/GyantSpyder wrote: For most of the people I've talked to, the backstory came off as forced, boring, and pointless, and is the source of most of the distaste for the movie…The whole "Willy Wonka learns the value of family and reconciles with his father" thing is a bizarre departure for the character in that work... It's taking a story that's about wonder in a really screwed-up and intense, semi-mysterious way, and instead making it dreary and psychologically dramatic and straightforward. And it stinks with a smug sense of superiority that it is improving on the source material, when really it is just failing to understand it. Hollywood just can't quit trying to adapt Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1850 novel The Scarlet Letter, which falls under public domain. Hawthorne's high school reading staple has been adapted for TV or film 13 times. The 1995 version, directed by Roland Joffé and starring Demi Moore as Hester Prynne and Gary Oldman as the Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale, was not a hit: The film “won” seven Golden Raspberry Awards, and on Rotten Tomatoes earned a 13% critics score and 41% audience score. Book critic Paul Constant wrote in The Seattle Review of Books: …[T]he end of the movie is abominable. Hester and Arthur are about to be hanged together, but they are saved at the last minute by warring Native Americans, because they’re the only white people who treated them right. The couple rides off into the sunset together, Hester discarding her scarlet letter in the road as they head to the Carolinas for their happy ending. A Rotten Tomatoes audience reviewer who gave the film one star decried the ending as well: The Scarlet Letter (1995) is hollow, stupid, and completely melodramatic. It changes Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel of a struggling woman to a sappy romance between two lovers, with the Indians as a rescue team and, well, the heroes walk free again. It is seriously a fat cliche.
2205	dbpedia	0	21	https://northcarolina.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.5149/9780807837467_bennett/upso-9780807835746-chapter-7	en				[]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null					null
2205	dbpedia	3	1	https://charliechan.org/study-charlie-chan-cc025/	en	Study: Charlie Chan (CC025)	https://charliechan.org/…11/image-332.png	https://charliechan.org/…11/image-332.png	[ "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-332.png?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-333.png?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-334.png?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-335.png?resize=640%2C494&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-336.png?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-337.png?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-338.png?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-339.png?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-340.png?resize=448%2C597&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-341.png?resize=448%2C597&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-342.png?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-343.png?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-344.png?resize=448%2C597&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-345.png?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-346.png?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-347.png?resize=448%2C597&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-348.png?resize=448%2C597&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-349.png?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-350.png?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-351.png?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-352.png?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-353.png?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-354.png?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/charliechan.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-355.png?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2022-11-16T16:35:34+00:00	Originally published in Classic Images, Number 339, September 2003 The Who’s Who of Charlie Chan’s Family By Howard M. Berlin Charlie Chan is the rotund Chinese detective created by Earl Derr Biggers. Beginning in 1925 with The House Without a Key, Biggers modeled Chan after Chang Apana, a real-life Chinese detective who lived with his large family inContinue reading "Study: Charlie Chan (CC025)"	en	https://s0.wp.com/i/webclip.png	The Charlie Chan Family Home	https://charliechan.org/study-charlie-chan-cc025/	Originally published in Classic Images, Number 339, September 2003 The Who’s Who of Charlie Chan’s Family By Howard M. Berlin Charlie Chan is the rotund Chinese detective created by Earl Derr Biggers. Beginning in 1925 with The House Without a Key, Biggers modeled Chan after Chang Apana, a real-life Chinese detective who lived with his large family in Honolulu on Punchbowl Hill. With the exception of Sherlock Holmes, Charlie Chan is the most prolific detective on film—a filmography that includes an initial 10-part serial in 1926 followed by 46 films through 1949. During this span, six actors played the inscrutable detective: George Kuwa (1925), Kamiyama Sojin (1927), E.L. Park (1929), Warner Oland (1931-1938), Sidney Toler (1938-1947), and Roland Winters (1947-1949). There are two things that I enjoy the most that set the Charlie Chan film series apart from the other B-detective films of the 1930s and 1940s. One is Chan’s frequent use of pithy, but wise sayings. The other is the scenarists’ inclusion of Chan’s children in many of the films who are often found to be on the receiving end of many of Charlie’s well-placed verbal shots—”Better a father lose his son than a detective his memory” in Charlie Chan’s Murder Cruise (1940). Also mentioned are a few members of the extended family—”Man without relatives is man without troubles.” Because of Chan’s large family, it is not uncommon for questions to arise concerning his family, relatives, and the names of his children. Although the family members are characters of fiction, one however has to carefully distinguish between the novels and the films, as there were only rare cases where the film faithfully followed the novel it was based on. In the six novels Biggers wrote, Charlie Chan and his honorable wife are parents to 11 children, a brood large enough for the Chans to field their own family baseball or football team if they wanted to. Charlie candidly declares in The Chinese Cat (1944), “Once you have large family, all other troubles mean nothing.” More than 40 films allowed for the development of the Chan family and the many scenarists introduced changes in the family along with perhaps unintended occasional errors in continuity over the duration of the series. Of the very early Chan talkies with Warner Oland, sadly four films are considered “lost” but thankfully their scripts and some stills survive. Like Chan, we can try to deduce certain facts allowing us to gather further information about some members of the Chan family. The Chan Children: The Changing Numbers Throughout the film series the size of the Chan family changes. The script of one of the lost films, Charlie Chan Carries On (1931), gives the first glimpse of the scope of Charlie’s family and his role as a family man. In one scene, Chan has just sent his friend Inspector Duff of Scotland Yard a letter along with a family photograph of himself, his wife, and their 11 children, whom Chan occasionally calls his “multitudinous blessings.” One can only suppose that this family photo is similar to the one in Charlie Chan’s Courage (1934), another lost film, or the one seen in available films like Charlie Chan in London (1934) and Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935). Such photos which, from left to right, show the 11 children in a single line in descending order, possibly by age. From the photo one can readily identify five sons and five daughters, but the gender of the youngest child is uncertain. However, in The Black Camel (1931), which followed Charlie Chan Carries On by only two months, only ten children are seen. One film later in Charlie Chan’s Chance (1932), child Number 11 is born. As a devoted family man, Charlie always has a picture of his family in a large wallet placed near his bed in his travels around the world. In Charlie Chan in London, Chan, his wife, and 10 children are shown in one photograph and a separate photograph shows a young baby—probably child Number 11 from Charlie Chan’s Chance. However this is at odds with the end of the movie when Charlie says that at home, he has 12 children and one wife. Four films later in Charlie Chan’s Secret (1936), Charlie has a picture of himself, his wife, and 11 children. In Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936), the entire Chan family consisting of Charlie, his wife, and 12 children (five sons and seven daughters) are shown together entering a circus tent in the order of increasing height (and probably age) with Charlie last, holding the baby which he calls their “latest blessed event.” One can only wonder how Charlie and his wife manage to have such a large family when he is frequently solving mysteries in places other than Honolulu. The 1938 entry, Charlie Chan in Honolulu, is notable in many respects. First, the role of Charlie Chan is now played by Sidney Toler following the death of Warner Oland. Secondly, the departure of Keye Luke as Number One son from the series now introduces Number Two son Jimmy for the first time. Thirdly, Charlie and his wife confirm that they now have 13 children and a grandchild is born at the film’s end. However one scene at the beginning of the film shows 11 children at the family dining table—now seven boys and four girls—with Number Two son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung, then credited as Sen Yung) seated at the head of the table next to Charlie. The discrepancy of two fewer children is easily resolved when Jimmy explains Lee’s absence, now attending art school in New York, and Number One daughter Ling is in the hospital about to give birth to the Chans’ first grandchild. With 13 children, there are now eight sons and five daughters accounted for. Apparently somewhere between the “Circus” and “Honolulu” films, the Chans despite adding one child, have gained three sons and lost two daughters! In “Honolulu,” a freighter captain has already met two of Charlie’s sons (Jimmy and Willie) under annoying circumstances aboard his ship while Chan is also aboard investigating a murder. He then tersely inquires of Charlie there are any more. To the captain’s astonishment, Charlie admits to having nine more at home, corroborating the total of 11 children present in an earlier scene at the crowded dinner table. In Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939), an old friend praises Chan’s wife as an “institution,” having given birth to 13 children. In Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940), Charlie responds to his chief superior that he likes to use the element of surprise and not to be its victim. When the police chief then inquires if Chan was ever surprised, Charlie with a smile admits the only time was “When honorable wife announced arrival of 13th offspring.” When the production of the Charlie Chan films changed studios from 20th Century-Fox to Monogram, viewers were informed of another increase in the family’s size. In Monogram’s first entry, Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944), a long-time friend who hasn’t seen Charlie in ten years asks him about his wife and seven children. Charlie retorts that they have seven more and that “Everything grow rapidly in Hawaii.” Two films later (Black Magic, 1944), Charlie remarks, “I have 14 children; they all try to boss me.” Thankfully for Charlie, there are no further additions to the family for the rest of the series. No matter how many children the Chans have, all cast members having roles of the various Chan children were ethnic Asians. This was unlike the standard Hollywood practice at that time of casting non-Asian actors, such as Warner Oland, Sidney Toler, Roland Winters, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff, in the major roles depicting Oriental characters like Chan, Mr. Moto and Mr. Wong. The Black Camel is another significant film for me. Although ten children are seen in one scene, none are ever referred to by name, nor are they listed in the film’s credits—leaving the viewer to guess which ones might be the future Number One son or Number Two daughter of the later films. Secondly, The Black Camel has one of the series’ funniest dialogues between Charlie and two of his children. Although Chan in many ways honors tradition having been born in China, his children are fully Americanized in their behavior and speech, unlike his own stilted delivery, and he finds it difficult to understand their new ways and language. A scene at the dinner table concerns a discussion about a less than flattering report card from school, a topic that occurs again in Charlie Chan’s Murder Cruise (1940), but apparently with a different son. One son presents his report card to Charlie, initiating the following exchange between Chan, the son, and a daughter: Charlie: Teacher say you are always at bottom of class. Can’t you find better place? Son: No, Pop. All the other places are taken. Charlie: That is no excuse! Son: Aw, baloney! Charlie: Baloney? Daughter: Aw, that’s a lot of applesauce. Come on, Pop. Spill the beans! Charlie: Baloney, applesauce, beans. One would think you all took lessons in grocery store instead of at school! Besides this comedic conversation, we are treated to the cultural differences between the two generations. In this film much of Charlie’s acerbic barbs are directed for Kashimo, his overzealous but inept Japanese police assistant “Spend more time hunting for nothing to do!” Charlie admonishes. Henry Chan: The First Number One Son The start of any discussion about any one of Charlie Chan’s children must start with Henry Chan. He is first mentioned in Biggers’ 1929 novel, The Black Camel, as the Chans’ eldest son but he is absent from the 1931 movie with the same title. Based on the movie’s final shooting script, Henry appears about halfway though the film in a brief, uncredited role in Charlie Chan Carries On (1931). From the script, we find that Henry, in his sole line of the film, initiates the established practice of all the children of addressing their father as “Pop.” Oswald Chan The second child to have an appearance in the Charlie Chan series is Oswald. Like Henry, Oswald Chan appears only once, as an uncredited role in Charlie Chan’s Greatest Case (1933). Based on the film’s revised final shooting script, the viewer first encounters Oswald about three-quarters into the film in the typical Chan family setting—the entire family eating in the dining room. The following exchange between Charlie and Oswald in one scene shows that Charlie’s grasp of American slang has not improved: Charlie: You have carefully gone over instructions? Oswald: Everything’s Jake. Charlie: Jake? Oswald: Okay. Charlie: Oh…Okay. For such a long-running series, fans often like to point out continuity errors, inconsistencies of facts that occur. There are many, as we shall see. The question here that begs asking, if Henry is the Number One son, is then Oswald the Number Two son? Lee Chan: The Second Number One Son Even though Fox Film Corporation had already made six previous Charlie Chan films with Warner Oland, Charlie Chan in Paris (1935) is the series’ first film that features one of Chan’s children in a major role. Also, the viewer is introduced to two more innovations that would be standard fare throughout the rest of the series. One is the custom of Charlie’s often referring to his various children by number, such as “Number One son” Lee, played by the affable Keye Luke. A second innovation is that of one or more of the children acting as Charlie’s uninvited and often troublesome assistant when their detective father is assigned a case—”Father who depend on son is happy or foolish according to son.” Of all the Chan offspring in the series, Lee is probably the best remembered, and often pops up unexpectedly in various parts of the globe wherever his father comes to town. Because of his travels with his father, Lee develops the strange hobby of appropriating towels as mementos from the hotels he has stayed in and ships he has sailed on. In some of the films, Lee actually has a job, often employed as some kind of purchasing agent or trade representative. Coincidentally, he is often sent on business to the same location as is his honorable father. In Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935) Lee meets his father, telling him that his firm sent him to Shanghai to look into the trade situation. Charlie then ribs Lee by asking, “Selling oil for lamps in China?” Ironically, it was Luke who had a bit part as a Chinese soldier in the film, Oil for the Lamps of China (1935), which was released about a month before “Shanghai” went into production. In Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937), Lee is shown to be an accomplished athlete when, as a member of the U.S. Olympic team in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, he swims in the 100 meter freestyle race. In Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937), Lee, as Luke was in real life, portrays an artist. He and Charlie are both passing through Monte Carlo on their way to a Paris art show where one of Lee’s paintings is being displayed. In the last film of the series, Sky Dragon (1949), Lee is studying to be an airplane pilot. As the Number One son, Lee Chan is a definite asset to the films’ plots. Often, the exchanges between the inscrutable father and his clean-cut son highlight Charlie’s paternal qualities and Lee is usually around to provide the necessary physical action which Oland’s portrayal lacks. Lee even receives a black eye for his trouble in Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937). Lee and many of his siblings of the later films are bilingual, and are comfortable conversing in English or Chinese. However, it is Lee who mangles the French language in Charlie Chan in Monte Carlo. At the film’s beginning, he tries to impress Monaco’s chief of police (Harold Huber) with an introduction. With a quizzical look, the policeman responds in English, “That is French, no?” Charlie carefully reminds Lee, “Fortunately assassination of French language not serious crime.” A short while later in the same film, Lee doesn’t remember his father’s earlier advice and, tries explains to a pair of gendarmes how he and his detective father just discovered a dead body on a lonely road. However, errors in Lee’s French grammar and pronunciation cause the police to arrest them both on suspicion of murder. In the jail cell Charlie tersely admonishes Lee, “In future, remember that tongue often hang man quicker than rope.” None of Lee’s shortcomings however diminish his strong devotion to and concern for his father’s welfare. Always appreciative of Lee’s help, Charlie remarks, “Confucius say, no man is poor who have worthy son.” Keye Luke was born June 18, 1904 in Guangzhou (formerly Canton), China. At an early age he and his family immigrated to the U.S. where he grew up in Seattle. After graduation from high school, Luke then went to the University of Southern California. Drafted into military service during World War II, he went back to college to learn Mandarin Chinese for the Marines, but it wasn’t until 1944 when he became a naturalized U.S. citizen. Luke was a talented artist. He entered the film industry as a billboard designer and caricaturist, and in 1933 was one of the founders of the Screen Actors Guild. Ironically, he did publicity artwork for the Fox studio in connection with several of the early Charlie Chan films. Luke tells the story that his becoming an actor was mainly the result of being in the right place at the right time. When he did his first picture in an uncredited supporting role with Greta Garbo in The Painted Veil (1934), Luke got the role because his former boss at MGM called him to his office one day. As Luke fondly reminisced with actress Beulah Quo during a 1977 dinner of the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California: “I took samples of my art work with me. He said, ‘What the hell do you have those things for?’ I said, ‘I thought you wanted to see my art work.’ He replied, ‘No! Read page 35,’ handing me the script for The Painted Veil. After I read it, he asked, ‘How do you like it?’ I said, ‘But, I’m an artist,’ I insisted. ‘Don’t worry about that,’ he answered, and took me downstairs to the casting department.” Coincidentally, this film also featured Charlie Chan’s Warner Oland, with whom Luke would join one year later in the increasingly popular Charlie Chan series. From his first appearance as Number One son Lee Chan in Charlie Chan in Paris, Luke continued the role seven more times with Oland. While filming Charlie Chan at the Ringside in 1938, Oland unexpectedly left the set and eventually went to Sweden where he died of bronchial pneumonia. Twentieth Century-Fox salvaged much of this uncompleted project and reworked it as the 1938 movie, Mr. Moto’s Gamble with Luke again playing the part of Lee Chan, but now as an assistant to Mr. Moto, a Japanese detective played by Peter Lorre. With Oland’s death, Sidney Toler was picked to continue the Charlie Chan role and Keye Luke’s pay was cut by the studio. Jon Tuska writes in his book, The Detective in Hollywood, that producer Sol Wurtzel once commented to Luke, “With this team, there’s one smart one and one dumb one. You’re the dumb one.” This verbal slap and resenting the cut in pay caused Luke to quit the series. His role was then replaced with a new character—Jimmy Chan as the Chans’ Number Two son. Ten years later, Luke would reprise his Lee Chan role for the last two movies of the series at Monogram with Roland Winters. Although he was never in a Charlie Chan film with Toler, Luke and Toler did appear together in Adventures of Smilin’ Jack (1943). By 1940, there now were three Oriental detectives in films—Charlie Chan, Mr. Moto, and Mr. Wong. Unfortunately, each series continued the industry practice of casting a non-Asian actor as the lead detective. After Boris Karloff had appeared as James Lee Wong in five Mr. Wong films at Monogram, Keye Luke was chosen for the Mr. Wong role in Phantom of Chinatown (1940). This marked the first time an Asian actor was cast in the main role of an Oriental detective. Unfortunately, Luke was mismatched in the lead role and the Mr. Wong series quickly ended. Luke made more than 100 films over his career of more than 60 years. As a contract player in the big-studio era, Keye Luke had to appear in many minor movies, but he also had supporting roles in major films such as The Good Earth (1937) and Love Is a Many Splendored Thing (1955). Luke was involved in other series besides the Charlie Chan films. He played the loyal Kato in The Green Hornet films and the dedicated intern, Dr. Lee Wong How, in five Dr. Kildare films of the 1940s. Luke also played Wang Chi-Yang, the patriarch of a Chinese-American family in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1958 Broadway musical, Flower Drum Song. Incidentally, Luke’s role would be played by Benson Fong, another “Chan son,” in the 1961 movie adaptation of the Broadway show. Besides films and the Broadway stage, Luke found work in many television episodes such as Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, The A-Team, Miami Vice, MacGyver, Harry-O, Night Court, Cannon, Remington Steele, Magnum P.I., It Takes a Thief, I Spy, and Star Trek. He was also the voice of Charlie Chan on the Saturday morning cartoon show, Charlie Chan and the Chan Clan in the early 1970s. However, Luke was probably the most popular in his post-Charlie Chan years as Master Po, a blind Shaolin monk in the Kung Fu television show (1972-1975), which Luke considers his best role. Besides acting, Luke often served as a technical adviser on films with Chinese themes. In 1986, he won the first Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed by the Association of Asian/Pacific American Artists, and he was honored with a sidewalk star in the Hollywood Hall of Fame in December 1990. A month later though, Keye Luke died from a stroke at the age of 86 on January 12, 1991 at the Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital in Whittier, California. He was survived by a daughter, Ethel Longenecker, whom he adopted in 1942 when he married Ethel Davis. Jimmy Chan: The First Number Two Son? With the death of Warner Oland and the departure of Keye Luke from the series, 20th Century-Fox writers introduced a new character—Jimmy Chan, a.k.a. “Number Two son” to replace older brother Lee along with the introduction of Sidney Toler as the Number Two Chan. Starting with Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938), Jimmy, who was also credited as James Chan in several of the films, was portrayed by Victor Sen Yung (then credited as simply Sen Yung). The character was written into 13 films, all of which were alongside Toler. At the scene at the dinner table mentioned earlier in which Jimmy mentions older brother Lee’s attending art school in New York, Charlie refers to Jimmy as “Number Two son,” which would appear to eliminate Oswald from this distinction. However, in the later films churned out by Monogram, the “Number Two son” moniker is mysteriously reassigned to Tommy Chan. More about this change later. Although Jimmy is portrayed as a college student much of the time, there are some inconsistencies and revelations about his college days. In Charlie Chan in Reno (1939), Jimmy is a chemistry student at the University of Southern California and one film later in Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940), is in New York attending law school. Then in the following picture, Murder Over New York (1940), Jimmy is again a chemistry student with occasional classes in biology and art. In Charlie Chan in Rio (1941), Jimmy confesses under hypnosis that he didn’t do well in math because the class is at 8:00 a.m. and he is too lazy to get out of bed. With all this education it is not surprising that Charlie often refers to Jimmy as “expensively educated offspring,” but also concedes that “One scholar in family better than two detectives.” Besides his college studies, Jimmy also finds time to be a pitcher on the school’s baseball team. He also shows that he can play the violin when he breaks out with impromptu boogie-woogie music, called “chop suey boogie,” with Chan chauffeur Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland) on the piano in Docks of New Orleans (1948). Jimmy sometimes is hired on with temporary jobs onboard freighters during college vacations but he often lands in jail because of some kind of misunderstanding with the police who doesn’t believe that his father is the famous Charlie Chan. The incarceration generally serves to justify Jimmy’s “just happen to be in the neighborhood” presence when his father arrives on a case in Charlie Chan in Reno (1939) and Charlie Chan in Panama (1940). In his initial appearance, Jimmy already has an appetite for detective work. “I could be the best detective on the island with your help,” he tells his father. Charlie however is a little less optimistic— “I’m afraid you overestimate abilities of parent.” Jimmy is always eager to assist his honorable detective father, most of the time without permission, and Charlie often has his doubts about Jimmy’s usefulness—”Father who depend on son is happy or foolish according to son.” Despite his good intentions though, Jimmy often gullible, providing more than occasional comic relief—”Young squirt merely chip masquerading as block.” Jimmy’s uninvited assistance is also the butt of Charlie’s jokes—”Number Two son very promising detective; promise very much, produce very little.” In Murder Over New York (1940), Charlie with a little sarcasm introduces Jimmy to an old friend saying, “This is favorite offspring Jimmy, without whose assistance many cases would have been solved much sooner.” After Jimmy invites himself with assisting his father on the case, Charlie enlightens his son, “Will inform honorable mother that aid from Number Two son like interest on mortgage. Impossible to escape.” Even with such well-placed quips, exchanges between father and his “favorite offspring” son continue to highlight Charlie’s human qualities despite Toler’s slightly more acerbic interpretation of the Charlie Chan character. After helping his father solve a murder case in Charlie Chan in Rio, Charlie breaks the news to Jimmy that a cablegram from his honorable mother informs them that Jimmy has just been drafted into the Army. Jimmy’s nonchalant response is, “Well how do you like that? Now I’ve got a war on my hands!” When Charlie questions if Jimmy doesn’t want to go, Number Two son boasts, “Sure. With me in it Pop, the war’s in the bag. It’s a cinch!”In the following film, Castle in the Desert (1942), Jimmy is now in the army. He then joins his father on a case while on leave from army training and complains about why they have to do so much marching. Charlie, who never is at a loss for a few words of wisdom, replies, “Excellent training for brains of young sprouts. Man who walk have both feet on ground.” Jimmy is then absent from the series for the next six films, presumably due to his being in the army during World War II. This was not far from the truth as Yung was actually a captain in intelligence for the U.S. Air Force during World War II. Victor Sen Yung, whose original name was Sen Yew Cheung, was born October 18, 1915 in San Francisco’s Chinatown. When he was 12, he took a job as a houseboy for a family on Nob Hill to help finance his future education. He later graduated from the University of California with a degree in economics and did some graduate work at UCLA and USC. As did Keye Luke, Yung got into acting by shear happenstance. He was employed as a salesman for a chemical company and came to the 20th Century-Fox studios one day with samples of a new flame retardant to sell. Instead of closing the sale, Yung was persuaded to take a screen test for the new role of Jimmy Chan. In his role as Jimmy Chan, Yung appeared in all his films with Sidney Toler. Because of his military service with the Air Force in World War II, Yung was replaced with Benson Fong as Tommy Chan, the Number Three son when Monogram took over the series in 1944. In 1946, Yung returned to the series reprising his Jimmy Chan role in Shadows Over Chinatown. Two films later, Sidney Toler died in 1947 and Roland Winters was picked to carry on the role of Charlie Chan for Monogram’s final six films. Along with a new actor to play his honorable father, Yung was without explanation, now cast as Tommy Chan for five of the six final Monogram films and also mysteriously upgraded as Charlie’s Number Two son.Besides changes in his character from Jimmy to Tommy and his seniority among his brothers, Yung himself also underwent several name changes and spellings. In all ten films at 20th Century-Fox, Yung was credited simply as Sen Yung. When he returned to the series following military service, he was billed as Victor Sen Young but was credited as Victor Sen Yung in his final film of the series, The Feathered Serpent (1948). As to why the different names and spellings throughout the series, no one knows for sure. Besides his appearance in 18 Charlie Chan films, Yung had roles in more than 35 other films, many of which were stereotypical for Asian actors. In some he had key roles, such as Ong Chi Seng in Billy Wyler’s The Letter (1940) with Betty Davis, which Yung felt was his best performance, and as Frankie Wing in Flower Drum Song (1961). In addition to films, he found work in recurring roles in several television shows. He was Chuen in Kung Fu (1972), cousin Charlie Fong in Bachelor Father (1957-62), and was perhaps best recognized as Hop Sing, the Cartwright’s irascible cook and houseboy, in Bonanza (1959-73). It is ironic that Yung was cast as a cook because he actually was a talented Cantonese-style cook. In 1974 he penned the Great Wok Cookbook (as Victor Sen Yung), which was dedicated to his father, Sen Gam Yung. Unlike some of the other actors from the Chan and Bonanza series, financial fortune did not follow Yung. Virtually penniless and alone, he died tragically November 9, 1980 in a North Hollywood tenement from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning due to a gas leak in the stove. Tommy Chan: The Climb from Number Five to Number Two Son The character of Tommy Chan has an interesting evolution throughout the series. He is first seen in Charlie Chan in Honolulu as the “Number Five son,” whose part is played by Layne Tom, Jr. There is a bit of sibling rivalry in this film between Tommy and his older brother Jimmy, each boasting he can do the better job of detecting and assisting their father. After “Honolulu,” Tommy is absent from the series for the next ten films until Monogram’s Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944), when Tommy, now played by Benson Fong, is promoted two rungs, without explanation, to “Number Three son.” Fong is cast with Sidney Toler as his honorable father in six Monogram entries but is dropped from the series after completing Dark Alibi (1946). Toler died on February 12, 1947 after a long illness from intestinal cancer and Roland Winters was tapped to continue the Chan role in The Chinese Ring (1947). As was the case when Oland died, there was also a shuffle among Charlie’s children. Yung continued in the series, but he did so now as Tommy Chan, who was cast as the “Number Two son.” The change in character name and number for Yung is probably due more to carelessness in the continuity of writing the screenplays than for any other reason. Of the three actors to portray Tommy Chan, Benson Fong’s characterization, intentionally or not, comes off as the one who was the real bumbler. Lee, Jimmy, and Tommy occasionally converse in fluent Chinese in many of the films, sometimes to their humble father when excited; more often though to pretty Chinese girls, like those portrayed by Barbara Jean Wong, Shia Jung, Iris Wong, and Jean Wong, that were included in the plots to add a dash of anticipated romance. However, Tommy’s flawless conversational Spanish while in Mexico City during a scene in The Red Dragon (1945) is a big surprise when compared to Lee’s French in the earlier Charlie Chan in Monte Carlo. As the son of a well-to-do businessman, Benson Fong was born October 10, 1916 in Sacramento, California. He went to study in China after high school but eventually returned to Sacramento to open a grocery store. In the late 1930s he landed a few brief bit parts which included an uncredited role as a Chinese soldier extra in Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936). However Fong got his real break in the early ’40s when in a San Francisco Chinese restaurant with some friends, he saw a man staring at him. This made him uneasy and Fong asked the waiter to tell the man to stop staring. The man came over and introduced himself as a director at Paramount Studios and said that he was looking for a Chinese man for a film. There was a big demand for Fong and other Asian actors at this time as Hollywood was turning out lots of war movies and the studios needed Asian actors to play the needed Japanese and Chinese characters. Besides the Charlie Chan series, Fong appeared in nearly 45 other films. His two favorite roles were that of a servant in Keys of the Kingdom (1944) with Gregory Peck and Vincent Price, and the family patriarch Wang Chi-Yang in Flower Drum Song (1961). Like Keye Luke and Victor Sen Yung, Fong also found additional work in television series such as Perry Mason, Family Affair, Kung Fu, Mission: Impossible, and It Takes a Thief. Fong opened Ah Fong’s, a restaurant on Vine Street in Hollywood in 1946 at the suggestion of his friend Gregory Peck. In time there were to be four more—in Encino, Beverly Hills, Anaheim, and one on Sunset Boulevard, but only one remained when Fong retired in 1985. As a bit of trivia, the next to last episode of the TV show Bewitched in 1972, revealed that Darin Stephens (then played by Dick Sargent) who worked for an advertising agency, had Ah Fong’s Restaurant as one of his clients. Benson Fong died August 1, 1987 at age 70 from complications of a stroke and was survived by his wife, five children and three grandchildren. Three Chan Sons Together for One Time Keye Luke, Victor Sen Yung, and Benson Fong never worked as a trio on any of the Chan films, although Luke and Yung once teamed up in The Feathered Serpent (1948). On November 5, 1977 the three “brothers” appeared together as honored dinner guests of the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California with actress Beulah Quo serving as emcee. All three of who played Charlie’s sons were presented plaques from the Society honoring their achievements and historical contributions to the motion picture and television industry. When asked why they became actors, all three gave the identical reply—money. Eddie Chan: Number Four Son In order of sibling seniority, the Chans’ Number Four son is Eddie Chan. The character appears in only one film, The Jade Mask (1945), and is played by Edwin Luke, Keye Luke’s real-life younger brother. Compared to his other siblings, Eddie is the intellectual one—a “very expensively educated bookworm,” in Charlie’s words. Eddie is also sensitive about his name, as when he admonishes his parent, “Please father, call me Edward. Eddie is so juvenile.” In one scene Charlie tells Eddie, who always has something to say, “My boy, if silence is golden, you are bankrupt.” Like many of his siblings, Eddie can’t resist the self-appointed urge to assist his father in solving the murder. There is one scene when Eddie and Birmingham Brown arrive to meet Charlie at the house where a murder had been committed earlier that evening. With unabashed conceit, Eddie asks of his father, “Now that I am here Pop, what type of murder have we got and how soon do you wish me to produce the murderer?” Charlie retorts, “Every time you open your mouth, you put in more feet than centipede.” Unfortunately, nothing is known about Edwin Luke and whether he had other film appearances besides The Jade Mask. Older brother Keye Luke, who was interviewed and quoted by Ken Hanke in his book, Charlie Chan at the Movies: History, Filmography, and Criticism, was noticeably silent on any details about his younger brother. Even Keye Luke’s New York Times obituary, written by Peter Flint, made no mention of Edwin. Charlie Junior: Another Number Two Son Despite Jimmy’s appearance in Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938), there is an impish and much younger Number Two son three films earlier in Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937). Charlie Chan does not mention this second son by name but merely refers to him only as “Junior son,” which many assume his name to be Charlie Chan, Jr. In “Olympics,” a female murder suspect is presumed to be wearing clothing made from the fur of a white fox. Every time Charlie Jr. sees a woman wearing white fox fur, he quickly points out the woman, however a different one each time, to his father—”Look, white fox fur!” Eventually the senior Chan loses his patience and orders his son to walk home as punishment. When Jimmy Chan is introduced three films later in “Honolulu,” the Number Two son label is now Jimmy’s for the remainder of the 20th Century-Fox films. As if there were already not enough confusion about the numbering of Chan’s sons, Layne Tom portrays his second of three different sons in “Honolulu,” but is now “Number Five son” Tommy Chan, who eventually rises up to the Number Three and then Number Two son at Monogram with different actors. Go figure! Willie Chan: Number Seven Son The last of the known Chan sons is Willie Chan, who appears with older brother Jimmy as Charlie’s unauthorized assistants on, what else?—a murder case in Charlie Chan’s Murder Cruise (1940). Layne Tom, Jr. plays the Number Seven son in his last of three Chan film appearances. Willie’s only film role is rather inauspicious when at the film’s beginning, he and Jimmy sneak into their father’s office at the police station at night to see if Willie’s teacher had sent Charlie a copy of his report card in the mail. Their father suddenly enters his office and uncovers Willie’s deception for his being there, as Charlie had already received the unflattering report card in that day’s earlier mail. Charlie sternly points to Willie that, “In Honolulu schools, E not symbol for excellent.” Although he can forgive his son’s bad report card, Charlie is unforgiving with his son’s attempt at tampering with the U.S. mail. “What chance has a kid got when his father is a detective?” Willie says dejectedly. As punishment, the younger Chan is to assume the “proper position” across his father’s knee for a spanking. Just when Charlie is about to deliver the first strike, he is unexpectedly interrupted by an old friend from Scotland Yard, who realizes that he has just stumbled upon an old fashioned spanking. Chan explains the situation as, “Sometimes quickest way to brain of young sprout is by impression on other end.” Having escaped punishment, Willie breathes a sigh of relief while rubbing his bottom and confesses to Jimmy that he’s grateful that Scotland Yard arrived just in time. As a child actor, very little is known about Layne Tom, Jr. He was born Richard Layne Tom, Jr. in Los Angeles in the late 1920s to parents Richard Layne and Mary SooHoo Tom. When under contract to 20th Century-Fox, he attended “studio school” with other children such as Donald O’Connor and Jane Whithers.Layne, whose given Chinese name is Tom Kay Gong, graduated from Polytechnic High School and served in the Navy aboard the battleship West Virginia in the Pacific during World War II. Afterwards, he earned a degree in architecture from USC and worked for several firms in southern California before starting a solo practice. He later formed an architectural firm with Jan Truskier that specialized in the design of libraries, civic centers, and banks. He is now retired and had served on several governmental planning commissions and architectural review boards. Layne Tom’s first film appearance was that of sitting on Clark Gable’s shoulders in San Francisco (1936). He also had a role as the native boy Mako in The Hurricane (1937) featuring an all-star cast that included Dorothy Lamour, Jon Hall, Mary Astor, Raymond Massey, and John Carradine. However, he would be best known for his roles as three different sons to the same father in the Charlie Chan films. Tom is married to Marilynn Chow, whose aunt, Jean Wong, herself had appeared in two Charlie Chan films: The Red Dragon (1945) and The Chinese Ring (1947). They have two daughters, Laurie and Joanne, the latter now known professionally as Kiana Tom, a well-known fitness and aerobics personality on ESPN, who is just getting into films herself. When once asked about her father, Kiana mentioned that Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937) and The Hurricane (1937) are his favorites. More than 60 years later after “Olympics” was made, both Kiana and her mother still tease Layne about the mysterious “lady in the white fox fur.” Ling: Number One Daughter In the 1929 novel, The Black Camel, the Chans’ eldest daughter is named Rose and like Henry, is absent from the 1931 movie. In Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938) though, Charlie’s wife exclaims the daughter’s name—Ling, when honorable son-in-law Wing Foo (Philip Ahn) informs his in-laws that she is now in labor and has just been taken to the hospital. Only at the film’s end does Ling make a brief appearance, after having just given birth to the Chan’s first grandchild, a boy named Leung. Incidentally, the grandchild is mentioned again in the series’ next film, Charlie Chan in Reno, where Charlie is seen in the police crime laboratory trying to create an Easter egg for his Number One grandchild. In the uncredited role with no lines, it is possible the Number One daughter was probably named after an Aunt Ling who is mentioned by Number One son Lee in a earlier film, Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936), as living “at the other end of the island.”Number One daughter Ling is portrayed by Florence Ung, who was born April 20, 1918 in Los Angeles. Besides her uncredited role in “Honolulu,” she also appeared as one of the Chans’ 12 children in Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936). Ung is also a real-life first cousin of Charlie Chan actors Layne Tom, Jr., and Barbara Jean Wong, both of whom also appear with her in “Honolulu.” The Number Two Daughter The Chan’s Number Two daughter is first encountered in Charlie Chan in Honolulu. In an brief, but uncredited role, she is not identified by name but rather by number, and is played by Iris Wong. The second eldest daughter appears a second time in Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944), now by name as Iris Chan. Played by Marianne Quon, Iris is paired with Number Three son Tommy (Benson Fong) in the first of the 17 Chan films released by Monogram. The rivalry between sister and brother, along with the debut of Mantan Moreland as Birmingham Brown for comic relief, makes for too many assistants. Although Tommy and Birmingham continue as characters in the series, Iris Chan is never heard from again. Marianne Quon’s brief acting career included two other films besides “Secret Service.” In China (1943), Quon worked with Chan actors Sen Yung, Barbara Jean Wong, Iris Wong, and Philip Ahn. In Anna and the King of Siam (1946), she had an uncredited part as one of the many wives of King Mongkut (Rex Harrison). Frances Chan The last of the Chan daughters to be credited by name is Frances Chan, who appears in a single entry, Black Magic (1944), a.k.a. Meeting at Midnight. She is not referred to by a number like her brothers but she has the same yearning to help her father to solve a murder case—a family trait that viewers assume by now must be genetic. Unlike brothers Jimmy and Tommy, Frances is not the recipient of Charlie’s sharp digs disguised as words of wisdom. On the contrary, he compliments her in the presence of a police detective (Joseph Crehan), “The beauty of the Chan family also have brains. Very fine combination.” In Black Magic, Frances is not paired up with any of her brothers, like Iris and Tommy were two films earlier in “Secret Service.” Instead, Birmingham Brown serves as her sole partner for the film’s comic relief. One interesting item of note is that Frances Chan is played by namesake Frances Chan! Nothing is known about her other than she appeared in three other films in what seems to be a brief, two-year acting career. Other Child Actors in the Series Although they were not household names to film goers, most of the child actors and actresses that made up the Chan family, apart from Key Luke, Victor Sen Yung, Benson Fong, and Layne Tom, Jr., were nevertheless well-known to the Los Angeles Chinese community. More than 60 years later after the series ended, Virginia Kay and her mother Florence Ung, who played Ling, the Chan’s Number One daughter, have matched names with some of the faces of these uncredited “bit” actors and extras, many which siblings. Two of Florence Ung’s relatives appeared in the series: brother Richard Ung (“Circus”) and cousin Barbara Jean Wong, the latter who appeared in “Honolulu” and The Trap (1947). Another of the uncredited Chan children was Iris Wong, once cast as the Chan’s unnamed Number Two daughter in Charlie Chan in Honolulu. She also had two credited roles, as maids, in the series: as Choy Wong in Charlie Chan in Reno (1939) and Lili Wong in Charlie Chan in Rio (1941). Iris was born in Watsonville, California September 30, 1920 and was one of the first Asian-American women to land featured roles in U.S. films. In addition to about ten films, Wong also appeared in the brief TV series, Mysteries Of Chinatown, which ran from 1949 to 1950. She then moved to Honolulu and became a reservations manager for Pan American Airways. She also was an artist and had written a Chinese cookbook. On September 2, 1989 she died at age 68, being survived by a daughter, two stepchildren, her mother, sister, and brother. Other child actors who are known to have appeared in the series are brothers Frank, David, and Allan Dong; Lily and Stanton Mui; Frances and Mabel Hoo; Richard, Margie, and Faye Lee; and Mae Jean Quon. Mrs. Chan The matriarch of the Chan family, although rarely seen on screen, appears always to be a an important asset to her detective husband. Charlie obviously appreciates his “honorable wife” when he declares philosophically in Charlie Chan Carries On (1931) and Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936), “Good wife best household furniture.” It may be hard to think of a wife as household furniture, such as a sofa, but one friend once praised Mrs. Chan as “an institution,” then referring to the 13 children she bore. Charlie often mentions his wife throughout the series at 20th Century-Fox but there is virtually no mention of her in the 17 Monogram entries, a time when Charlie is either working for the Government during World War II or is based in San Francisco as a private detective. One might conclude that she either passed away or the unthinkable has happened—a divorce! Mrs. Chan is first encountered in Charlie Chan Carries On (1931). In her only scene, she sees her husband off as he is about to board a ship bound for San Francisco and is concerned that Charlie will not have enough clothes for the voyage—”You must wait and get big trunk.” Three films later at the conclusion of Charlie Chan’s Greatest Case (1933), Mrs. Chan notices a man and woman in an embrace. “Two lovers in moonlight cast only one shadow,” she notes. Charlie looks at his wife and his many children and adds, “Yes. One shadow now; many shadows later.” In Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936), Mrs. Chan acts as the judge at her husband’s request, ruling that their vacation should be interrupted so that her husband is free to solve a murder which would otherwise cause a circus to shut down bankrupted. Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938) is the final film featuring the family matriarch. She is just told that her “little Ling” is at the maternity hospital about to give birth. Charlie tries to calm her down in the following dialog: Charlie: Look, Mama. You have same experience 13 times. There is no cause to worry. Mrs. Chan: Then what’s worrying you. You’ve been a father 13 times too. Charlie: Admit same, but this is first occasion as grandfather. Several Chinese actresses portray Charlie’s honorable wife throughout the series. Although none were ever credited as such, it has now been determined that Annie Mar portrays Mrs. Chan in “Circus” while Grace Key has the role in “Honolulu.” The author wishes to acknowledge Rob Metz, Rush Glick, and Gary Crawford for providing some of the needed stills. Also greatly appreciated is the assistance of Virginia Quin Kay, the daughter of Florence Ung who played the Chans’ Number One daughter. Howard M. Berlin is the author of The Charlie Chan Film Encyclopedia (McFarland, 2000) and Charlie Chan’s Words of Wisdom (Wildside Press, 2001). Charlie Chan Filmography The House Without a Key (1925)†, The Chinese Parrot (1927)†, Behind That Curtain (1929), Charlie Chan Carries On (1931), The Black Camel (1931), Charlie Chan’s Chance (1932), Charlie Chan’s Greatest Case (1933), Charlie Chan’s Courage (1934), Charlie Chan in London (1934), Charlie Chan in Paris (1935), Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935), Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935), Charlie Chan’s Secret (1936), Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936), Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936), Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936), Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937), Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937), Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937), Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938), Charlie Chan in Reno (1939), Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939), City in Darkness (1939), Charlie Chan in Panama (1940), Charlie Chan’s Murder Cruise (1940), Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940), Murder Over New York (1940), Dead Men Tell (1941), Charlie Chan in Rio (1941), Castle in the Desert (1942), Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944), The Chinese Cat (1944), Black Magic (1944), The Jade Mask (1945), The Scarlet Clue (1945), The Shanghai Cobra (1945), The Red Dragon (1945), Dark Alibi (1946), Shadows Over Chinatown (1946), Dangerous Money (1946), The Trap (1947), The Chinese Ring (1947), Docks of New Orleans (1948), The Shanghai Chest (1948), The Golden Eye (1948), The Feathered Serpent (1948), Sky Dragon (1949). †Silent film *No copies currently known Return to
2205	dbpedia	1	82	https://tommenterprises.tripod.com/id147.html	en	CHARLIE CHAN: Hawaii Steve and the Charlie Chan Tour			[ "https://tommenterprises.tripod.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/layout/spacer.gif", "https://tommenterprises.tripod.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/layout/spacer.gif", "https://tommenterprises.tripod.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/layout/spacer.gif", "https://tommenterprises.tripod.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/layout/spacer.gif", "https://tommenterprises.tripod.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/layout/spacer.gif", "https://tommenterprises.tripod.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/layout/spacer.gif", "https://tommenterprises.tripod.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/layout/spacer.gif", "https://tommenterprises.tripod.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/layout/spacer.gif", "https://tommenterprises.tripod.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/layout/spacer.gif", "https://tommenterprises.tripod.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/layout/spacer.gif", "https://tommenterprises.tripod.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/layout/spacer.gif", "https://tommenterprises.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/tysminchinese.jpg", "https://tommenterprises.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/returnofcharliechan.jpg", "https://tommenterprises.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/charliechanandthechanclancomicbook.jpg", "https://tommenterprises.tripod.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/layout/spacer.gif", "https://tommenterprises.tripod.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/layout/spacer.gif", "https://tommenterprises.tripod.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/layout/spacer.gif", "https://tommenterprises.tripod.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/layout/spacer.gif", "https://tommenterprises.tripod.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/layout/spacer.gif" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null					null	Steve, I am looking at your website at http://stevestoursandfilms.vpweb.com/ and I love it! You relocated to Hawaii in 1994. . . . Had you lived there before? It was June of 1994 that I landed in Hawaii. After living in Santa Monica, and working in the film industry for 15 years, I relocated to Maui. Currently, I reside in the Hawaii Kai area of Honolulu, on the island of Oahu. You found “hundreds of 16mm films that a local library had thrown away.” Were they of different genres or . . . ? Most of the films that I found were 16mm educational films, i.e. driving instruction, medical, serious subjects, college level. Are these films among the 750 films that you make available for programs at http://stevestoursandfilms.vpweb.com/TheFilms.html? No. All of the library films have been sold, traded or destroyed. Do you ever make them available for individual purchase because Maven is quite taken with Charlie Chan in Chinatown!! The films are not available for purchase. This is a privately-held collection. Do you show them to friends, audiences and/or anybody else who loves old movies?!? As a film lecturer, I am available for hire. At an appropriate location, I set up a 16mm movie projector and screen. Working with the client, we create a make-shift movie theater area. With the guests, we watch and discuss the movies I am hired to show. What kind of people show up for these films? People of Hawaii are curious about their image as presented on film. Over the years, I have been hired by libraries, museums, schools, senior residences, and for private parties. What kind of reaction do you get? “Chicken Skin!!!" A thrilling experience. People are amazed at the images in the old movies. As the owner of the rarest collections of old-Hawaii films, people have not seen these films in many years. You mention Glen Grant, who created the Honolulu Ghost Walks, and a “haunted movie tour of Oahu.” Would you consider working on this in book or some other venue for tourists? Those of us who can’t get over to Hawaii are curious about your tours. A book, based on my film collection, is in the works. Could you tell us how the ideas for your tours got started? About three years ago, I answered an ad to be a ghost tour guide. After fulfilling my contract, I left the company and formed my own tour company. The Charlie Chan Mystery Tour involves finding the Chinese Detective over a four hour hunt that winds through the same sites frequented by Chang Apana, Earl Derr Biggers and The Black Camel (1931) cast and crew. . . . How much research did you have to do to find all the locations for what amounts to a two-mile hike?! Lots of digging through old files. Years and years. My Charlie Chan/Chang Apana research continues as we conduct this interview. I'm always finding some new and exciting item to add to my tours. How did you come across the coffee shops, gambling houses, movie houses and (what Maven would want to check out first!) Number One Son’s Residence?! A lot of very detailed research went into finding these Chan-related locations. I read many old newspapers and interviewed many senior citizens of Honolulu. About Charlie Chan: When did you discover Hawaii’s Number One Chinese Detective? Were his movies among the 16mm films you found or did you discover him through television and/or the books by Earl Derr Biggers? Like so many "baby-boomer" kids, I discovered the Charlie Chan movies on television in the mid-1960s. In my memorabilia collection, I own an original Chan comic book, which I purchased in 1965. Do you have a preference as to the actors who played Charlie Chan in Hollywood?! And the actors who played his children in the series?! My favorite Chan acting team is Sidney Toler and Victor Sen Yung. I like the enthusiasm that Yung brings to his role. I love horror and mystery films, especially those movies made during the 1940s. In my opinion, these films are well-crafted, tightly-budgeted masterpieces. I like the atmosphere and quick pacing of films from this period. Of the three major actors that portrayed Charlie Chan, Warner Oland is the most believable as the character. Hands down, Oland is Chan. Are people in Hawaii today familiar with Chang Apana, the novels of Earl Derr Biggers and the films of Charlie Chan? If you are hip to Charlie Chan, you are hip to Chang Apana. In my opinion, these characters go hand-in-hand. On Oahu, there is a small group of South Pacific cinema fans who are familiar with Charlie Chan, Earl Derr Biggers, and Chang Apana. Is there any resentment about Charlie Chan being played by Caucasian actors? In Hawaii, this is a sensitive topic among the local Asian community. There is great awareness about the past Caucasian actors who have portrayed Charlie Chan in the movies. Maven is very interested in The Hawai’i Wartime History Tour. . . . Maven has background at https://tommenterprises.tripod.com/id59.html. Most of us on the mainland have no idea what went on AFTER the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. How did you get the idea for this tour? When I worked for the State of Hawaii, I spent my lunch hour reading Honolulu newspapers from World War Two. It took me about three years to read the newspapers from December 1941 to December 1945. I created my own index related to wartime entertainment and local lifestyle during the martial law years in Hawaii. I find the war years in Hawaii a fascinating time period. Everybody who lived here, at that time, was affect by the military taking over the Territorial government. Local people lost their everyday rights. It was an intense period in Hawaii history. Did you interview people who were living in Hawaii at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7,1941? Did you find these sites by plain old-fashioned research? Both. During the past few years, I have interviewed elderly local people who were children during the war years in Hawaii. A child's point of view about martial law is different from an adult's point of view. Through my interviews, I have discovered that it was more of an adventure for children during World War Two. And last . . . and not least to Maven’s mind! . . . is The Honolulu Ghost Tour! Is this a carry-over from Glen Grant’s Honolulu Ghost Walks or is it entirely your tour? Uncle Steve's Honolulu Ghost Tour is an original creation. Glen Grant was the best of the ghost story-tellers in Honolulu. Before his passing, I attended one of his mystery tours. I did not have the opportunity to take Glen's ghost tour. Your tour includes “haunted sites and mystical places in downtown Honolulu and Chinatown” – From Iolani Palace to office buildings and a rest stop at a haunted bar. . . . How did you find out about these places and/or how did you select which places to cover? When I tell people that I am a ghost tour guide, they open up to me. I hear many Hawaii-related ghost stories. Research, research, and more research. On my Honolulu Ghost Tour, I tell ghost stories related to the Hawaiian culture. Plus a special treat for Halloween, 2009 . . . THE “WALK WITH THE DEAD” GHOST TOUR ! ! ! . . . . How did this tour come about? Was it a natural progression from the Honolulu Ghost Tour?! My tours keep evolving. On my Honolulu Ghost Tour, I tell three kinds of ghost stories. First, I tell fun ghost stories about playful spirits. Followed by ghost stories about curious spirits. Then, I tell the "blood and gut" "Jack-the-Ripper" type of ghost stories. I do not accept children on my ghost tours. Some the stories are too intense for them. For the "Walk With the Dead" tour, I don't hold anything back. This tour is for adults only. I tell every mad, insane story about Honolulu haunted sites that I can think of. Steve, is there anything that Maven hasn’t covered that you would like to add? I take a lot of pride in my tours and film programs. I have taken legal action to protect all areas of my business. When in Honolulu, please look me up. I'll be happy to take you on a tour of old Hawaii. After taking one of my tours, you'll never look at Chinatown, and Honolulu, in the same way again. Aloha.
2205	dbpedia	0	37	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9952482/	en	A Study on Chinese Audience’s Receptive Behavior towards Chinese and Western Cultural Hybridity Films Based on Grounded Theory—Taking Disney’s Animated Film Turning Red as an Example	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih…rd-share.jpg?_=0	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih…rd-share.jpg?_=0	[ "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/coreutils/uswds/img/favicons/favicon-57.png", "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/coreutils/uswds/img/icon-dot-gov.svg", "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/coreutils/uswds/img/icon-https.svg", "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/coreutils/nwds/img/logos/AgencyLogo.svg", "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/corehtml/pmc/pmcgifs/logo-behavsci.png", "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9952482/bin/behavsci-13-00135-g001.jpg", "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9952482/bin/behavsci-13-00135-g002.jpg", "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9952482/bin/behavsci-13-00135-g003.jpg", "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9952482/bin/behavsci-13-00135-g004.jpg", "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9952482/bin/behavsci-13-00135-g005.jpg", "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9952482/bin/behavsci-13-00135-g006.jpg", "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9952482/bin/behavsci-13-00135-g007.jpg" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Rui Chen", "Yi Liu" ]	2023-02-12T00:00:00	For a long time, Chinese audiences have not had a high opinion of hybrid Chinese and Western movies. However, the unanimous praise for Turning Red in China se ems to have reversed this situation. In order to verify whether the attitudinal behavior of ...	en	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/coreutils/nwds/img/favicons/favicon.ico	PubMed Central (PMC)	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9952482/	1. Introduction In March 2022, the animated film Turning Red, produced by Disney’s Pixar unit, went online for streaming on Disney+, and even if it did not have a theatrical release, it still garnered much attention. Currently, it scores 8.2 on Douban, 7.0 on IMDb and 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it a hit on major review websites both at home and abroad. Turning Red is directed by Chinese Canadian Domee Shi, who previously won the Best Animated Short Film Award at the 91st Academy Awards for her animated short film Bao. Turning Red. She continues to maintain the focus of Bao on the parent–child relationship, but turns the visual focus from the mother to the child. It focuses on the repression and resistance of adolescent girls in their growth from a uniquely female perspective, reflecting the fetters of native families in East Asian society. Due to the diversity of the cultural backgrounds of the director and her team, the film brings together a large number of exchanges and collisions between Chinese and Western cultures, including the narrative style of classical Chinese mythology and Eastern cultural elements, as well as the universal values of love and reconciliation in the West. Hollywood films are integrated into the Chinese context, showing the complex interaction between the locals and the world from different cultural backgrounds [1]. In order to globalize and popularize their cultural products, and also to respond to the call for increased multiculturalism, Disney’s cultural fusion of countries and regions in recent years—creating films from a large number of different regions to create amorous feelings towards these films in these regions, such as Coco, Black Panther, Raya and The Last Dragon, and so on—aimed to release the potential of our imagination on a global scale [2]. As the world’s largest film consumption market, China has huge market potential, and at the same time, Disney has decided to focus on China due to its profound cultural resources. As early as 1998, Disney released the animated film Mulan, adapted from an ancient Chinese folk poem, The Song of Mulan. In 2020, Disney released a live-action version of Mulan, which injected the connotations of the new era into the story. In 2021 and 2022, Disney-owned Marvel and Pixar released Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Turning Red, respectively, showing Disney’s exploration of more dimensions and broader thinking regarding Chinese culture. In addition, other films owned by Hollywood and other Western film companies, such as DreamWorks, Warner Bros and A24, have also been released, including the Kung Fu Panda series, Crazy Rich Asians, The Farewell, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and other works filled with the integration and encounters of Chinese and Western culture. These works combine local and foreign cultures, making the culture more colorful [3]. While globalization leads to the generalization of culture, cultural hybridity also occurs simultaneously [4]. This means that a cultural form is recombined with a new form in a new practice [5], which leads to the final form of telling a cultural story from one culture with the narrative mode of another culture. Therefore, when Chinese stories filmed by Western media are introduced in China, there is a situation of “acclimation to the soil”. Generally speaking, compared with the non-collectivist social consumers of the United States, Chinese consumers, under collectivism, make fewer negative comments and have higher final evaluations on the same series of products [6]. However, when we compare the scores of these works on Chinese and Western mainstream film review websites (Douban and IMDb), as shown in , we find that the Douban rating of the same work is almost always lower than the IMDb score; that is, the acceptance of these works in China is lower than in Western countries. We can preliminarily judge that Chinese audiences resist films that hybridize Chinese and Western cultures. For example, Crazy Rich Asians was the highest-grossing romantic comedy of the decade in North America, while it was met with a lukewarm reception in China. Another example is the USD 200 million Mulan, which only grossed USD 40 million in China. Moreover, the first ever Marvel movie with a Chinese American superhero, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which grossed over USD 440 million, was not as beloved and popular with Chinese audiences as other Marvel heroes. Because of the cultural and political differences between the East and the West, the horizons of audiences’ expectations are different, and there is clear incommensurability between the East and the West in media products and consumption [7]. Table 1 The Name of the FilmRelease DateDouban Score (Number of Reviewers)IMDb Score (Number of Reviewers)The Gap Crazy Rich Asians 20186.0 (Reviewed by 112,000 people)6.9 (Reviewed by 165,000 people)−0.9 The Farewell 20197.2 (Reviewed by 87,000 people)7.5 (Reviewed by 61,000 comments)−0.3 Mulan 20204.8 (Reviewed by 302,000 people)5.7 (Reviewed by 145,000 people)−0.9 Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings 20216.1 (Reviewed by 186,000 people)7.4 (Reviewed by 346,000 people)−1.3 Turning Red 20228.2 (Reviewed by 205,000 people)7.0 (Reviewed by 83,000 people)+1.2 Everything Everywhere All at Once 20227.7 (Reviewed by 332,000 people)8.3 (Reviewed by 128,000 people)−0.6 Turning Red is an exception, as it is the only work whose score on Douban is higher than that on IMDb. For a film made by a foreigner and containing Chinese culture, it has even gained higher reviews and deeper resonance in China. Could this be a sign that Chinese audiences have changed their receptive behavior towards the hybridization of Chinese and Western cultures? Further, when the audience is confronted with the familiar culture as “the other”, how will the audience perceive and accept this culture? Based on the unique example of Turning Red, we believe that this study is novel and original and that it will reveal insights into the complexity of the research subject. We also hope that this research will lead to substantive recommendations for the creation and dissemination of cultural hybridity, and its potential business and managerial implications. 2. Literature Review 2.1. Chinese Stories and Images of Chinese People in Western Films and Television Productions The shaping of Chinese stories and images in Western films and television has roughly gone through three stages. The first stage is the representation of Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan, the typical characters of the first half of the last century. One of them is a representative of evil; the other is a symbol of obedience. These two characters are like “Satan and the family minister”, regulate the change of Chinese identity through a racist mechanism [8], and the image of China is acted out by this binary oppositional structure [9]. In the second half of the twentieth century, from the Bruce Lee series to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, from The Wedding Banquet to the Joy Luck Club, martial arts had been prominent, and the suffering of immigrants was told. At that time, the films were more about the display and reflection of a single culture and lacked the interweaving and communication of Chinese and Western cultures. It was not until 1998, starting with the Disney animated film Mulan, that Western production companies began to create stories by appropriating Chinese culture. Chinese characters gradually became the main characters of the stories, from marginal supporting and flat characters, and their representation became three-dimensional. Moreover, these characters were thoroughly molded into the typical characters of the typical Western narrative mode. At the same time, the story’s content is less about a curious landscape and more about common problems. For example, Crazy Rich Asians imbues the romantic comedy template with a new meditation on the changing scenes of cross-cultural communication [10], while The Farewell explores different views of life and death in Chinese and Western cultures. In Turning Red, the focus is on the parent–child relationship and the growth of adolescent girls. However, even with these changes, as China remains the cultural “other”, the stereotypes created by the “imagined other” in the work are still inevitable. Cross-cultural appropriation also transfers a society’s cultural anxiety to the gendered body of the other [11]. Moreover, inaccurate representations of minorities are both dangerous and problematic for out-group directors because they retain negative racial stereotypes rather than trying to resist and challenge them [12]. Instead of innovating, these works of art, directors frequently sell stereotypes and perpetuate traditional ideas [13]. In the works, these characters are either over- or under-constructed [14]. Although this sense of offense can be weakened by the advantages of films [15], some stereotypes are still retained (such as being weak, timid, and nerdy), which may affect the identity development of adolescents and the interaction between groups [16]. 2.2. Cross-Cultural Audience Acceptance Viewers’ perceptions of media content are influenced by a complex interactions of systems, environments, and human factors, in which human factors play a key role [17]. Intercultural awareness is required for intercultural communication and acceptance of film and television. Cross-cultural awareness is the basis for communication with other cultures, which emphasizes the awareness of different cultures’ values, beliefs, and perceptions [18]. Generally speaking, because cross-cultural communication is often related to the incompatibility between the host country and the traditional culture [19], audiences are in different social and cultural contexts, and different reading stances will lead to differences in acceptance [20]. As a result, cultural distance and cultural discount will be measured in cross-cultural communication of cultural products [21]. There is usually a positive correlation between cultural distance and cultural discount [22] related to cultural and structural differences such as language, history, style, and background [23]. The intervention of new media has brought about important changes in cross-cultural communication, and some classical cross-cultural theories need to be re-examined [24]. Cultural works with cultural hybridity, for example, differ from those envisioned by cultural distance. Despite similar or close cultural beliefs, a negative gaze within the same race is still possible [25]. In theory, their cultural content is closer to the Chinese audience, and the cultural distance is smaller, but they do not achieve a satisfactory reception effect. If they have distinct ethnic characteristics, there will be group acceptance differences. Films dominated by a certain ethnic group will receive special attention from that group, especially those with a strong ethnic identity [26]. However, these Asian groups presenting their own stories do not believe that the current works show the obvious progress of Western media, nor can they reach a consensus among their dispersed groups [27]. Therefore, they strive to transcend and resist the restrictions of various communication platforms to adequately express their dissatisfaction with the current media environment [28]. The reception of these works by local Chinese audiences is more negative because, although these films focus on showing a large amount of Chinese culture and Chinese elements, it is still a Western narrative structure. Of course, it is not that Chinese audiences do not like the narrative logic of Western commercial blockbusters; otherwise, the Marvel hero series, Disney princess series, and so on would not be popular in China. It is just that when Chinese culture is involved in these works, Chinese audiences are more cautious, unconsciously comparing them with their real cultural environment. As a result, it is often found that there is a difference between the China shown in the film and the China they perceive. Cultural appropriation and stereotypes are full of them. The presentation of Chinese culture in films is limited to the superficial differences between folk customs and cultural landscapes, but it fails to touch real cultural connotations [29]. Therefore, these films do not have the effect of cultural export but just apply Oriental characters to Western values. Such works, which are empty of Oriental cultural symbols but lack the core of Oriental culture, have always prevented Chinese audiences from achieving a cultural identity. This also vaguely reveals the problems in the concrete expression of the current hybridization of Chinese and Western cultures. 2.3. Cultural Hybridity The output of culture is not unidirectional; different cultures infiltrate each other in the process of contact, and cultural hybridity is put forward on this basis. The cultural hybridity proposed by Homi Bhabha, a scholar of post-colonialism, aims to abandon the previous research paradigm of binary opposition. Cultural hybridity refers to a state in which no culture can exist purely while not being influenced by other cultures [30]. Hybridity means the reconfiguration and reinterpretation of ideas, institutions, and practices when the West and the East meet, when the global meets the local [31]. The idea of cultural hybridity is that there is no hierarchy between primitive and heterogeneous cultures [32] and that the transculturality between different cultures leads to a “third space”, where boundaries are removed, and poles are moved, thereby creating hybrid identities [33]. Cultural hybridity, instead of cultural integration, is the key in that it holds that two kinds of cultures are in a two-way flow and influence each other. No one is attached to those who dominated in order to bring about a dynamic shift in the "third space." Cultural hybridity is driven by the market [34]. Some cultures have successfully achieved global popularity through cultural hybridity, such as the K-pop trend in South Korea [35]. However, the K-POP cultural hybridization process is more complicated; it positions new music content in Europe or other places by modifying the Korean content, and then re-release it globally, namely globalization–localization–re-globalization [36]. The theory of cultural hybridity is an exploration and a way of thinking developed by postcolonial scholars when seeking equality in terms of racial and gender identity. Many people have also questioned it since its birth. Although the essentialist view of culture easily leads to stereotypes, the extreme postcolonial theory of cultural hybridity completely rejects cultural differences [37]. Moreover, empirical studies have found that cultural hybridization has great potential to achieve adaptation, interaction, or collision in different contexts [38]. The West seriously influences the process of native cultural hybridization, and the newly created native cultural products mostly represent Western culture. Instead of unique local cultures, cultural hybridization cannot fully explain local culture due to the taming of power relations [39]. Therefore, the fusion and hybrid characteristics of the current cultural form and cultural hybridity may only exist in abstract ideas but lack a sufficient empirical basis [40]. When Western culture is mixed and hybridized with the cultures of other countries and regions, the final pattern is almost always that Western culture provides “universal” value, while non-Western culture provides exotic sensory enjoyment [41]. The previous attitude of Chinese audiences towards Chinese and Western cultural works also verifies this point. The cultural offense taken by Chinese audiences because of these works implies the inequality of cultural rights relations. 2.4. Online Movie Reviews Films tell stories by audiovisual means. When the audience becomes immersed in them, they will empathize with the characters and project them onto themselves, comprehending and accepting the film from their point of view [42]. The audience then presents these feelings in a film review, which is an analysis and commentary on the film’s content, or, in other words, a study and interpretation of the form and content of the film [43]. These reviews provide good raw material for researchers. At the same time, audiences from different countries give different reviews because there are cultural differences in the emotional reactions evoked by films [44]. Therefore, the specific types of content users share are largely influenced by cultural values [45]. With the rapid development of the Internet, online film review websites have gained popularity. It reflects the rise of popular film criticism and the new characteristics of the film review system in the digital era [46]. Online reviews, as a kind of electronic word of mouth (eWOM), are very important for consumer decision-making for which culture is an important determinant [47]. These personal interactions also play a key role in product selection and dissemination [48]. Previous studies have compared online film reviews from different cultural backgrounds to explore whether they reflect the real or perceived quality of products [49]. There are also online movie review sites where one can arrange and compare film genres and audience gender [50], genre strengths, and Chinese and Western differences, and thus, contribute to cross-cultural communication [51]. 4. Discussion Based on the results of the cognitive–emotional–attitudinal relationship formed by the selective coding, we further clarified the mechanism model affecting the formation process of viewers’ receptive attitude behavior, as shown in . It visually shows the proportion of viewers corresponding to the discussion part, and can also better explain how it affects the final acceptance attitude of viewers. We can discuss the core categories in this diagram in four dimensions. 4.1. Film Production: The Ability to Present a Film Story Is the Starting Point and Basis of Audience Evaluation The film production dimension is shown in . As a comprehensive work of audio-visual art, the film tells the story through the screen, so the audience’s first concern is still how well the story is told. Film production comprises internal character image, symbolic metaphor, plot logic, universal value and external audience targeting, audiovisual technology, and brand reputation, which is the most discussed part of the audience. In most Disney animation parenting styles, the father is more permissive, while the mother is more authoritative [55]. The film is also set up in such a way that the audience perceives the role of the father as flat and non-existent, and this role, which is outside the story, does not play any substantial role in advancing the film’s story in the early stages but becomes a key figure in resolving the conflict at the turning point of the story. This female dilemma, which still relies on men to unravel the setting, has triggered dissatisfaction among some viewers. However, the audience roles spark more discussion about the red panda; they think the image of the red panda is very cute. The red panda fully uses its visual advantage to please people and reaps the audience’s goodwill with its intuitive simplicity. Unlike the black and white colors of the giant pandas, the red panda gives a bright look on top of inheriting the cultural characteristics represented by China. Animation allows for a freer use of metaphor, and in feature-length animation, a supporting metaphor is a creative metaphor that may itself be an image of the protagonist, such as the red panda in this film, whose features are linked to the story theme through a series of transformations [56]. Semantic complexity is one of the strengths of Pixar films [57], and many symbolic metaphors also appear in this film. The film’s title, “Turning Red”, suggests the change and development of the adolescent girl from physical to psychological dimensions, and it visualizes some indescribable emotions and desires. As a family film, Turning Red is suitable for young and old alike, but some viewers believe that the film’s audience is relatively young due to the light and simple plot. Overall, audiences think that the film’s structure is complete and clear, but at the expense of story depth and intention. In addition, the audience discussion mainly focused on handling the ending. People felt that the resolution of the conflict was very abrupt, and the final ending of mother–daughter reconciliation and Meimei keeping the red panda inside her body was too idealistic and difficult to achieve in reality. This is also a common issue: the problems depicted in the film can only be solved in the film; the film cannot alter reality. These are typical Western-style universal values, advocating for the understanding of oneself and the pursuit of freedom. Such universal values can resonate widely across national and cultural boundaries. Based on Disney’s and Pixar’s professional animation production team, the animation’s scene design, character design and music production are outstanding and have gained full recognition from the audience. In particular, the image rendering of pandas is such that one can almost feel the plush touch and is very realistic. This ensures the audience’s visual enjoyment while watching and helps them reach deep immersion. The brand reputation of Disney and Pixar attracted viewers to watch, reducing their decision time and ensuring the quality of the work. Audiences found the film to be the best combination of Disney and Chinese culture and Pixar’s first foray into the Chinese cultural world, which was invaluable. In terms of the overall production of the film, the film is flawed, but it is a professional commercial film. The large audience discussion on this part also shows that the film’s storytelling ability is the starting point and basis for audience evaluation. The balanced performance in all aspects has laid the foundation for the word-of-mouth phenomenon around Turning Red. 4.2. Theme Type: Common Themes and Mainstream Issues Bridge Cross-Cultural Incommensurability The theme-type dimension is shown in . In cross-cultural communication, the incommensurability between different regions, countries and cultures leads to the difficulty of the culture with strong characteristics being popular worldwide. Content elements will aggravate the negative impact caused by cultural heterogeneity, while aesthetic elements can weaken such negative impact [58]. Therefore, the usual approach is to reduce the story’s cultural specificity while adding culturally specific aesthetic elements. The story of Turning Red is about a 13-year-old Chinese Canadian girl named Mei, who undergoes subtle physical and psychological changes during her adolescent growth phase. As her gender identity and sense of individuality gradually come to the fore, she needs to re-address and adjust her relationship with her parents, friends, and society, and even re-learn herself. The director uses exaggeration to visualize this change by having the character transform into a giant red panda, and the film revolves around the retention or departure of this red panda inside Meimei. The story is not culturally specific; it concerns the growth issues that everyone experiences. As the protagonist has an immigrant family, it again indirectly shows this group’s portrayal, reflecting multiculturalism’s flourishing situation. Children of immigrants are frequently caught between two worlds, attempting to uphold their family’s honorable traditions while also ensuring that the opportunities of the new country, which their parents have worked so hard to arrive to, do not go to waste. Thus, the characters often project their parent’s fantasies, struggles, fears, and desires [59]. The film’s conflict focuses on Meimei and her mother, this exploration of the mother–daughter relationship touches on both women’s issues and parent–child relationships. In recent years, Disney has actively improved gender representation in their animated films, and the power distance between male and female characters has been narrowed. Being a wife and mother is no longer the only way for women to bring honor to their families [60]. At the same time, the situation that men are the main characters and are depicted as more powerful [61] has also changed, which is the result of the widespread popularity of feminism around the world. The audience comes to believe that Meimei and her mother redeem each other, and Meimei and her female friends help each other, all of which reflect female power. The destructive force displayed by the red panda is a resistance to traditional characteristics that require women to be patient, sweet, understanding, and gentle. The story of Meimei and her mother is also an in-depth reflection on East Asian family relationships, as one of the most popular short reviews said, “It feels like only East Asians can empathize because we all need to apologize for failing our mother’s expectations”. Viewers generally agreed that this is a very typical Eastern-style family parenting model. It involves parents who are overly expectant, overly caring, and overly controlling of their children. The parents’ very heavy love pressures the child to grow up according to the parent’s wishes, but the child loses themselves. It can be seen that this story integrates common themes and mainstream issues, and the creator shows his acceptance of mainstream ideology with the help of and use of media platforms [62]. These problems are faced by all regardless of race or skin color. The solutions in different cultures do not show conflict, but try to provide us with references from different perspectives. This kind of content without cultural particularity bridges the incommensurability of cross-cultural communication. 4.3. Cultural Presentation: Audiences Lack Conscious Perception and Judgment Standards for Cultural Hybridity The cultural presentation dimension is shown in . Surprisingly, there is not much discussion of the presentation of culture in the film. Part of the discussion is about presenting Chinese cultural elements in the film, such as pandas, bamboo, courtyard houses, Chinese food, cheongsam, and others, or cultural connotations, such as the traditional Chinese filial piety culture and the Chinese family’s emphasis on unity. Since the director and scriptwriter of this film are of Chinese descent, the reflection of Chinese culture is true and objective, which reduces the risk of cultural misuse and is generally recognized by the audience. The other part is evaluating the cultural interaction between East and West. The audience believes that Chinese and Western cultures are integrated, presenting a Hollywood-style Chinese story. Western cultural values dominate, while Chinese culture is only present in the background. Some viewers believe that it is a cultural conflict or even a cultural invasion, so they question whether the film’s content is biased, secretly promoting Western culture while devaluing Eastern culture. In fact, the application of Chinese culture in the film is not only in the background, and the interaction between Eastern and Western cultures is subtly shown at some important turning points in the plot. For example, Meimei’s family is matriarchal, and every woman in the family turns into a red panda when she reaches a certain age. This ability was inspired by their ancestor Xinyi’s role in protecting the family during the ancient war period and has been passed down from generation to generation. It can be seen that the red panda here is a powerful female. However, the film does not attribute the source of this female power to the social ethos, namely the popularity of the feminist movement (although it originates from this). However, it describes it as a “mysterious power” using the narrative mode of ancient Chinese mythology. Another example is the story ending, in which Meimei makes a different choice from the women in her family by keeping the red panda inside. The film acknowledges Meimei’s approach but does not criticize the elders for this “conservative” approach. The choice of keeping the red panda or discarding the red panda is personal; there is no better or worse, and everyone can still experience a happy ending while respecting differences. The film does not advocate for the subordination of one culture over another, which is the interactive negotiation that cultural hybridity emphasizes. Cultural hybridity is related to two key fundamental conditions of globalization: de-territorialization and re-territorialization [63]. Therefore, local cultures are not reproduced intact but are somehow deformed in their interaction with global cultures. The immigrant groups that are the film’s focus are often “hybridity”, as they meander through different cultural worlds, enjoying the diversity of cultures that open their eyes and minds. Meanwhile, at the same time, they find the boundaries of their identities blurred and existing in a kind of “outside” space [64], which is what Homi Bhabha calls the “third space”. It is not the same as mingled culture, but a new cultural field, and thus, its similarity to the original culture cannot be measured. Moreover, cultural hybridity is not the average participation of two or more cultures, so it is not reasonable to evaluate the proportion of a certain culture but rather to analyze it in a specific historical context. From the audience’s descriptions, they do not possess a conscious awareness of cultural hybridity, nor do they have criteria for judging it. 4.4. Emotional Tendency: Audiences Pay More Attention to Individual Emotions Than Collective Cultural Performance The emotional tendency dimension is shown in . It can be seen that the main emotion of the audience is resonance, followed by identification and, finally, questioning. The majority of the resonance is due to the audience’s self-projection. That is, when seeing the behavior and situation of the characters in the film, they will unconsciously project themselves into the situation as well [65]. Movies, like books, can enhance one’s mental capacity to understand others better [66]. Many comments from the audience indicated that they saw themselves in Meimei, so it was very easy to empathize with the characters in the film, and thus, resonate with them. As the child, she is the submissive one in the parent–child relationship. As a woman, she hides her true self under social rules. As a teenager, she needs friends and socialization to connect with society while growing up. Meanwhile, as a descendant of immigrants, she must struggle to find an identity in multiple cultures. This makes the audience able to identify with her and find similar life experiences. This cultural identity is more likely to appeal to a global audience than the emphasis on cultural hybridity would [67]. Part of the audience’s approval came from the affirmation of the film production, considering the film’s smooth plot and innovative setting. The other part is the approval of the cultural performance. The audience believes that the creative team has successfully managed both cultures, East and West, to integrate fully. The presentation of Chinese culture is no longer derogatory, but rather accurate. The audience also questioned the presentation of culture, saying that the East and West are unequal and that the film promotes Western educational methods while belittling and satirizing Eastern educational concepts. At the same time, the stereotypical portrayal is still present. Of course, from the viewers’ descriptions, the “stereotype” here is not exactly a pejorative term. It is more intended to express that the Chinese elements in the film are typical rather than new, such as the Chinese students always “wearing glasses”, “excelling in math”, and others. Overall, the audience’s focus on resonance in this story is firstly about self-growth and secondly about the focus on Chinese culture and the interaction between East and West. The audience is more concerned with personal emotions than with collective cultural expressions. Culture is not the narrative’s core; the film focuses on specific people rather than generalized cultural symbols. The characters in the film are not used to promote a culture; rather, the more accurate and objective representation of culture appears to be the icing on the cake, and the story could be told in any skin color. 4.5. The Discussion of the Research Question Based on the above discussion, we will try to answer the two questions raised at the beginning of the study. For RQ1, what is the behavior of the Chinese audience’s receptive attitude towards Turning Red? What are the reasons behind it? We discovered that cognitive-to-affective feedback is predominantly positive, and that the acceptance attitude is naturally oriented. We performed sentiment analysis on all the texts with the help of fenci.weiciyun.com, and a total of 4770 valid entries were filtered out. These sentiment words were assigned a value between −3 and 3, with values less than zero being negative and greater than zero being positive. The final relationship between the sentiment value and the number distribution was obtained, as shown in . Among them, a positive sentiment was the most predominant, and the most concentrated sentiment value was 9.2 points in the positive direction. Thus, it is clear that the positive sentiment is much greater than the negative sentiment in the audiences’ evaluation of Turning Red. Correspondingly, it has indeed created a more positive attitude toward in China. What is of concern is that this attitude of acceptance is not rooted in how skillfully the film balances East and West, or how East–West cultural hybridity achieves equality in the true sense of interaction. Rather, the film inspires individual, not collective, emotion in the audience. Turning Red achieves cultural identity, not a collective national cultural identity, but rather an identity about individual growth experiences. This we can verify with the help of the high-frequency word cloud in the original text. The results of high frequency words are shown in . It can be seen that the audience’s discussion focused on the parent–child relationship issues directed by “mother”, “child”, “family”, and “parents”, followed by the attention to adolescents and women, and the culturally related issues came even later. Compared with cultural values, it is easier for personal real growth experience to obtain cross-cultural resonance. Cultural heterogeneity reflects the degree to which a film represents a particular culture [68]. Although this film has a regional cultural representation, it is not culturally heterogeneous, and thus, has attracted a wide audience. As for RQ2, does this attitudinal behavior of the audience indicate a structural change in the hybridization of Chinese and Western cultures? What implications does this have for the creation of cross-cultural products? We do not think so. This inherent structure means that China provides surface cultural symbols, and the West provides core cultural values. Indeed, compared with previous works, Turning Red represents a certain progress. It respects cultural differences, and even though the final direction of the story is to conform to Western cultural values, it does not devalue Eastern values and even advocates for Chinese cultural values in some places. However, these expressions are so subtle that it is difficult for the audience to recognize them. Moreover, the extent of such changes is far from structural. Unlike cultural imperialism, cultural hybridity takes a relatively optimistic view of the flow of global cultures. Cultural hybridity only sometimes lies in the ideal non-power zone [69]. There is a constant struggle between authenticity and commodification [70]. The idealized two-way flow envisioned by cultural hybridity is difficult to achieve under inherent cultural capital inequality, or it is always difficult to achieve a balanced state of two-way flow. 4.6. Research Implications This study actually showed that in global cultural exchange, national identity and cultural hybridity exist simultaneously [71]. However, there are differences between the two, and in cultural hybridity, the original national identity will make some adjustments to adapt to the new environment. Except for the group in this cultural space, other groups are unaware of this difference in time. This is why Chinese audiences have not been very positive about films with Chinese and Western cultural hybridity. This is because they assess whether the Chinese cultural elements expressed in these films are consistent with the local Chinese culture without paying attention to the fact that they are not completely equivalent to the original culture, which needs to be seen with a new evaluation scale and vision. From a business and management perspective, this has implications for both audience consumption behavior and film and television creative guidance. First of all, in terms of audience consumption behavior, on the one hand, we noticed that the audience did not realize the difference between the hybrid culture and the original culture, so we should pay attention to guide and distinguish it. That is to say that we should set up different cognitive standards to treat culture, so as not to fall into the limitations of cultural cognition, but to see the fluidity and plasticity of culture. On the other hand, the audience’s focus on personal emotion shows that they attach importance to their own emotional value in consumption behavior. That is to say that in a real consumption situation, the audience is more likely to be moved by the resonance and empathy generated by personal emotions. Based on this, we think that several points can be used for reference when applied to specific cross-cultural creations. First of all, the creation of the story itself takes precedence over everything else. Disney and Pixar have established teams of writers and directors, and their technical skills are exceptional. Such a strong guarantee allows the production team to accurately convey the story idea to the audience and give them a wonderful visual experience. Therefore, whether it is a hybrid of collective culture or an expression of individual emotions, high quality creation is the most important prerequisite. Secondly, for cross-cultural works, creators should abandon the blind pursuit of cultural symbols and choose to focus on specific “people”, specific problems, and a specific cultural content. To gain international cultural confidence, cultural export should not blindly display the excellent traditional culture in the local culture. For the audience, it seems too idealistic and impractical. The narrative of grand cultural values should be implemented on a small and real level, and the existing problems should be sincerely discussed to trigger transnational resonance honestly. Thirdly, Turning Red can objectively restore Chinese culture thanks to the cultural background of the directorial team, which has real experience growing up in Chinese families. This real experience in the cultural hybridity space improves the accuracy of cultural expression. The acquisition of cultural symbols is rapid and easy to perceive, but the culture’s deep connotations require the local culture’s subtle influence over the years. Creators need to be rooted in the real cultural soil, and only through long-term investigation and profound experience can they present the original local culture, which should not only be based on assumptions, let alone preconceptions and prejudices. 5. Conclusions Based on a grounded study of the audiences’ reviews of Disney’s Pixar-animated film Turning Red, the audience behavior was to give positive reviews because it inspired resonant emotions in them, rather than changing Chinese audiences’ opinions on the level of Chinese cultural expression. Certainly, the producer’s experience in commercial production and their artistic ability, combined with the film’s focus on topical issues and common global themes, laid the foundation for the film’s critical acclaim. However, the status quo of Chinese and Western cultural hybridity has not achieved a major breakthrough and change. On the one hand, this implies that individual emotional tendencies are more likely to influence individual behavioral choices than the collective cultural atmosphere. On the other hand, it also shows that people in their own country are not sensitive to the cultural forms that result from blending their own culture with that of other countries. They still measure and evaluate according to their original cultural judgment standards. 5.1. Academic and Managerial Implications The study also reaffirms the internal complexity and fluidity of the cultural hybridity theory itself, which makes it show a different dynamic from the original culture and makes the audience of the original culture seem confused in the process of consumption. The lack of audience awareness of cultural hybridity is an important reason why similar cultural products have not been well received in the past, but Turning Red makes up for this deficiency with personal life experiences that can cover almost all levels. Correspondingly, we make suggestions for cross-cultural creation, arguing that we should start from the audience’s emotions, search for the demands that exist in individuals in the globalization situation, and strengthen the in-depth understanding and experience of cultural connotations. At the same time, we also call for establishing an evaluation scale for cultural hybridity that is different from that of local culture. The understanding of Oriental culture among Chinese families mostly stagnates in the first generation of immigrants, who retain their cultural memories of their home countries and pass them on to their descendants in foreign lands. However, at the same time, Eastern culture itself is still constantly changing and developing. Hence, the Eastern culture they exhibit is incompatible with the real Eastern culture today. The parent–child relationship, on the other hand, is exceptionally consistent, making the subject matter resonate even when time and space are dislocated. The parent–child relationship in the movie has an idealized ending in a family-friendly atmosphere, whereas in real life, parental social support is an important factor influencing intergenerational cultural conflicts [72] and maintaining one’s own traditional culture; that is, identification with filial piety is an important safeguard to prevent all conflicts [73]. The specific manifestation of intergenerational conflict may vary from one era to another, but it always exists and will persist. This cultural memory, which resembles the collective unconscious, allows the audience to be influenced by the collective psychological experience in the reception process. 5.2. Research Reflection and Prospect No platform’s data can avoid limitations. For example, most of the Douban users are young people, between 20 and 30 years old, with a higher education background. It cannot fully reflect and represent the views and feelings of all of the movie’s viewers. Based on this situation, we refined and enriched the research data from two more sources: movie reviews from Time.com and an open-ended questionnaire collection. Nonetheless, the study may still leave out the opinions of a portion of the audience that is not used to using social networks, which is both the potential and limitation of this study. This study adopts a grounded theory approach, which places emphasis on original material and on the bottom-up step-by-step generation of a theoretical framework. As a result, it is not suitable for determining theoretical frameworks in advance, but rather for dealing with new and unknown problems As in the case of the film Turning Red in this study, which has achieved a different evaluation from previous culturally hybrid films here in China, in the face of this new phenomenon and the possible reasons behind it, it is necessary to adopt a grounded theory to extract concepts and structures from the audience’s evaluation. We have combined the use of the Nvivo software with grounded theory to make it easier to operate and to facilitate a series of visualizations directly from the software technology, making the results of the study more visible. The combination of grounded theory and the Nvivo software is the contribution of this study in terms of theory and methodology. Finally, the novelty of this study can be seen in two points. One is that grounded theory itself is widely used in anthropological or sociological research, but this study introduces it into the research of cross-cultural communication, which is an innovation at the methodological level. The second is to explore the profundity and complexity of the original theories of cultural hybridity, and whether the audience’s cognitive standards have changed simultaneously when their own culture has become “other” after being hybridized. We hope obtained different results from the novel phenomenon of Turning Red and study it to see if it changes the original theory, which is an innovation at the theoretical level. This study has two shortcomings. First, our study is on Chinese and Western cultural hybridity. However, cultures are extremely different, and whether this can be realized in other forms of cultural hybridity needs further verification. Second, Douban’s short reviews are selected and randomly displayed based on time and popularity, so the data we obtained are limited due to the platform’s limitations. Although we also investigated the full movie reviews, which are longer and more informative, incomplete access to short reviews still has certain shortcomings. Future research prospects can be derived from both horizontal and vertical aspects. On the one hand, we can focus on Chinese audiences’ acceptance behaviors of other Chinese and Western cultural hybridity products, such as fantasy novels, which are also products of cultural hybridity. However, Chinese audiences seem to love them very much. There are also other art genres, such as music and drama, or games, known as the “Ninth Art”. On the other hand, it is possible to compare the different reactions and behaviors of Western and Chinese audiences to the same work to study how cultural hybridity affects the local culture, particularly in the cultural regions involved.
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"http://wordpress.tempest.aoml.noaa.gov/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/h_prob_sept-298x300.gif" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2019-09-27T19:47:35+00:00	This FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) answers various questions regarding hurricanes, typhoons and tropical cyclones that have been posed	en	/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/NOAA_logo_512x512-150x150.png	NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory	https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd-faq/	Prior to the 20th century, hurricane names were inspired by everything from saints’ feast days, ship names, to unpopular politicians. In 1950, the National Hurricane Center officially began designating Atlantic hurricanes with code names and then women’s names. In 1979, naming responsibility was passed to a committee of the World Meteorological Organization who used alternating men and women’s names following the practice adopted by Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology three years earlier in 1975. Currently, there are six yearly lists used in rotation found here. If a particularly damaging storm occurs, the name of that storm is retired. Storms retired in 2017 include Harvey, Irma, Maria, and Nate. If there are more storms than names on the list in a given season, an auxiliary name list is used. Lastly, if a storm happens to move across basins, it keeps the original name. The only time it is renamed is in the case that it dissipates to a tropical disturbance and then reforms. In the Atlantic basin, tropical cyclone names are “retired” (not to be used again for a new storm) if it is deemed to be quite noteworthy because of the damage and/or deaths it caused. This is to prevent confusion with a historically well-known cyclone with a current one in the Atlantic basin. Sometimes names are removed for other reasons, such as cultural considerations or politics. History of Hurricane Naming For much of history, tropical cyclones were only given designations post facto. After they had come ashore and done much destruction, they would be commemorated by being named either for the Saint’s feast day they happened on (such as the San Felipe hurricanes in 1876 & 1928) or by some characteristic (the Salty hurricane 1810, the Yankee hurricane 1935). The first use of a proper name for a tropical cyclone was by Clement Wragge, an Australian forecaster late in the 19th century. He first designated tropical cyclones by the letters of the Greek alphabet, then started using South Sea Island girls’ names. When the newly constituted Australian national government failed to create a federal weather bureau and appoint him director, Wragge began naming cyclones “after political figures whom he disliked. By properly naming a hurricane, the weatherman could publicly describe a politician (who perhaps was not too generous with weather-bureau appropriations) as ‘causing great distress’ or ‘wandering aimlessly about the Pacific.’ (Dunn and Miller 1960) Although Wragge’s naming practice lapsed when his Queensland weather bureau closed in 1903, forty years later the idea inspired author George R. Stewart. In his 1941 novel “Storm”, a junior meteorologist named Pacific extratropical storms after former girlfriends. The novel was widely read, especially by US Army Air Forces and Navy meteorologists during World War II. When Reid Bryson, E.B. Buxton, and Bill Plumley were assigned to a USAAF base on Saipan in 1944 they had to forecast any tropical cyclones affecting operations. They decided (à la Stewart) to name them after their wives. In 1945, the armed services publicly adopted a list of women’s names for typhoons of the western Pacific using the names of officers’ wives assigned to forward forecast centers on Guam and the Philippines. However, the Air Forces were unable to persuade the U.S. Weather Bureau (USWB) to adopt a similar practice for Atlantic hurricanes. Starting in 1947, the Air Force Hurricane Office in Miami began designating tropical cyclones of the North Atlantic Ocean using the Army/Navy phonetic alphabet (Able-Baker-Charlie-etc.) in internal communications. During the busy 1950 hurricane season there were three hurricanes occurring simultaneously in the Atlantic basin, causing considerable confusion. Grady Norton of the USWB’s Miami Hurricane Warning Center then decided to use the Air Force’s naming system in public bulletins and in his year-end summary. By the next year, these names began appearing in newspaper articles. This practice proved popular. However, in 1952 a new International phonetic alphabet was adopted (Alpha-Beta-Charlie-etc.) which caused some confusion about which names were to be used. So in 1953, the US Weather Bureau finally acceded to the Armed Services’ practice of using women’s names. This was both controversial and popular. In 1978, under political pressure, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) requested that the WMO’s Region IV Hurricane Committee (which had just taken control of the list) switch to a hurricane name list that alternated men’s and women’s names following the practice adopted by Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology in 1975. This was first implemented in the eastern Pacific then in 1979 in the Atlantic. A rare hurricane near Hawaii in 1950 was called Hiki (Hawai’ian for Able). In 1957, three storms were detected in the Central Pacific, and the military forecast centers called them Kanoa, Della and Nina. In 1959, another hurricane threatened the islands and the Weather Bureau designated it “Dot”. The next year an official name list for tropical cyclones was drawn up for the Northeast Pacific basin. In 1978, both men’s and women’s names were utilized, and in 1979 a separate list was created for the Central Pacific (from 140°W to 180°W) using Hawaiian names. The Northwest Pacific basin tropical cyclones were given women’s names officially starting in 1945 and men’s names were also included beginning in 1979. As of 1 January 2000, tropical cyclones in the Northwest Pacific basin are now being named from a new and very different list. The new names contributed by all the nations and territories that are members of the WMO’s Typhoon Committee. These newly selected names have two major differences from the rest of the world’s tropical cyclone name rosters. The names by and large are not personal names. There are a few men’s and women’s names, but the majority are names of flowers, animals, birds, trees, or even foods, etc, while some are descriptive adjectives. The names will not be allotted in alphabetical order, but are arranged by contributing nation with the countries being alphabetized. The Philippine weather service PAGASA maintains their own separate list of names for any tropical system that threatens their archipelago. For many years the Indian Ocean cyclones were given alphanumeric designators. The Southwest Indian Ocean tropical cyclones were first named during the 1960/1961 season. The North Indian Ocean region tropical cyclones were named as of 2006. The Australian and South Pacific region (east of 90E, south of the equator) started giving women’s names to the storms for the 1964/1965 season and both men’s and women’s names for the 1974/1975 season. For the 2008/2009 season the three separate name lists of the different BoM forecast centers were consolidated into one list. A rare South Atlantic storm in 2004 was post facto given the name Catarina. Another such system in 2010 was designated Anita after the fact. Starting in 2011, a name list was begun for the South Atlantic basin using mostly Brazilian designations. Reference: Dunn, G.E. and B.I. Miller (1960): Atlantic Hurricanes, Louisiana State Univ. Press, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 377pp Skilton, Liz, (2019): Tempest, Louisiana State Univ. Press, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 306pp Since 1978, the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization, a group representing some 120 different countries, has used pre-determined lists of names for tropical storms for each ocean basin of the world. The Atlantic basin, which falls under Regional Association IV, has a six year supply of names with 21 names for each year. Why 21 names? Well, the letters Q, U, X, Y and Z are not used because names beginning with those letters are in short supply (you would need at least 3 male and 3 female names for each letter, plus a backup supply for those retired). Think about it; how many men and women do you know whose names begin with these letters? When a damage or casualty producing storm like Mitch, Andrew, or Katrina strikes, the country most affected by the storm may recommend to the World Meteorological Organization’s Regional Association that the name be “retired.” Retiring a name is an act of respect for its victims, and reduces confusion in the insurance, legal or scientific literature. A retired name is replaced with a like-gender name beginning with the same letter. For example, Honduras recommended (1998) the name Mitch be retired and proposed the replacement name, Matthew, for consideration (and vote) by the 25-member countries of the Regional Association-IV. Eighty-three names have been retired in the Atlantic basin. The names used on the list must meet some fundamental criteria. They should be short, and readily understood when broadcast. Further the names must be culturally sensitive and not convey some unintended and potentially inflammatory meaning. The potential for misunderstanding increases when you figure that in the Atlantic basin there are twenty-four countries, reflecting an international mix of English, Spanish and French cultures. Typically, over the historical record, about one storm each year causes so much death and destruction that its name is considered for retirement. This means that in a “normal” year, the odds are about 1 in 8 of requiring a replacement name, given that over the last 57 years (of reliable record) we’ve averaged slightly over 8 tropical storms and hurricanes per season (actually 8.6). So, it’s more likely that letters/ names toward the front of the alphabet (letters A through H) might be retired. The Region IV Naming Committee has a rather large file folder of nominated names that have already been submitted. The next time the need arises and it’s a storm affecting mainly the United States, the Committee will be casting about for a replacement tropical cyclone name. They will take out this file to make a selection. But as we say, it’s pure chance from there. The Automated Tropical Cyclone Forecast (ATCF) system was developed for the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in 1988. It is used by computer software to identify tropical cyclones and assist in the generation of forecast messages. In order to distinguish different tropical cyclones that might be occurring simultaneously, a distinct alphanumeric code is assigned to each cyclone once it develops a closed circulation. This code system was adopted by other warning centers in order to facilitate the passing of storm information and reduce confusion. The code designation consists of two letters designating the oceanic basin (“AL” for Atlantic, “EP” for Eastern Pacific, “CP” for Central Pacific and “WP” for Western Pacific), a two-digit number designating the sequential number of that particular cyclone for that basin in the year, and lastly a four-digit year number. So, the first depression to form in the Atlantic for 2001 would be AL012001, the third depression for the Central Pacific in 1999 would be CP031999. A cyclone retains its ATCF code designation as long as it remains a distinct tropical vortex. Even if it becomes a named tropical storm or hurricane the software will still track it by its ATCF code. AL90, AL92, 92L from the Tropical Discussions Oftentimes, hurricane specialists become curious about disturbances in the tropics long before they form into tropical depressions and are given a tropical cyclone number. In order to alert forecasting centers that they are investigating such a disturbance and that they wish to have it tracked by the various forecast models, the specialist will attach a 9-series number to it. The first such disturbance of the year will be designated 90, the next 91, and so on until 99. After that, they restart the sequence with 90 again. The purpose of these numbers is to clarify which disturbance they are tracking as there are often more than one happening at the same time. To further clarify matters, each number is accompanied by a two-letter code designating which tropical cyclone basin the disturbance is in. “AL” is used for the Atlantic basin (including the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico), “EP” for the Eastern Pacific, “CP” for Central Pacific, and “WP” for the Western Pacific. In discussions, these designations will be shortened to 90L, 91L, and so forth. They may also be referred to as ‘Invest 90L’. However, once a disturbance is designated a tropical depression this 9-series number will be dropped and an ATCF code number will be assigned in its place. You may also occasionally see an 8-series number, such as AL82. This means that this is a test investigation. There is no particular disturbance that the specialists are interested in, they’re just running a test of the system to make sure communications and software are running properly. In order for a tropical cyclone to form, several atmospheric and marine conditions must be met. Temperature & Humidity: Ocean waters should be 80° Fahrenheit at the surface and warm for a depth of 150 feet, because warm ocean waters fuel the heat engines of tropical cyclones. They also need an atmosphere which cools fast enough with increasing height so that the difference between the top and bottom of the atmosphere can create thunderstorm conditions. A moist mid-troposphere (3 miles high) is also needed because dry air ingested into thunderstorms at mid-level can kill the circulation. Spin & Location: The Coriolis force is an apparent force that deflects movement to the right coming from the Northern hemisphere and to the left coming from the Southern hemisphere. The force is greatest at the poles and zero at the equator, so the storm must be at least 300 miles from the equator in order for the Coriolis force to create the spin. This force causes hurricanes in the Northern hemisphere to rotate counter-clockwise, and in the southern hemisphere to rotate clockwise. This spin may play some role in helping tropical cyclones to organize. (As a side note: the Coriolis force is not strong enough to affect small containers such as in sinks and toilets. The notion that the water flushes the other way in the opposite hemisphere is a myth.) Wind: Low vertical wind shear (the change of wind speed and direction with height) between the surface and the upper troposphere favors the thunderstorm formation, which provides the energy for tropical cyclones. Too much wind shear will disrupt or weaken the convection. Having these conditions met is necessary but not sufficient, as many disturbances that appear to have favorable conditions do not develop. Past work (Velasco and Fritsch 1987, Chen and Frank 1993, Emanuel 1993) has identified that large thunderstorm systems (called mesoscale convective complexes) often produce an inertially stable, warm core vortex in the trailing altostratus decks of the MCC. These mesovortices have a horizontal scale of approximately 100 to 200 km [75 to 150 mi], are strongest in the mid-troposphere (5 km [3 mi]) and have no appreciable signature at the surface. Zehr (1992) hypothesizes that genesis of the tropical cyclones occurs in two stages: stage 1 occurs when the called mesoscale convective complex produces a mesoscale vortex. Stage 2 occurs when a second blow up of convection at the mesoscale vortex initiates the intensification process of lowering central pressure and increasing swirling winds. References: Graham, N. E., and T. P. Barnett, 1987: Sea surface temperature, surface wind divergence, and convection over tropical oceans. Science, No.238, pp. 657-659. Gray, W.M. (1968): “A global view of the origin of tropical disturbances and storms” Mon. Wea. Rev., 96, pp.669-700 Gray, W.M. (1979): “Hurricanes: Their formation, structure and likely role in the tropical circulation” Meteorology Over Tropical Oceans. D. B. Shaw (Ed.), Roy. Meteor. Soc., James Glaisher House, Grenville Place, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 1BX, pp.155-218 Chen, S.A., and W.M. Frank (1993): “A numerical study of the genesis of extratropical convective mesovortices. Part I: Evolution and dynamics” J. Atmos. Sci., 50, pp.2401-2426 Emanuel, K.A. (1993): “The physics of tropical cyclogenesis over the Eastern Pacific. Tropical Cyclone Disasters J. Lighthill, Z. Zhemin, G. J. Holland, K. Emanuel (Eds.), Peking University Press, Beijing, 136-142 Palmen, E. H., 1948: On the formation and structure of tropical cyclones. Geophysica , Univ. of Helsinki, Vol. 3, 1948, pp. 26-38. Velasco, I., and J.M. Fritsch (1987): “Mesoscale convective complexes in the Americas” J. Geophys. Res., 92, pp.9561-9613 Zehr, R.M. (1992): “Tropical cyclogenesis in the western North Pacific. NOAA Technical Report NESDIS 61, U. S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20233, 181 pp. In addition to hurricane-favorable conditions such as temperature and humidity, many repeating atmospheric phenomenon contribute to causing and intensifying tropical cyclones. For example, African Easterly Waves (AEW) are winds in the lower troposphere (ocean surface to 3 miles above) that originate and travel from Africa at speeds of about 3-mph westward as a result of the African Easterly Jet. These winds are seen from April until November. About 85% of intense hurricanes and about 60% of smaller storms have their origin in African Easterly Waves. The Saharan Air Layer (SAL) is another significant seeding phenomenon affecting tropical storms. It is a mass of dry, mineral-rich, dusty air that forms over the Sahara from late spring to early fall and moves over the tropical North Atlantic every 3-5 days at speeds of 22-55mph (10-25 meters per second). These air masses are 1-2 miles deep and exist in the lower troposphere. They can be as wide as the continental US and have significant moderating impacts on tropical cyclone intensity and formation because the dry, intense air can deprive the storm of moisture and wind shear can interfere with its convection. However, disturbances on the periphery of the Saharan Air Layer can receive a boost in their convection and spin. An upper atmospheric perturbation known as the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) can travel around the globe on a time-scale of weeks. As its positive phase passes over an area it can bring favorable conditions for convection, while its negative phase can suppress it. This can affect forming tropical cyclones either giving them a boost or hindering them. The climatic fluctuation in the Pacific Ocean known as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) can affect Atlantic tropical cyclone development by increasing or decreasing (depending on ENSO phase) the vertical wind shear over the western side of the basin. The Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) are oceanic temperature fluctuations occurring over tens of years. They can have a profound influence on the overall tropical cyclone activity over the world’s tropical oceans. For example, when the tropical North Atlantic Ocean is warmer than usual, hurricanes tend to form more often and become stronger. See more in the Tropical Cyclone Climatology Section on Atlantic Multi-decadal Variability. Cape Verde-type hurricanes are Atlantic basin tropical cyclones that develop into tropical storms fairly close (<1000 km [600 mi] or so) to the Cape Verde Islands and then become hurricanes before reaching the Caribbean. Typically, this may occur in August and September, but in rare years (like 1995) this may occur in late July and/or early October. The numbers range from none to around five per year – with an average of 2 per year. References: Dunn, G. E., 1940: “Cyclogenesis in the tropical Atlantic” Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 21, pp.215-229 Riehl, H., 1945: “Waves in the easterlies and the polar front in the tropics” Misc. Rep. No. 17, Department of Meteorology, University of Chicago, 79 pp. Burpee, R. W., (1972): “The origin and structure of easterly waves in the lower troposphere of North Africa” J. Atmos. Sci., 29, pp.77-90 Burpee, R. W., (1974): “Characteristics of the North African easterly waves during the summers of 1968 and 1969” J. Atmos. Sci., 31, pp.1556-1570 Landsea, C.W. (1993): “A climatology of intense (or major) Atlantic hurricanes” Mon. Wea. Rev., 121, pp.1703-1713 Avila, L. A., and R. J. Pasch, 1995: “Atlantic tropical systems of 1993” Mon. Wea. Rev., 123, pp.887-896 When a tropical disturbance organizes into a tropical depression, the thunderstorms will begin to line up in spiral bands along the inflowing wind. The winds will begin to increase, and eventually the inner bands will close off into an eyewall, surrounding a central calm area known as the eye. This usually happens around the time wind speeds reach hurricane force. When the hurricane reaches its mature stage, eyewall replacement cycles may begin. Each cycle will be accompanied by fluctuations in the strength of the storm. Peak winds may diminish when a new eyewall replaces the old, but then re-strengthen as the new eyewall becomes established. If the storm passes through an area of high vertical wind shear or dry air the storm could be weakened. However, if it continues to pick up moisture from a warm environment, then it could become a major hurricane. Hurricanes are driven by larger scale circulation patterns. The predominant pattern in the tropics is the Subtropical ridge, a semi-permanent high pressure cell roughly located near the Tropic of Cancer or Capricorn (23°26′ N or S). In the Atlantic this ridge is often called the Bermuda High due to its location. South of the ridge the circulation drives tropical cyclones westward with a slight poleward component. But when the cyclone reaches the westward edge of the ridge it will tend to move around the high first poleward then easterly. This is known as recurvature. This motion means that many Atlantic hurricanes may recurve back out to sea without ever making landfall. If a hurricane reaches the mid-latitudes, it can interact with fronts. Often the energy and moisture of tropical cyclones will be absorbed into such fronts, transitioning into extratropical low pressure storms. Studies have shown that this process can increase the unpredictability of mid-latitude weather downstream for days following. However, some hurricanes will make landfall. Striking an island, especially a mountainous one, could cause its circulation to break down. If it hits a continent, a hurricane will be cut off from its supply of warm, moist maritime air. It will also begin to draw in dry continental air, which combined with increased friction over land leads to the weakening and eventual death of the hurricane. Over mountainous terrain this will be a quick end. But over flat areas, it may take two to three days to break down the circulation. Even then you are still left with a large pocket of tropical moisture which can cause substantial inland flooding. There have been studies on the rate of storm decay once they make landfall (Demaria Kaplan Decay Model). References: Willoughby, H.E. (1990a): “Temporal changes of the primary circulation in tropical cyclones” J. Atmos. Sci., 47, pp.242-264 Willoughby, H.E., J.A. Clos, and M.G. Shoreibah (1982): “Concentric eye walls, secondary wind maxima, and the evolution of the hurricane vortex” J. Atmos. Sci., 39, pp.395-411 Powell, M.D., and S.H. Houston, 1996: “Hurricane Andrew’s wind field at landfall in South Florida. Part II: Applications to real -time analysis and preliminary damage assessment” Wea. Forecasting, 11, pp.329-349 Tuleya, R.E. (1994): “Tropical storm development and decay: Sensitivity to surface boundary conditions” Mon. Wea. Rev., 122, pp.291-304 Tuleya, R.E. and Y. Kurihara (1978): “A numerical simulation of the landfall of tropical cyclones” J. Atmos. Sci., 35, pp.242-257 Storm surge is an abnormal rise of water generated by a storm’s winds blowing onshore. Storm tide is the combination of the storm surge and astronomical tide as a result of a storm. Storm surge is caused by the force of high wind speeds acting on the ocean surface combined with the forward speed of the storm. The height of a storms surge is determined by the approaching angle of the storm as well as the coastline characteristics, such as the shape of the continental shelf and local geographic features, such as inlets. The degree of vulnerability of any stretch of coast is dependent on a number of factors which includes the central pressure, intensity, forward speed, storm size, angle of approach, width and slope of the off-shore continental shelf, and local bays and inlets. The figure above illustrates the degree of storm surge threat for a “worst case scenario” Category 4 hurricane normalized along the coastline of the eastern and Gulf coasts of the United States. The SLOSH Model The Sea, Lake, and Overland Surges from Hurricanes (SLOSH) model is the computer model utilized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for coastal inundation risk assessment and the operational prediction of storm surge. The eastern seaboard and Gulf Coast of the United States, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, and Hawaii, are subdivided into 39 regions or “basins.” These areas represent sections of the coastline that are centered upon particularly susceptible features: inlets, large coastal centers of population, low-lying topography, and ports. The SLOSH model computes the maximum potential impact of the storm in these “computational domains” based on storm intensity, track, and estimates of storm size provided by hurricane specialists at the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Currently, SLOSH basins are being updated at an average rate of 6 basins per year. SLOSH basin updates are ultimately governed by the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Hurricanes (ICCOH). ICCOH manages hazard and post-storm analysis for the Hurricane Evacuation Studies under FEMA’s Hurricane Program. Updates are driven by a number of different factors such as: changes to a basin’s topography/bathymetry due to a hurricane event, degree of vulnerability to storm surge, availability of new data, changes to the coast, and the addition of engineered flood protection devices (e.g. levees). Sometimes these updates include higher grid size resolution to improve surge representation, increasing areas covered by hypothetical tracks for improved accuracy, conversion to updated vertical reference datums, and including the latest topography or bathymetric data for better representation of barrier, gaps, passes, and other local features. The SLOSH model can generate several different products: Deterministic runs This is an operational product based on the official NHC track and intensity forecast of a tropical cyclone. Operational SLOSH runs are generated whenever a hurricane warning is issued, approximately 36 hours prior to arrival of tropical storm winds. It is run every 6 hours coinciding with the full advisory package. This is a single run product which can result in uncertainty because it is STRONGLY dependent on the accuracy of the storm track and timing. This product is intended to provide valuable surge information in support of rescue and recovery efforts. Probabilistic (P-surge) runs This is a graphical product using an ensemble of many SLOSH runs to create a Probabilistic Storm Surge (P-Surge) product. This is intended to be used operationally so it is based on NHC’s official advisory. P-Surge uses SLOSH-based simulations which are based on statistics of past performance of the advisories. These different SLOSH simulations are based on the distribution of: Cross-track error (impacts landfall location) Along-track error (impacts forward speed and timing) Intensity error (impacts pressure) Size error (impacts size) P-Surge is available whenever a hurricane watch or warning is in effect. It is posted on the NHC webpage within approximately 30 minutes after the advisory release time. Maximum Envelope of Water (MEOW) runs This is an ensemble product representing the maximum height of storm surge water in a given basin grid cell using hypothetical storms run with the same: Category (intensity) Forward speed Storm trajectory Initial tide level Internally a number of parallel SLOSH runs with same intensity, forward speed, storm trajectory, and initial tide level are performed for the basin. The only difference in runs is that each is conducted at some distance to the left or to the right of the main track (typically at the center of the grid). Each component run computes a storm surge value for each grid cell. For example, five parallel runs may yield storm surge values of 4.1, 7.1, 5.3, 6.3, and 3.8 feet. In this case, the MEOW for the cell is 7.1 ft. It is unknown (to the user) which track generated the MEOW for a particular cell, so it is entirely possible that the MEOW values for adjacent cells may have come from different runs. MEOWs are used to incorporate the uncertainties associated with a given forecast and help eliminate the possibility that a critical storm track will be missed in which extreme storm surge values are generated. MEOWs provide a worst case scenario for a particular category, forward speed, storm trajectory, and initial tide level incorporating uncertainty in forecast landfall location. The results are typically generated from several thousand SLOSH runs for each basin. Over 80 MEOWs have been generated for some basins. This product provides useful information aiding in hurricane evacuation planning. Maximum of MEOW (MOM) runs This is an ensemble product of maximum storm surge heights for all hurricanes of a given category regardless of forward speed, storm trajectory, landfall location, etc. MOMs are created internally by pooling all the MEOWs for a given basin separated by category and tide level (zero/high), and selecting the MEOW with the greatest storm surge value for each basin grid cell regardless of the forward speed, storm trajectory, landfall location, etc. This procedure is done for each category of storm. Essentially, there is 1 MOM per storm category and tide level (zero/high). MOMs represent the worst case scenario for a given category of storm under “perfect” storm conditions. The MOMs provide useful information aiding in hurricane evacuation planning and are also used to develop the nation’s evacuation zones. Strengths and limitations of SLOSH The SLOSH model is computationally efficient resulting in fast computer runs. It is able to resolve flow through barriers, gaps, and passes and model deep passes between bodies of water. It also resolves inland inundation and the overtopping of barrier systems, levees, and roads. It can even resolve coastal reflections of surges such as coastally trapped Kelvin waves. However it does not model the impacts of waves on top of the surge, account for normal river flow or rain flooding, nor does it explicitly model the astronomical tide (although operational runs can be run with different water level anomalies to model conditions at the onset of operational runs). Surprisingly, not much lightning occurs in the inner core (within about 100 km or 60 mi) of the tropical cyclone center. Only around a dozen or less cloud-to-ground strikes per hour occur around the eyewall of the storm, in strong contrast to an overland mid-latitude mesoscale convective complex which may be observed to have lightning flash rates of greater than 1000 per hour maintained for several hours. Hurricane Andrew’s eyewall had less than 10 strikes per hour from the time it was over the Bahamas until after it made landfall along Louisiana, with several hours with no cloud-to-ground lightning at all (Molinari et al. 1994). However, lightning can be more common in the outer cores of the storms (beyond around 100 km or 60 mi) with flash rates on the order of 100s per hour. This lack of inner core lightning is due to the relative weak nature of the eyewall thunderstorms. Because of the lack of surface heating over the ocean ocean and the “warm core” nature of the tropical cyclones, there is less buoyancy available to support the updrafts. Weaker updrafts lack the super-cooled water (e.g. water with a temperature less than 0° C or 32° F) that is crucial in charging up a thunderstorm by the interaction of ice crystals in the presence of liquid water (Black and Hallett 1986). The more common outer core lightning occurs in conjunction with the presence of convectively-active rainbands (Samsury and Orville 1994). One of the exciting possibilities that recent lightning studies have suggested is that changes in the inner core strikes – though the number of strikes is usually quite low – may provide a useful forecast tool for intensification of tropical cyclones. Black (1975) suggested that bursts of inner core convection which are accompanied by increases in electrical activity may indicate that the tropical cyclone will soon commence a deepening in intensity. Analyses of Hurricanes Diana (1984), Florence (1988) and Andrew (1992), as well as an unnamed tropical storm in 1987 indicate that this is often true (Lyons and Keen 1994 and Molinari et al. 1994). References: Molinari, J., P.K. Moore, V.P. Idone, R.W. Henderson, and A.B. Saljoughy (1994): “Cloud-to-ground lightning in Hurricane Andrew” J. Geophys. Res., pp.16665-16676 Black, R.A., and J. Hallett (1986): “Observations of the distribution of ice in hurricanes” J. Atmos. Sci., 43, pp.802-822 Samsury, C.E., and R.E. Orville, 1994: “Cloud-to-ground lightning in tropical cyclones: A study of Hurricanes Hugo (1989) and Jerry (1989)” Mon. Wea. Rev., 122, pp.1887-1896 Black, P.G., (1975): “Some aspects of tropical storm structure revealed by handheld-camera photographs from space” Skylab Explores the Earth, NASA, pp.417-461 Lyons, W.A., and C. S. Keen (1994): “Observations of lightning in convective supercells within tropical storms and hurricanes” Mon. Wea. Rev., 122, pp.1897-1916 The ocean’s primary direct response to a hurricane is a cooling of the sea surface temperature (SST). How does this occur? When the strong winds of a hurricane move over the ocean they churn-up much cooler water from below. The net result is that the SST of the ocean after storm passage can be lowered by several degrees Celsius (up to 10° Fahrenheit). A warmer ocean can have intensifying effects because the warmer an ocean is, the easier it is for the liquid water to become vapor and fuel the storm’s clouds. Figure 1 shows SSTs ranging between 25-27°C (77-81°F) several days after the passage of Hurricane Georges in 1998. As Figure 1 illustrates, Georges’ post-storm ‘cold wake’ along and to the right of the superimposed track is 3-5°C (6-9°F) cooler than the undisturbed SST to the west and south (i.e. red/orange regions are ~30°’C [86°’F]). The magnitude and distribution of the cooling pattern shown in this illustration is fairly typical for a post-storm SST analysis. One important caveat to realize however is that most of the 3-5°C (6-9°F) ocean cooling shown in Figure 1 occurs well after the storm has moved away from the region (in this case several days after Georges made landfall). The amount of ocean cooling that occurs directly beneath the hurricane within the high wind region of the storm is a much more important question scientists would like to have answered. Why? Hurricanes get their energy from the warm ocean water beneath them. However, in order to get a more accurate estimate of just how much energy is being transferred from the sea to the storm, scientists need to know ocean temperature conditions directly beneath the hurricane. Unfortunately, with 150kph+ (100mph+) winds, 20m+ (60ft+) seas and heavy cloud cover being the norm in this region of the storm, direct (or even indirect) measurement of SST conditions within the storm’s “inner core” environment are very rare. Thankfully in this case “very rare” does not mean “once in a lifetime”. Recently, scientists in AOML’s Hurricane Research Division (HRD) were able to get a better idea of how much SST cooling occurs directly under a hurricane by looking at many storms over a 28 year period. By combining these rare events, HRD scientists put together a “composite average” of ocean cooling directly under the storm. Figure 2 illustrates that, on average, cooling patterns are a lot less than the post storm 3-5°C (6-9°F) cold wake estimates shown in Figure 1. In most cases, the ocean temperature under a hurricane will range somewhere between 0.2 and 1.2°C (0.4 and 2.2°F) cooler that the surrounding ocean environment. Exactly how much depends on many factors including ocean structure beneath the storm (i.e. location), storm speed, time of year and to a lesser extent, storm intensity (Cione and Uhlhorn 2003). While the estimates in Figure 2 represent a dramatic improvement when it comes to more accurately representing actual SST cooling patterns experienced under a hurricane, even small errors in inner core SST can result in significant miscalculations when it comes to accurately assessing how much energy is transferred from the warm ocean environment directly to the hurricane. With all other factors being equal, being “off” by a mere 0.5°C (1°F) can be the difference between a storm that rapidly intensifies and one that falls apart! With that much at stake, scientists at HRD and other government and academic institutions are working to improve our ability to accurately estimate, observe and predict “under-the-storm” upper ocean conditions. These efforts include statistical studies, modeling efforts and enhanced observational capabilities designed to help scientists better assess upper ocean thermal conditions under the storm. It is believed that future forecasts of tropical cyclone intensity change will be significantly improved. Reference: Cione, J. J., and E. W. Uhlhorn, 2003: Sea Surface Temperature Variability in Hurricanes: Implications with Respect to Intensity Change. Monthly Weather Review, 131, 1783-1796. The Eye is a roughly circular area of fair weather found at the center of a severe tropical storm. The eye is the region of the lowest pressure at the surface and the warmest temperatures at the top. Eye size ranges from 5-120 miles across, but most are 20-40 miles in diameter. Understanding exactly how the eye forms has been controversial. Some scientists believe the radial spreading of the wind creates a warm dry down flow from the upper atmosphere, and this forms the cloud-free eye. Others have think the latent heat release in the eyewall forces the subsidence in the storm center creating the eye. The Eyewall is a ring of deep convection bordering the eye of the storm. This area has the highest surface winds in the tropical cyclone. Because air in the eye is slowly sinking, it creates an updraft in the eyewall. In particularly strong storms, concentric eyewall circles (or an “eyewall replacement cycle”) can occur. Eyewall replacement happens when a storm reaches its intensity threshold and the eye contracts to a smaller size (5-15 miles). Strong rain bands in the outer storm move inward towards the eye, robbing the inner eyewall of its moisture and momentum and weakening the storm. Spiral Bands are long, narrow bands of rain and thunderstorms that are oriented in the same direction as the wind movement. They are caused by convection (the vertical movement of air masses) and they spiral into the center of the tropical cyclone. In contrast, the Moat of a storm usually refers to the region between the eyewall and an outer spiral band where rainfall is relatively lighter. Not all hurricanes have moats. References: Hawkins, H.F., and D.T. Rubsam (1968): “Hurricane Hilda, 1964 : II Structure and budgets of the hurricane on October 1, 1964” Mon. Wea. Rev., 104, pp.418-442 Weatherford, C. and W.M. Gray (1988): “Typhoon structure as revealed by aircraft reconnaissance. Part II: Structural variability” Mon. Wea. Rev., 116, pp.1044-1056 Smith, R.K. (1980): “Tropical Cyclone Eye Dynamics.” J. Atmos. Sci., 37 (6), pp.1227-1232. Willoughby, H.E. (1979): “Forced secondary circulations in hurricanes” J. Geophys. Res., 84, pp.3173-3183 Shapiro, L.J. and H.E. Willoughby (1982): “The Response of Balanced Hurricanes to Local Sources of Heat and Momentum” J. Atmos. Sci., 39 (2), pp.378-394 Willoughby, H.E. (1990a): “Temporal changes of the primary circulation in tropical cyclones” J. Atmos. Sci., 47, pp.242-264 Willoughby, H.E. (1995): “Mature structure and evolution. Global Perspectives on Tropical Cyclones, R.L. Elsberry (ed.). World Meteorological Organization, Report No. TCP-38; Geneva, Switzerland, 62 pp. The energy released from a hurricane can be explained in two ways: the total amount of energy released by the condensation of water droplets (latent heat), or the amount of kinetic energy generated to maintain the strong, swirling winds of a hurricane. The vast majority of the latent heat released is used to drive the convection of a storm, but the total energy released from condensation is 200 times the world-wide electrical generating capacity, or 6.0 x 1014 watts per day. If you measure the total kinetic energy instead, it comes out to about 1.5 x 1012 watts per day, or ½ of the world-wide electrical generating capacity. It would seem that although wind energy seems to be the most obvious energetic process, it is actually the latent release of heat that feeds a hurricane’s momentum. To Calculate: Method 1 – Total energy released through cloud/rain formation: An average hurricane produces 1.5 cm/day (0.6 inches/day) of rain inside a circle of radius 665 km (360 n.mi) (Gray 1981). (More rain falls in the inner portion of hurricane around the eyewall, less in the outer rainbands.) Converting this to a volume of rain gives 2.1 x 1016 cm3/day. A cubic cm of rain weighs 1 gm. Using the latent heat of condensation, this amount of rain produced gives 5.2 x 1019 Joules/day or 6.0 x 1014 Watts. Method 2 – Total kinetic energy (wind energy) generated: For a mature hurricane, the amount of kinetic energy generated is equal to that being dissipated due to friction. The dissipation rate per unit area is air density times the drag coefficient times the wind speed cubed (See Emanuel 1999 for details). One could either integrate a typical wind profile over a range of radii from the hurricane’s center to the outer radius encompassing the storm, or assume an average wind speed for the inner core of the hurricane. Doing the latter and using 40 m/s (90 mph) winds on a scale of radius 60 km (40 n.mi.), gets a wind dissipation rate (wind generation rate) of 1.3 x 1017 Joules/day (1.5 x 1012Watts). Reference: Emanuel, K. A., (1999): “The power of a hurricane: An example of reckless driving on the information superhighway” Weather, 54, 107-108 The Atlantic hurricane season is June 1st to November 30th. In the East Pacific, it runs from May 15th to November 30th. Hurricane Awareness week runs from May 25th through May 31st and is a great time to get your hurricane kit and plans up to date. NOAA’s seasonal outlook is published here: NOAA Seasonal Outlook Hurricanes have occurred outside of the official six month season , but these dates were selected to encompass the majority of Atlantic tropical cyclone activity (over 97%). When the Weather Bureau organized its new hurricane warning network in 1935 it scheduled a special telegraph line to connect the various centers to run from June 15th through November 15th. Those remained the start and end dates of the ‘official’ season until 1964, when it was decided to end the season on November 30th, and in 1965, when the start was moved to the beginning of June. These changes made the Atlantic hurricane season six months long and easier for people to remember. Atlantic Ocean tropical cyclone activity over a year The Atlantic basin shows a very peaked season from August through October, with 78% of the tropical storm days, 87% of the minor hurricane days, and 96% of the major hurricane days occurring then (Landsea (NHC) 1993). Maximum activity occurs in early to mid September. “Out of season” tropical cyclones primarily occur in May or December. East Pacific Ocean tropical cyclone activity over a year The Northeast Pacific basin has a broader peak with activity beginning in late May or early June and going until late October or early November with a peak in storminess in late August/early September. The National Hurricane Center’s official dates for this basin are from May 15th to November 30th. West Pacific Ocean tropical cyclone activity over a year The Northwest Pacific basin has tropical cyclones occurring all year round regularly. There is no official definition of typhoon season for this reason. There is a distinct minimum in February and the first half of March, and the main season goes from July to November with a peak in late August/early September. The North Indian basin has a double peak of activity in May and November though tropical cyclones are seen from April to December. The severe cyclonic storms (>33 m/s winds [76 mph]) occur almost exclusively from April to June and late September to early December. The Southwest Indian and Australian/Southeast Indian basins have very similar annual cycles with tropical cyclones beginning in late October/early November, reaching a peak in activity from mid-January to early May. The Australian/Southeast Indian basin February lull in activity is a bit more pronounced than the Southwest Indian basin’s lull. The Australian/Southwest Pacific basin begin with tropical cyclone activity in late October/early November, reaches a single peak in March, and then fades out in early May. Globally, September is the most active month and May is the least active month. (Neumann 1993) References: Neumann, C.J., B.R. Jarvinen, C.J. McAdie, and J.D. Elms (1993): Tropical Cyclones of the North Atlantic Ocean, 1871-1992, Prepared by the National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC, in cooperation with the NHC, Coral Gables, FL, 193pp. The mean annual damage from hurricanes in the US is 9.5 billion dollars, when we adjust not only for inflation but for the increase in value of real goods in average households. Hurricane damage varies greatly from year to year, depending on the number and strength of hurricanes making landfall, but there does not seem to be a long-term trend in adjusted damage over the last century. There is very little association between the physical size of a hurricane and its intensity. A big hurricane does not have to be an intense one and vice versa. The damage a hurricane can cause is a function of both its maximum sustained wind and the extent of the hurricane force winds. A broad, weak storm may cause as much damage as a small, strong one. It is false to think that damage is linear with wind speed, that a 150-mph winds will cause twice the damage as a 75-mph winds. The relationship is exponential, and not linear. A category 5 storm could cause up to 250 times the damage of a category 1 hurricane of the same size. Intensity Cases Median Damage Potential Damage * Tropical/Subtropical Storm 118 < $1,000,000 0 Hurricane Category 1 45 $33,000,000 1 Hurricane Category 2 29 $336,000,000 10 Hurricane Category 3 40 $1,412,000,000 50 Hurricane Category 4 10 $8,224,000,000 250 Hurricane Category 5 2 $5,973,000,000 500 Mean annual damage in mainland US is $4,900,000,000. The worst U.S. hurricane damage – after normalizing to today’s population, wealth and dollars – is no longer Hurricane Andrew, but is instead the 1926 Great Miami Hurricane. If this storm hit in the mid-1990s, it is estimated that it would cause over $70 billion in South Florida and then an additional $10 billion in the Florida panhandle and Alabama. The United States has at least a 1 in 6 chance of experiencing losses related to hurricanes of at least $10 billion on average. Even though the major hurricanes (the category 3, 4 and 5 storms) comprise only 21% of all US landfalling tropical cyclones, they account for 83% of all of the damage. Damages have not been on the increase once one normalizes for inflation, wealth, and coastal population changes. Instead one sees that hurricane damages that were fairly low during the first two decades of the 20th Century, are quite high in the 1920s and 1940s to 1960s, and substantially lower in the 1970s and 1980s. Only during the early 1990s does damage approach the high level of impacts seen back in the 1940s through the 1960s. Thus recent hurricane damages are not unprecedented. References: Weatherford, C. and W.M. Gray (1988): “Typhoon structure as revealed by aircraft reconnaissance. Part II: Structural variability” Mon. Wea. Rev., 116, pp.1044-1056 Pielke, Jr. R. A., and C. W. Landsea, 1998: “Normalized Atlantic hurricane damage 1925-1995” Wea. Forecasting, 13, pp.621-631 Hurricane forecasters estimate tropical cyclone strength from satellite using a method called the Dvorak technique. Vern Dvorak developed the scheme in the early 1970s using a pattern recognition decision tree (Dvorak 1975, 1984). Utilizing the current satellite picture of a tropical cyclone, one matches the image versus a number of possible pattern types: Curved band Pattern, Shear Pattern, Eye Pattern, Central Dense Overcast (CDO) Pattern, Embedded Center Pattern or Central Cold Cover Pattern. If infrared satellite imagery is available for Eye Patterns (generally the pattern seen for hurricanes, severe tropical cyclones and typhoons), then the scheme utilizes the difference between the temperature of the warm eye and the surrounding cold cloud tops. The larger the difference, the more intense the tropical cyclone is estimated to be. From this one gets a “T-number” and a “Current Intensity (CI) Number”. CI numbers have been calibrated against aircraft measurements of tropical cyclones in the Northwest Pacific and Atlantic basins. On average, the CI numbers correspond to the following intensities: Current Intensity Numbers CI Number Maximum Sustained One Minute Winds (kts) Central Pressure (mb) Atlantic NW Pacific 0.0 <25 —- —- 0.5 25 —- —- 1.0 25 —- —- 1.5 25 —- —- 2.0 30 1009 1000 2.5 35 1005 997 3.0 45 1000 991 3.5 55 994 984 4.0 65 987 976 4.5 77 979 966 5.0 90 970 954 5.5 102 960 941 6.0 115 948 927 6.5 127 935 914 7.0 140 921 898 7.5 155 906 879 8.0 170 890 858 Note that this estimation of both maximum winds and central pressure assumes that the winds and pressures are always consistent. However, since the winds are really determined by the pressure gradient, small tropical cyclones (like the Atlantic’s Andrew in 1992, for example) can have stronger winds for a given central pressure than a larger tropical cyclone with the same central pressure. Thus caution is urged in not blindly forcing tropical cyclones to “fit” the above pressure- wind relationships. (The reason that lower pressures are given to the Northwest Pacific tropical cyclones in comparison to the higher pressures of the Atlantic basin tropical cyclones is because of the difference in the background climatology. The Northwest Pacific basin has a lower background sea level pressure field. Thus to sustain a given pressure gradient and thus the winds, the central pressure must accordingly be smaller in this basin.) The errors for using the above Dvorak technique in comparison to aircraft measurements taken in the Northwest Pacific average 10 mb with a standard deviation of 9 mb (Martin and Gray 1993). Atlantic tropical cyclone estimates likely have similar errors. Thus an Atlantic hurricane that is given a CI number of 4.5 (winds of 77 kt and pressure of 979 mb) could in reality be anywhere from winds of 60 to 90 kt and pressures of 989 to 969 mb. These would be typical ranges to be expected; errors could be worse. However, in the absence of other observations, the Dvorak technique does at least provide a consistent estimate of what the true intensity is. While the Dvorak technique was calibrated for the Atlantic and Northwest Pacific basin because of the aircraft reconnaissance data ground truth, the technique has also been quite useful in other basins that have limited observational platforms. However, at some point it would be preferable to re-derive the Dvorak technique to calibrate tropical cyclones with available data in the other basins. Lastly, while the Dvorak technique is primarily designed to provide estimates of the current intensity of the storm, a 24 h forecast of the intensity can be obtained also by extrapolating the trend of the CI number. Whether this methodology provides skillful forecasts is unknown. References: Dvorak, V.F., 1975: “Tropical cyclone intensity analysis and forecasting from satellite imagery” Mon. Wea. Rev., 103, pp.420-430 Dvorak, V.F., 1984: “Tropical cyclone intensity analysis using satellite data” NOAA Tech. Rep. NESDIS 11, 47pp Fitzpatrick, P.J., J.A. Knaff, C.W. Landsea, and S.V. Finley (1995): “A systematic bias in the Aviation model’s forecast of the Atlantic tropical upper tropospheric trough: Implications for tropical cyclone forecasting” Wea. Forecasting, 10, pp.433-446 Martin, J.D., and W.M. Gray (1993): “Tropical cyclone observation and forecasting with and without aircraft reconnaissance” Wea. Forecasting, 8, pp.519-532 The U.S. Government once supported research into methods of hurricane modification, known as Project STORMFURY. It was an ambitious experimental program of research on hurricane modification carried out between 1962 and 1983. The proposed modification technique involved artificial stimulation of convection outside the eyewall through seeding with silver iodide. The invigorated convection, it was argued, would compete with the original eyewall, lead to the reformation of the eyewall at larger radius, and thus, through partial conservation of angular momentum, produce a decrease in the strongest winds. Since a hurricane’s destructive potential increases rapidly as its strongest winds become stronger, a reduction as small as 10% would have been worthwhile. Modification was attempted in four hurricanes on eight different days. On four of these days, the winds decreased by between 10 and 30%, The lack of response on the other days was interpreted to be the result of faulty execution of the seeding or of poorly selected subjects. These promising results came into question in the mid-1980s because observations in unmodified hurricanes indicated: That cloud seeding had little prospect of success because hurricanes contained too much natural ice and too little supercooled water. That the positive results inferred from the seeding experiments in the 1960s stemmed from inability to discriminate between the expected results of human intervention and the natural behavior of hurricanes. For a couple decades NOAA and its predecessor tried to weaken hurricanes by dropping silver iodide – a substance that serves as an effective ice nuclei – into the rainbands of the storms. During the STORMFURY years, scientists seeded clouds in Hurricanes Esther (1961), Beulah (1963), Debbie (1969), and Ginger (1971). The experiments took place over the open Atlantic far from land. The STORMFURY seeding targeted convective clouds just outside the hurricane’s eyewall in an attempt to form a new ring of clouds that, hopefully, would compete with the natural circulation of the storm and weaken it. The idea was that the silver iodide would enhance the thunderstorms of a rainband by causing the supercooled water to freeze, thus liberating the latent heat of fusion and helping a rainband to grow at the expense of the eyewall. With a weakened convergence to the eyewall, the strong inner core winds would also weaken quite a bit. For cloud seeding to be successful, the clouds must contain sufficient supercooled water (water that has remained liquid at temperatures below the freezing point, 0°C/32°F). Neat idea, but in the end it had a fatal flaw. Observations made in the 1980s showed that most hurricanes don’t have enough supercooled water for STORMFURY seeding to work – the buoyancy in hurricane convection is fairly small and the updrafts correspondingly small compared to the type one would observe in mid-latitude continental super or multicells. In addition, it was found that unseeded hurricanes form natural outer eyewalls just as the STORMFURY scientists expected seeded ones to do. This phenomenon makes it almost impossible to separate the effect (if any) of seeding from natural changes. The few times that they did seed and saw a reduction in intensity was undoubtedly due to what is now called “concentric eyewall cycles.” Thus nature accomplishes what NOAA had hoped to do artificially. No wonder the first few experiments were thought to be successes. Because the results of seeding experiments were so inconclusive, STORMFURY was discontinued. A special committee of the National Academy of Sciences concluded that a more complete understanding of the physical processes taking place in hurricanes was needed before any additional modification experiments. The primary focus of NOAA’s Hurricane Research Division today is better physical understanding of hurricanes and improvement of forecasts. To learn about the STORMFURY project as it was called, read Willoughby et al. (1985). Reference: Willoughby, H.E., D.P. Jorgensen, R.A. Black, and S.L. Rosenthal (1985): “Project STORMFURY: A scientific chronicle 1962-1983” Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 66, cover and pp.505-514 There have been numerous techniques that have been considered over the years to modify hurricanes: seeding clouds with dry ice or silver iodide, reducing evaporation from the ocean surface with thin-layers of polymers, cooling the ocean with cryogenic material or icebergs, changing the radiational balance in the hurricane environment by absorption of sunlight with carbon black, flying jets clockwise in the eyewall to reverse the flow, exploding the hurricane apart with hydrogen bombs, and blowing the storm away from land with giant fans, etc. As carefully reasoned as some of these suggestions are, they all share the same shortcoming: They fail to appreciate the size and power of tropical cyclones. For example, when Hurricane Andrew struck South Florida in 1992, the eye and eyewall devastated a swath 20 miles wide. The heat energy released around the eye was 5,000 times the combined heat and electrical power generation of the Turkey Point nuclear power plant over which the eye passed. The kinetic energy of the wind at any instant was equivalent to that released by a nuclear warhead. Human beings are used to dealing with chemically complex biological systems or artificial mechanical systems that embody a small amount (by geophysical standards) of high-grade energy. Because hurricanes are chemically simple –air and water vapor – introduction of catalysts is unpromising. The energy involved in atmospheric dynamics is primarily low-grade heat energy, but the amount of it is immense in terms of human experience. Attacking weak tropical waves or depressions before they have a chance to grow into hurricanes isn’t promising either. About 80 of these disturbances form every year in the Atlantic basin, but only about 5 become hurricanes in a typical year. There is no way to tell in advance which ones will develop. If the energy released in a tropical disturbance were only 10% of that released in a hurricane, it is still a lot of power. The hurricane police would need to dim the whole world’s lights many times a year. Maybe the time will come when men and women can travel at nearly the speed of light to the stars, and we will then have enough energy for brute-force intervention in hurricane dynamics. Until then, perhaps the best solution is not to try to alter or destroy the tropical cyclones, but just learn to co-exist with them. Since we know that coastal regions are vulnerable to the storms, building codes that can have houses stand up to the force of the tropical cyclones need to be enforced. The people that choose to live in these locations should be willing to shoulder a fair portion of the costs in terms of property insurance – not exorbitant rates, but ones which truly reflect the risk of living in a vulnerable region. In addition, efforts to educate the public on effective preparedness needs to continue. Helping other nations in their mitigation efforts can also result in saving countless lives. Finally, we need to continue in our efforts to better understand and observe hurricanes in order to more accurately predict their development, intensification, and track. References: Simpson, R.H. and J. Simpson (1966): “Why experiment on tropical hurricanes ?” Trans. New York Acad. Sci., 28, pp.1045-1062 Gray, W.M., W.M. Frank, M.L. Corrin, C.A. Stokes (1976): “Weather modification by carbon dust absorption of solar energy” J. Appl. Meteor., 15, pp.355-386 Gray, W.M., W.M. Frank, M.L. Corrin, C.A. Stokes, 1976: Weather Modification by Carbon Dust Absorption of Solar Energy, J. of Appl. Meteor., 15 4, pp. 355-386. Woodcock, A.H., D.C. Blanchard, C.G.H. Rooth, 1963: Salt-Induced Convection and Clouds, J. of Atmos. Sci., 20, 2, pp. 159-169. Blanchard, D.C., A.H. Woodcock, 1980: The Production, Concentration, and Vertical Distribution of the Sea-salt Aerosol, Ann. NY Acad. Sci., 338, 1, p. 330-347. In the Atlantic basin (Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea) and in the eastern and central Pacific, as required, hurricane reconnaissance is carried out by two government agencies, the U.S. Air Force Reserves’ 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron and NOAA’s Aircraft Operations Center (AOC). The U.S. Navy stopped flying hurricanes in 1974. The 53rd WRS is based at Keesler AFB in Mississippi and maintains a fleet of ten WC-130 planes. These cargo airframes have been modified to carry weather instruments to measure wind, pressure, temperature and dew point as well as drop instrumented sondes and make other observations. AOC is presently based at Linder Airfield in Lakeland, Florida and among its fleet of planes has two P-3 Orions, originally made as Navy sub hunters, but modified to include three radars as well as a suite of meteorological instruments and dropsonde capability. Starting in 1996 AOC added to its fleet a Gulfstream IV jet that is able to make observations from much higher altitudes (up to 45,000 feet). The USAF planes are the workhorses of the hurricane hunting effort. They are often deployed to a forward base, such as Antigua, and carry out most of the reconnaissance of developing waves and depressions. Their mission in these situations is to look for signs of a closed circulation and any strengthening or organizing that the storm might be showing. This information is relayed by satellite to the hurricane specialists who evaluate this information along with data from other platforms. The NOAA planes are more highly instrumented and are primarily used for scientific research on storms, but they may also be called upon for reconnaissance of mature hurricanes when they are threatening landfall, especially on U.S. territory. The planes carry between six to fifteen people, both the flight crew and the weather crew. Flight crews consist of an aircraft commander, co-pilot, flight engineer, navigator, and electrical and data technicians. The weather crew might consist of a flight meteorologist, lead project scientist, cloud physicist, radar scientist, and dropsonde quality scientist. The primary purpose of reconnaissance is to track the center of circulation, these are the co-ordinates that the National Hurricane Center issues, and to measure the maximum winds. But the crews are also evaluating the storm’s size, structure, and development and this information is also relayed to hurricane specialists via satellite link. Most of this data, which is critical in determining the hurricane’s threat, cannot be obtained from satellite. The purposes of research are more varied. Onboard scientists direct the aircraft to those parts of the storm of interest, which might not be near the eye of the hurricane. Experiments might be planned to examine the outer rainbands or the hurricane’s interaction with the environment. The NOAA G-IV jet usually does NOT penetrate the hurricane eye, but is assigned to fly synoptic scale patterns AROUND the storm, deploying dropsondes along the way, in order to profile the environmental flow that is moving the hurricane. In certain circumstances, a USAF WC-130 will also be assigned to fly a similar pattern in coordination with the G-IV to increase the coverage of this synoptic flow mission. Whatever the mission’s purpose, information from all of these flights are shared via satellite with land-based forecasters to keep them current on the storm’s status. Radar and probe data are sent in real-time to be ingested into a variety of computer forecast models to ensure the best quality forecast. The most incredible sight that I’ve ever seen is in the middle of a strong hurricane. One might not believe this, but most hurricane flights are fairly boring. They last 10 hours, there are clouds above you and clouds below – so all you see is gray, and you don’t feel the winds swirling around the hurricane. But what does get interesting is flying through the hurricane’s rainbands and the eyewall, which can get a bit turbulent. The eyewall is a donut-like ring of thunderstorms that surround the calm eye. The winds within the eyewall can reach as much as 200 mph [325 km/hr] at the flight level, but you can’t feel these aboard the plane. But what makes flying through the eyewall exhilarating and at times somewhat scary, are the turbulent updrafts and downdrafts that one hits. Those flying in the plane definitely feel these wind currents (they sometimes makes us reach for the air-sickness bags). These vertical winds may reach up to 50 mph [80 km/hr] either up or down, but are actually much weaker in general than what one would encounter flying through a continental supercell thunderstorm. But once the plane gets into the calm eye of a hurricane like Andrew or Gilbert, it is a place of powerful beauty: sunshine streams into the windows of the plane from a perfect circle of blue sky directly above the plane, surrounding the plane on all sides is the blackness of the eyewall’s thunderstorms. Directly below the plane peeking through the low clouds one can see the violent ocean with waves sometimes 60 feet high [20 m] crashing into one another. The partial vacuum of the hurricane’s eye (where one tenth of the atmosphere is gone) is like nothing else on earth. I would much rather experience a hurricane this way – from the safety of a plane – than being on the ground and having the hurricane’s full fury hit without protection. The USAFR 53rd Hurricane Hunters have a ‘cyber flight’ through a hurricane. Visit the page here. Hurricanes form both in the Atlantic basin (i.e. the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea) to the east of the continental U.S. and in the Northeast Pacific basin to the west of the U.S. However, the ones in the Northeast Pacific almost never hit the continental U.S., while the ones in the Atlantic basin strike the U.S. mainland just less than twice a year on average. There are two main reasons. The first is that hurricanes tend to move toward the west-northwest after they form in the tropical and subtropical latitudes. In the Atlantic, such a motion often brings the hurricane into the vicinity of the U.S. east coast. In the Northeast Pacific, a west-northwest track takes those hurricanes farther off-shore, well away from the U.S. west coast. In addition to the general track, a second factor is the difference in water temperatures along the U.S. east and west coasts. Along the U.S. east coast, the Gulf Stream provides a source of warm (> 80°F or 26.5°C) waters to help maintain the hurricane. However, along the U.S. west coast, the ocean temperatures rarely get above the lower 70s, even in the midst of summer. Such relatively cool temperatures are not energetic enough to sustain a hurricane’s strength. So for the occasional Northeast Pacific hurricane that does track back toward the U.S. west coast, the cooler waters can quickly reduce the strength of the storm. You may have remnants of such storms move over the Southwestern United States bringing heavy rainfall. Recently Chenoweth and Landsea (2004), re-discovered that a hurricane struck San Diego, California on October 2, 1858. Unprecedented damage was done in the city and was described as the severest gale ever felt to that date nor has it been matched or exceeded in severity since. The hurricane force winds at San Diego are the first and only documented instance of winds of this strength from a tropical cyclone in the recorded history of the state. While climate records are incomplete, 1858 may have been an El Niño year, which would have allowed the hurricane to maintain intensity as it moved north along warmer than usual waters. Today if a Category 1 hurricane made a direct landfall in either San Diego or Los Angeles, damage from such a storm would likely be few to several hundred million dollars. The re-discovery of this storm is relevant to climate change issues and the insurance/emergency management communities risk assessment of rare and extreme events in the region. Reference: Chenoweth, M., and C.W. Lansea (2004): “The San Diego hurricane of October 2, 1858” Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 85, pp.1689-1697 The vast majority of Atlantic activity takes place during August-September-October, the climatological peak months of the hurricane season. The overall number of named storms (hurricanes) occurring in June and July (JJ) correlates at an insignificant r = +0.13 (+0.02) versus the whole season activity. In fact, there is a slight negative relationship between early season storms (hurricanes) versus late season – August through November – r = -0.28 (-0.35). Thus, the overall early season activity, be it very active or quite calm, has little bearing on the season as a whole. These correlations are based on the years 1944-1994. A significant number of pre-season (April-May) and early season (JJ) storms are hybrid systems (neither fully tropical nor midlatitude lows). So their formation mechanisms are very different from fully tropical systems that form in the Main Development Region (MDR). So conditions favoring hybrid storm formation can be very different from those favoring tropical cyclone formation. As shown in (Goldenberg 2000), if one looks only at the June-July Atlantic tropical storms and hurricanes occurring south of 22°N and east of 77°W (the eastern portion of the MDR for Atlantic hurricanes), there is a strong association with activity for the remainder of the year. According to the data from 1944-1999, total overall Atlantic activity for years that had a tropical storm or hurricane form in this region during JJ have been at least average and often above average. So it could be said that a JJ storm in this region is pretty much a “sufficient” (though not “necessary”) condition for a year to produce at least average activity. (I.e., Not all years with average to above-average total overall activity have had a JJ storm in that region, but almost all years with that type of JJ storm produce average to above-average activity.) The formation of a storm in this region during June-July is taken into account when the August updates for the Bill Gray and NOAA seasonal forecasts are issued. Recent research describes two distinct types of Atlantic climate drivers: 1) Internal variability is caused by natural processes within the atmosphere and ocean climate system. 2) External variability is caused by forces outside of the atmosphere/ocean climate system. Examples of natural internal forces are oceanic oscillations such as ENSO, meridional overturning circulation, and Saharan dust storms that blow mineral dust over the tropical Atlantic. The effects of the El Nino/Southern Oscillation are discussed in another section in detail. Examples of external climate forcing agents are solar variability, cosmic radiation changes, and air pollution such as industrial particulate and sulfur emissions. The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, which transports ocean heat from the tropics to higher latitudes and can cause substantial climate swings in the Atlantic region and beyond as this circulation increases or decreases. Saharan dust storms have a similar effect on the Atlantic climate as the dust blows westward in the trade-winds off the African continent and blocks sunlight from reaching the ocean surface. Saharan dust storms are strongly seasonal, but can also exhibit multi-decadal swings that can cause similar swings in Atlantic ocean temperatures. Our sun has 11-year and 22-year cycles in sunspot and magnetic activity, which affects the solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field. It may also exhibit longer scale variability in its output. Along with changes in comic ray activity, this may alter Earth’s cloud cover in subtle ways and drive changes in ocean heat content. Volcanic eruptions cause a transient cooling of ocean temperatures as they tend to block some of the incoming sunlight from reaching the surface. These natural eruptions tend to occur randomly and don’t exhibit any clear multi-decadal swings. Finally, there is human-caused particulate and sulfate air pollution, which tends to block incoming sunlight similarly to volcanic eruptions and mineral dust. Human-caused sulfate pollution over the Atlantic exhibits a pronounced variability over time. Prior to the various Clean Air Acts and Amendments instituted by the United States and European countries in the 1970s, industrial sulfate emissions were much less regulated and air quality had become progressively worse. As the concentration of sulfate pollution over the Atlantic Ocean increased from the 1940s through 1970s, a cooling effect was noted as the pollution blocked incoming sunlight. According to some studies, as sulfate pollution concentrations decreased during and after the 1970s, the offsetting cooling effect is believed to have been reduced. Hurricanes: Their Nature and Impacts on Society An excellent introductory text into hurricanes (and tropical cyclones in general), this book by R.A. Pielke, Jr. and R.A. Pielke, Sr. provides the basics on the physical mechanisms of hurricanes without getting into any mathematical rigor. The book also discusses hurricane policy, vulnerability and societal responses and ends with an in-depth look at Hurricane Andrew’s forecast, impact and response. Roger A. Pielke, Jr. is a Sociologist at the Environmental and Societal Impacts Group at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, USA. Roger A. Pielke, Sr. is a Professor of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University (USA). John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, UK, 1997, 279 pp. Meteorology Today for Scientists and Engineers This paperback book is designed to accompany C. Donald Ahrens’ introductory book “Meteorology Today.” For a concise mathematical description of hurricanes that has NO calculus and NO differential equations, then I would suggest obtaining a copy of this book by Rolland B. Stull West Publ. Co., Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, 2000, 385 pp. Chapter 16 Hurricanes p.289-304. Global Perspectives on Tropical Cyclones: From Science to Mitigation edited by Johnny C. L. Chan and Jeffrey D. Kepert This book is a completely rewritten, updated and expanded new edition of the original Global Perspectives on Tropical Cyclones published in 1995. It presents a comprehensive review of the state of science and forecasting of tropical cyclones together with the application of this science to disaster mitigation, hence the tag: From Science to Mitigation.Since the previous volume, enormous progress in understanding tropical cyclones has been achieved. These advances range from the theoretical through to ever more sophisticated computer modeling, all underpinned by a vast and growing range of observations from airborne, space and ocean observation platforms. The growth in observational capability is reflected by the inclusion of three new chapters on this topic. The chapter on the effects of climate change on tropical cyclone activity is also new, and appropriate given the recent intense debate on this issue. The advances in the understanding of tropical cyclones which have led to significant improvements in forecasting track, intensity, rainfall and storm surge, are reviewed in detail over three chapters. For the first time, a chapter on seasonal prediction is included. The book concludes with an important chapter on disaster mitigation, which is timely given the enormous loss of life in recent tropical cyclone disasters. World Scientific, 2010, 448 pp.ISBN: 978-981-4293-47-1 or 978-981-4293-48-8 (ebook). Global Guide to Tropical Cyclone Forecasting For the tropical cyclone forecaster and also of general interest for anyone in the field and those with a non-technical interest in the field, the loose-leaf book Global Guide to Tropical Cyclone Forecasting(1993) by G.J. Holland (ed.), World Meteorological Organization, WMO/TD-No. 560, Report No. TCP-31 is a must get. North Carolina’s Hurricane History, Florida’s Hurricane History These two books are an amazing documentaries of the hurricanes which have struck the states of North Carolina and Florida from 1526 until 1996 and 1546-1995, respectively. The author Jay Barnes – Director of the North Carolina Aquarium – tells the stories of the hurricanes and their effects upon the people of the state in an easily readable style with numerous photographs. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC, 1998, 330pp. Atlantic Hurricanes A classic book describing tropical cyclones primarily of the Atlantic basin, but also covering the physical understanding of tropical cyclone genesis, motion, and intensity change at the time. Written in 1960, by Gordon E. Dunn and Banner I. Miller, this book provides insight into the knowledge of tropical cyclones as of the late 1950s. It is interesting to observe that much of what we know was well understood at this pre-satellite era. Gordon E. Dunn was the Director of the National Hurricane Center and Banner I. Miller was a research meteorologist with the National Hurricane Research Project. Louisiana State Press, 1960, 326pp (revision 1964) Hurricanes, Their Nature and History Before Dunn and Miller’s book, Ivan Ray Tannehill came out with an authoritative reference on the history, structure, climatology, historical tracks, and forecasting techniques of Atlantic hurricanes as was known by the mid-1930s. This is one of the first compilations of yearly tracks of Atlantic storms – he provides tracks of memorable tropical cyclones all the way back to the 1700s and shows all the storm tracks yearly from 1901 onward. The first edition came out in 1938 and the book went through at least nine editions (my book was published in 1956). Mr. Tannehill was engaged in hurricane forecasting for over 20 years and also lead the Division of Synoptic Reports and Forecasts of the U.S. Weather Bureau. Princeton University Press, 1956, 308 pp. Into the Hurricane (Published in Britain as “The Devil’s Music”) Author Pete Davies spent the summer of 1999 looking at Atlantic hurricanes, traveling to Honduras to see the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch, and flying on research missions with NOAA’s Hurricane Research Division. He explores the science of why the storms occur and how to predict them, and recounts the impacts of Hurricane Floyd. Henry Holt and Company. 2000, 264 pp., ISBN: 0-8050-6574-1. The Divine Wind (translated into Chinese) Hurricanes are presented in verse, art, history, and science in this all-encompassing book of the science and culture of hurricanes. Author Kerry Emanuel discusses hurricane forecasting, historical events and human impacts. The book includes many artworks, figures, and photographs, plus a description of flying into hurricanes. Oxford University Press, 2005, 296 pp.,ISBN-10: 0195149416. A Global View of Tropical Cyclones (A revised version of this book is Global Perspectives on Tropical Cyclones listed above.) A very thorough book dealing with the technical issues of tropical cyclones for the state of the science in the mid-1980s by Elsberry, Holland, Frank, Jarrell, and Southern. University of Chicago Press, 1987,195 pp. The Hurricane (1997 revision titled “Hurricanes: Their Nature and Impacts on Society” by Pielke and Pielke is listed above.) A very good introductory text into hurricanes (and tropical cyclones in general), this book by R.A. Pielke provides the basics on the physical mechanisms of hurricanes without getting into any mathematical rigor. This first version is just 100 pages of text with another 120 pages devoted toward all of the tracks of Atlantic hurricanes from 1871-1989. Roger A. Pielke is a professor of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University. Routledge Publishing, New York, 1990, 279 pp. (revision 1997) Hurricanes An introductory text book for young readers on hurricanes by Sally Lee. Franklin Watts Publishing, New York, 1993, 63 pp. Cyclone Tracy, Picking up the Pieces Twenty years after Cyclone Tracy, this book recreates, by interviews with survivors, the events during and after the cyclone that nearly destroyed Darwin, Australia by B. Bunbury Fremantle Arts Centre Press, South Fremantle, Australia, 1994, 148 pp. Beware the Hurricane! This book tells “the story of the cyclonic tropical storms that have struck Bermuda and the Islanders’ folk-lore regarding them” by Terry Tucker. The Island Press Limited, Bermuda, 1995, 180 pp. Florida Hurricanes and Tropical Storms, Revised Edition This recent book provides a historical perspective of Florida Hurricanes extending from 1871 to 1996 by J.M. Williams and I. W. Duedall Florida Sea Grant College Program, University of Florida Press, Gainesville, FL, 1997, 146 pp. Hurricanes of the North Atlantic This book by J. B. Elsner and A. B. Kara focuses on the statistics and variability of Atlantic hurricanes as well as detailed discussions on how hurricanes impact the insurance industry and how integrated assessments can be made regarding these storms. The book provides very valuable information on hurricane frequencies, intensities and return periods that are not easily available elsewhere. Also sections are devoted on the development of seasonal (and longer) hurricane forecast models and their performance. Oxford University Press, New York/Oxford, 1999, 488 pp. Natural Disasters – Hurricanes This reference book by P. J. Fitzpatrick provides a very useful compilation of a wide range of topics on Atlantic hurricanes. Of particular interest is the chronology of advances in the science and forecasting of hurricanes along with biographical sketches of researchers and forecasters prominent in the field. This book is an excellent resource in answering questions on many issues in the field. ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, CA, 1999, 286 pp. Tropical Cyclones of the North Atlantic Ocean, 1851-2006 Researchers and those who follow Atlantic hurricanes should all have a copy of the atlas. Previous versions: Tropical Cyclones of the North Atlantic Ocean, 1871-1998 Tropical Cyclones of the North Atlantic Ocean, 1871-1992 Tropical Cyclones of the North Atlantic Ocean, 1871-1986 Tropical Cyclones of the North Atlantic Ocean, 1871-1980 Tropical Cyclones of the North Atlantic Ocean, 1871-1977 Tropical Cyclones of the North Atlantic Ocean, 1871-1963 North Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1886-1958 National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC, in cooperation with the Tropical Prediction Center/National Hurricane Center, Miami, FL, 2006, 238 pp. Hurricanes and Florida Agriculture Dr. John A. Attaway, former Scientific Research Director of the Florida Department of Citrus, wrote this well-researched history and litany of the impacts that hurricanes have had upon agriculture in Florida. Florida Science Source, Inc., Lake Alfred, FL, 1999, 444 pp.
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"https://ahsweetmystery.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/cropped-cropped-cropped-lord-peter-wimsey-gideon-fell-jules-maigret-sherlock-holmes-charlie-chan-ellery-queen-jane-marple-father-brown-auguste-dupin-hercule-poirot-nero-wolfe-1.jpg?w=50", "https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?v=noscript" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2022-09-16T00:00:00	I imagine that in these frustrating times, when film studios have made 15-year-old boys their target audience, that those of you who love a good movie have had a similar experience to mine. You know, the one where you are so desperate to see anything in a movie theatre that you find yourself surrounded by the aforementioned…	en	https://ahsweetmystery.c…wolfe-1.jpg?w=32	Ah Sweet Mystery!	https://ahsweetmystery.com/2022/09/16/the-movie-they-made-for-me-see-how-they-run/	I imagine that in these frustrating times, when film studios have made 15-year-old boys their target audience, that those of you who love a good movie have had a similar experience to mine. You know, the one where you are so desperate to see anything in a movie theatre that you find yourself surrounded by the aforementioned youths in some prequel, sequel, or threequel from that vast, despicable entity known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. You watch what passes for a plot unfold over the film’s 3+ hour length, listen to the cheers, and wonder what the heck is going on! It seems like almost every other film released these days is related to the MCU, and while even some of its staunchest fans acknowledge that half these movies are dreck, they still feed the coffers of the studio machine to allow this industry to proliferate as quickly as a pile of infinity stones. Many of these fans could care less how well the film works as a film as long as they get the characters right and don’t deviate too far from the Marvel Comic Universe. These fans are especially susceptible to Easter eggs, those moments where the film plops out a bit of business or shows us a baffling prop that is a portent of things to come (meaning more and more sequels) – but only for the true fans. I have seen these reactions – the wild cheers from a bunch of teens in the row in front of me over the appearance of a mask or a prop or a rock or something that I cannot appreciate because I read Batman as a kid. I have scoffed at them and sneered and them and, most of all, envied them! And I have asked myself over and over again: when will someone make a movie that does the same thing for ME??? That day . . . is today! If you follow along with me here even occasionally, you know that the film has to be a mystery, and here is where things get problematic. The classic style whodunnit fell out of favor a long while ago, replaced by psychological thrillers and slasher films. It’s hard to imagine a time when the studio system churned out so many more films a year and a great many of them were murder mysteries. I randomly selected three years on Wikipedia and discovered the following: 1929 has 18 mystery movies listed, including the first filmed case for Charlie Chan (Behind That Curtain), the first two filmed cases for Philo Vance (The Canary Murder Case and Greene Murder Case) and two Sherlock Holmes films. In 1935, 27 mysteries are mentioned, among them one case each for Perry Mason, Sexton Blake, and Ellery Queen and three Charlie Chan films. 1944 lists 20 mystery films, including Laura, Murder in the Blue Room, and entries in the Charlie Chan, Whistler and Inner Sanctum series. Mystery series used to be hugely popular. Detectives who sprang from the page were heroes to many, and, given that many of their exploits were “B” and even “C” films made on the cheap, they provided plenty of product and revenue for Hollywood producers. Today, series are still popular, but movies are so expensive these days – and the cinema is in direct competition with TV and video games – that studios have focused on action heroes and plenty of FX. (Even Kenneth Branagh’s two forays into the Poirot-verse have been loaded with CGI and chase sequences.) One can’t really fight the prevalent tastes, and so as far as movie-going, er, goes, I have been left largely out in the cold. This means that there is cause for hoopla to find that 2022 has brought no less than three mysteries in the classic vein. True, a lot of Christie fans turned their noses on the first entry, Branagh’s loose adaptation of Death on the Nile, but excitement grows for the imminent return of Daniel Craig as southern sleuth Benoit Blanc in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. It is currently making the rounds of the film festivals to acclaim; sadly, it will have only a limited theatrical release in October before it bows on Netflix in November. Those of us excited for another case for M. Blanc have had to content ourselves with the second season of Only Murders in the Building (was anyone else left feeling discontented by that case?) on Hulu and a few tidbits on other streaming channels that I don’t subscribe to – yet. But lo and behold! A new film has opened with modest fanfare in theatres this week. It’s called See How They Run, and if the Marvel fanboys were sitting in the row above me, they would have watched in wonder as I cackled and howled at the dozens of Easter eggs lobbed at us from the screen. (I’m afraid these kids will never be caught dead watching this movie: they are currently hibernating in their coffins, waiting to emerge November 11 for the premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.) See How They Run is set in London’s West End in 1953 and opens on the night of the 100th performance of Agatha Christie’s surprise hit play, The Mousetrap. Screenwriter Mark Chappell has had the nerve to merge real-life characters with fictional ones, such as Richard Attenborough and his wife Sheila Sim, who originated the roles of Sergeant Trotter and Mollie Ralston, in order to create a murder mystery within a murder mystery. Those of us familiar with the legend of The Mousetrap are aware that Christie inserted a clause forbidding any movie studio to make a filmed version of the story until six months after the play closed. Everyone went along with this demand because, as is stated in this film, how long could a modest thriller run? By the hundredth performance, a few executives are getting nervous, including film producer John Woolf (Reese Shearsmith), who has hired American director named Leo Köpernick (Adrian Brody) and British writer Mervyn Cocker-Norris (David Oyelowo) to adapt the play to film. Köpernick is that staple of Christie, the Ugly American, and he has managed to foment hatred from his partners, as well as the cast, the play’s producer (Ruth Wilson) and the entire staff of the Savoy Hotel where he is staying. It will come as no surprise that Köpernick is brutally murdered within the first ten minutes of the movie and the case is handed to weary Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell). Scotland Yard can’t be bothered to work on a case involving Agatha Christie because they are currently laser focused on the murder spree of John Christie at 10 Rillington Place, so Stoppard is assigned the one cop available, the plucky PC Stalker (Saoirse Ronan). Together, they try to piece together who murdered Köpernick and why. Directed by Tom George, with cinematography by Jamie D. Ramsay, the movie is beautiful to look at, not only capturing the look and style of the early 1950’s but the style and glamor of a classic mystery. (The use of split screen adds a lot to the fun.) As a mystery – which, let’s face it, a lot of my readers care about the most – it’s good, not great. The trappings are all there: a colorful group of suspects, some nice twists and turns involving motive, and a lovely denouement that takes place at the home of a certain famous author. The screenplay is missing the clever clueing of Knives Out, and there is a problematic aspect to the fact that many of these characters were real people, although one of them – the best one – does something completely awful that you kind of wish might have really happened. (Maybe it did!!!!) The real fun of this film is in its meta-fictional aspects. If you know me, you know that I love a good meta-tale as much as I love a good mystery, and See How They Run delivers the meta in spades. One Easter egg after another appears for Christie fans making me react in the theatre throughout the tight 98-minute running time like an aforementioned MCU teenager and assuring that I will have to see the movie again to find out what I missed. The only thing missing was some hidden scene at the end of the credits suggesting a sequel. I mean, why not? We could do twenty films about various members of the Detection Club and then have them all reunite for a final showdown against a League of Evil composed of Edmund Wilson, Raymond Chandler, and Julian Symons. The cast brings their “A” game (and I don’t mean Avengers) to the proceedings. Saoirse Ronan is as perfect in this as rumors had whispered, and her partnership with Rockwell is a highlight. I think Christie fans in particular will get a tremendous kick out of this film for the very reason that it isn’t an adaptation of any of her works. It doesn’t give away the ending of The Mousetrap, but it cleverly incorporates many elements of that play into the mystery. It also has a lot to say (and quite humorously) about how Hollywood went about adapting – or attempting to adapt – the work of Christie and her ilk. Most of all, I’m tickled to think how many of the references to Christie’s life and works other fans will discover. (Just who does that butler resemble, folks???) I wish a bunch of us had been sitting in a row, giggling and cheering together and making that grumpy kid sitting behind us very, very angry! If anyone is into that, I’m up for seeing it again . . .
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(1934) 6.5/10 The Black Camel (1931) 6/10 Charlie Chan in Paris (1935) 6/10 Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936) 6/10 Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937) 6/10 Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937) 3/10 LOST FILMS (speculative scores based on available materials) Charlie Chan's Chance (1932) 6.5/10 Charlie Chan's Courage (1934) 6.5/10 Charlie Chan Carries On (1931) 5.5/10 Charlie Chan's Greatest Case (1933) 5/10 SIDNEY TOLER AT FOX Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939) 9.5/10 Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940) 9/10 Dead Men Tell (1941) 8.5/10 Charlie Chan in Panama (1940) 8.5/10 Charlie Chan in Reno (1939) 8/10 Castle in the Desert (1942) 8/10 Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise (1940) 7/10 Charlie Chan in Rio (1941) 6/10 Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938) 5/10 Murder Over New York (1940) 4.5/10 City in Darkness (1939) 3.5/10 SIDNEY TOLER AT MONOGRAM The Shanghai Cobra (1945) 6.5/10 The Scarlet Clue (1945) 6.5/10 Dark Alibi (1946) 6/10 The Chinese Cat (1944) 5.5/10 The Trap (1946) 5.5/10 Dangerous Money (1946) 5.5/10 The Jade Mask (1945) 5.5/10 Black Magic (1944) 5/10 Shadows Over Chinatown (1946) 5/10 Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944) 4/10 The Red Dragon (1945) 3/10 ROLAND WINTERS The Shanghai Chest (1948) 6/10 The Chinese Ring (1947) 6/10 The Sky Dragon (1949) 5.5/10 The Golden Eye (1948) 5/10 Docks of New Orleans (1948) 4/10 The Feathered Serpent (1948) 3.5/10 OTHER FILMS The Return of Charlie Chan (1972) 5.5/10 They Were Thirteen (1931) 5/10 Behind That Curtain (1929) 1.5/10 Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981) 1/10 TV SHOWS The New Adventures of Charlie Chan (1957-58) 5.5/10 The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan (1972) 4/10 ALL EXTANT FILMS RANKED 01 - Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939) 9.5/10 02 - Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936) 9/10 03 - Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940) 9/10 04 - Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937) 8.5/10 05 - Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936) 8.5/10 06 - Dead Men Tell (1941) 8.5/10 07 - Charlie Chan in Panama (1940) 8.5/10 08 - Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935) 8/10 09 - Charlie Chan in Reno (1939) 8/10 10 - Castle in the Desert (1942) 8/10 11 - Charlie Chan's Secret (1936) 7.5/10 12 - Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935) 7/10 13 - Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise (1940) 7/10 14 - Charlie Chan in London (1934) 6.5/10 15 - The Shanghai Cobra (1945) 6.5/10 16 - The Scarlet Clue (1945) 6.5/10 17 - The Black Camel (1931) 6/10 18 - Charlie Chan in Paris (1935) 6/10 19 - Dark Alibi (1946) 6/10 20 - Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936) 6/10 21 - Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937) 6/10 22 - Charlie Chan in Rio (1941) 6/10 23 - The Shanghai Chest (1948) 6/10 24 - The Chinese Ring (1947) 6/10 25 - The Return of Charlie Chan (1972) 5.5 26 - The Chinese Cat (1944) 5.5/10 27 - The Trap (1946) 5.5/10 28 - The Sky Dragon (1949) 5.5/10 29 - Dangerous Money (1946) 5.5/10 30 - The Jade Mask (1945) 5.5/10 31 - They Were Thirteen (1931) 5/10 32 - Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938) 5/10 33 - Black Magic (1944) 5/10 34 - The Golden Eye (1948) 5/10 35 - Shadows Over Chinatown (1946) 5/10 36 - Murder Over New York (1940) 4.5/10 37 - Docks of New Orleans (1948) 4/10 38 - Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944) 4/10 39 - The Feathered Serpent (1948) 3.5/10 40 - City in Darkness (1939) 3.5/10 41 - The Red Dragon (1945) 3/10 42 - Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937) 3/10 43 - Behind That Curtain (1929) 1.5/10 44 - Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981) 1/10	en	https://m.media-amazon.c…B1582158068_.png	IMDb	https://www.imdb.com/list/ls539978222/	"Behind That Curtain" confidently strides into every early talkie pitfall there is. For one, the acting is stagey to almost parodic levels. Everyone talks... very... very... slowly... indeed, enunciating every syllable separately, leaving long, whopping pauses between each sentence careful not to speak over his fellow actor's line. I am convinced that if everyone spoke normally the film would be over in half the time. The blocking is stilted even for 1920s standards. There are no camera movements and all the actors are positioned in flat, unimaginative tableaux, delivering their lines towards the camera without moving. They don't stand as much as pose. They don't walk as much as strut. The pace, consequently, is languid and each scene seems to run on for far longer than it should. The acting is of variable quality. Warner Baxter and Lois Moran are fine if not particularly memorable romantic leads and Gilbert Emery makes for a convincing authority figure. On the other end of the spectrum is Philip Strange whose portrayal of the snide villain is anything but subtle and whose delivery is an insult to wood. Boris Karloff makes his talkie-debut here in an inconsequential part that could easily go unnoticed. With the sinister looks he keeps giving the camera you'd think he was playing the villain instead of a lowly Arabic servant. The problem, however, is that everyone seems ill at ease on screen. Forced to act at such a languid pace and making an uncomfortable transition from silent movies, everyone seems self-conscious and discombobulated. In several long shots, the actors even seem to forget how to walk and seem to stagger in and out of rooms like toddlers. But no one will be watching "Behind That Curtain" for its cinematic qualities. The film is best known as the oldest surviving cinematic outing of Charlie Chan, the brilliant Chinese detective who would go on to appear in further 4? films for Fox. While the film is based on Earl Derr Biggers' novel it is no mystery. Instead, it is a distinctly torrid melodrama, one to rival even the most over-the-top Indian soap operas. The story revolves around a love triangle between Eve (Lois Moran), her husband Eric (Philip Strange), and her childhood friend, the explorer Colonel Beetham (Warner Baxter). After Eve learns that Eric is a cheater and a murderer she escapes into the Arabic desert with Beetham pursued by a dogged Scotland Yard inspector Sir Frederick (Gilbert Emery). Chan is relegated to a tiny part as Sir Frederick's honourable colleague. He appears in only a single, unimportant scene and is amateurishly played by E.L. Park. "Behind That Curtain" offers some interest but not due to its objective qualities. It is a lot of fun to watch as a kind of trashy 1920s soap opera with all the trappings of the genre. The over-the-top performances, overcooked emotions, explosive bust-ups and hilariously portentous dialogue delivered in voices shivering with emotion. But if we look at it as a serious movie, "Behind That Curtain" is a bust. Besides some eye-catching desert photography and nice musical passages, the film is entirely without merit. With its stilted performances, stagy direction and languid pace, it is frequently a chore to get through its needlessly elongated 90-minute runtime. 1.5/10 Of all the lost Charlie Chan films, "Charlie Chan Carries On" is the one that's easiest to get a good idea of. For one, its theatrical trailer still survives with a decent if brief glimpse at a few scenes from the film. Furthermore, a full shooting script is available for reading on the excellent Charlie Chan Family Home website. Last but not least, the Spanish-language remake, "They Were Thirteen", made on the same sets and with the same script, still exists and is available on home video. That makes the task of mentally reconstructing "Charlie Chan Carries On" far easier than getting even a passing glimpse at what, say, "Charlie Chan's Greatest Case" would have been like. So, what does this mental reconstruction amount to? Well, I would say that "Charlie Chan Carries On" would not have been a million miles away from "The Black Camel", Charlie Chan's second cinematic outing which was also directed by Hamilton MacFadden, made in 1931, and which still survives. It is a stagy, dated effort, clearly displaying the awkwardness of the early talkie era. But it is also an undeniably enjoyable and atmospheric picture. The story of "Charlie Chan Carries On", based on the same-named novel by Earl Derr Biggers, is a lot more engaging and original than the one featured in "The Black Camel". It revolves around a group of American tourists on a trip around the world which takes them from New York to France, Italy, Greece, Egypt, India, Singapore, and finally Honolulu. But what the travellers don't know is that among them is a dangerous killer, a ruthless diamond smuggler named Jim Everhard (an apt surname by all accounts). While in London, Everhard murders one of the tourists, a kindly old man which sets the determined Inspector Duff (Peter Gawthorne) on his case. When a bullet puts Duff out of commission, his old friend, the brilliant Chinese detective Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) carries on the investigation. He boards the ship taking the tourists from Honolulu to New York and endeavours to find out which of the tourists is Jim Everhard before they reach their final destination. The set-up is absolutely terrific but its execution in the screenplay by Barry Conners and Philip Klein is not as dynamic as the plot summary might suggest. Instead of beginning with Charlie Chan boarding the ship, it has a leaden 40-minute prologue in which we follow Inspector Duff's investigation and a bevvy of humorous but ultimately meaningless subplots about the tourists' personal lives. I have no way of knowing how this prologue would have ultimately played on screen but I can say that I found it a rather dull affair in "They Were Thirteen" and that the script does not read any better. When the novel was adapted again in 1940 under the title "Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise", the writers smartly introduced Charlie Chan right at the beginning. Leaving him out of the story for so long is, in my opinion, a major misstep. Looking at the cast list of "Charlie Chan Carries On", I see some familiar and likeable names. I would have particularly loved to have seen Marjorie White, a terrific comedic actress, in the film. She has some of the script's best lines and her Spanish counterpart Blanca de Castejon absolutely stole every scene she was in. The brief glimpses in the trailer, however, are less kind towards Warren Hymer and John T. Murray whose performances come across as overly broad and stiff. Maybe they would have played better when viewed in the context of the whole picture but I have my doubts. Even with all its flaws, I do think the script for "Charlie Chan Carries On" could have worked relatively well had it been played with the kind of paciness and dynamicity that later Chan films had. However, this was a 1931 film and if "The Black Camel" is anything to go by, I think that such attributes are wishful thinking. Even with Hamilton MacFadden's inventive, atmospheric direction, I fear that "Charlie Chan Carries On" was a stagy, stiff affair. There is no doubt it is a massive shame that the first Warner Oland Charlie Chan film is missing but I am not going to claim we're short of a masterpiece. Having now read the script and seen both the trailer and the Spanish-language remake, I think that "Charlie Chan Carries On" would not have scored higher than a 6 in a best-case scenario. I like the premise and the cast and a lot of the comedic dialogue is snappy and clever but it is hard to get around the fact that the story dilly-dallies for 40 minutes before Charlie Chan is finally introduced. We also should not ignore the technical limitations and awkwardness of early talkies which would have certainly marred this particular production. The realist in me will give "Charlie Chan Carries On" a speculative score of 5.5. First a little history lesson! In the early 1930s, the days of the awkward transition between silent films and talkies, major Hollywood studios started making the same film twice. This is not a smart-aleck way of criticising Hollywood's lack of imagination, I mean that literally. In order to sell their talkies worldwide, they'd make the English-language version of the film first and then shoot an alternative Spanish-language version on the same sets afterwards. This bizarre and costly practice didn't have a terribly long life. It ended pretty much as soon as it began, once the studios discovered the magic of dubbing but it produced at least two significant alternatives. One is George Melford's "Dracula", a surprisingly improved alternative to the Tod Browning classic. The other is "They Were Thirteen", the Spanish-language remake of "Charlie Chan Carries On", the first of sixteen Charlie Chan films to star Warner Oland and the first of forty-two films that form the long-running series of movies about the eponymous Chinese detective. The reason "They Were Thirteen" is significant is because, sadly, "Charlie Chan Carries On" is a lost movie. Thankfully, this Spanish-language version survives and offers an intriguing glimpse into what the progenitor of the Charlie Chan film series might have looked like. "They Were Thirteen" falls for a lot of early talkie trappings. Its direction is stagy and stilted, the performances broad and declarative, and the pacing is occasionally quite leaden. Still, I must admit I enjoyed this movie mostly for its engrossing mystery. Based on an Earl Derr Biggers novel, the film begins with the murder of an old man in a London hotel. It transpires that he was part of a thirteen-person tourist group on a trip which will take them from America to France, Italy, Greece, Egypt, India, Singapore, and finally Honolulu. The indefatigable Scotland Yard Inspector Duff (Rafael Calvo) does not manage to solve the case before the group's departure from London but he does get in touch with his old friend Charlie Chan (Manuel Arbo), the marvel of the Honolulu police force, who joins the tourists in Honolulu. Will he manage to identify the killer among the remaining twelve before the ship reaches New York? You can bet your honourable behind that he will. The film is a globe-trotting mystery and yet it never manages to shake off that claustrophobic stagy atmosphere that a lot of these early talkies have. I blame that failure on director David Howard whose work is competent but distinctly flat. If his work on the subsequent Charlie Chan mysteries is anything to go on, I'm certain that the English-language director Hamilton MacFadden found some interesting ways to make the film more visually dynamic. Howard, sadly, lacks MacFadden's imaginative touch. His camerawork is stiff and plain and is not at all helped by Sidney Wagner's flat and unatmospheric cinematography. "They Were Thirteen" has one other significant issue and that is pacing. Despite a solid, intriguing opening, the film seems to spin its wheels for the first half of its runtime. It takes 41 minutes for Charlie Chan to first appear and he doesn't board the ship until 50 minutes of this 80-minute movie have passed. Once the investigation gets going, however, there is far too little time to develop the story, so the final third feels horridly rushed and fairly muddled. I'm still not sure who some of the suspects are! This problem was fixed when the novel was adapted again in 1940 with Sidney Toler in the lead role under the title of "Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise". Speaking of Charlie Chan, he's played here by Manuel Arbo who does an acceptable if unremarkable job imitating Warner Oland's interpretation of the character. He overdoes the whole "humble detective" act, for my liking, and lacks Oland's charisma and commanding presence. In the end, he comes across more like the film's comic relief than a serious detective protagonist. The rest of the cast is uneven but mostly likeable with especially good performances coming from Rafael Calvo, Raul Roulien, and Blanca de Castejon. I enjoyed the little subplots going on in the background such as a rivalry between two young people which turns into a love affair. I especially enjoyed the brief but very entertaining scenes between Max Minchin (Raul Roulien), a tough-guy Chicago gangster and his moll Peggy (Blanca de Castejon) who nags him relentlessly and buys every souvenir in sight much to her husband's dismay. In a particularly funny scene, she ends up buying a massive reading lamp from a street vendor. "Maybe now that she has a lamp, she'll buy a book," quips Max. "They Were Thirteen" is a stiff movie which definitely bears the marks of its age but it is bolstered by an interesting mystery (with, what must be said, a rather unsatisfying conclusion) and a consistently entertaining cast. I enjoyed it despite its leaden pace and unremarkable direction both as a diverting entry into the Charlie Chan film series and as a fascinating peek into what the lost "Charlie Chan Carries On" might have looked like. 5/10 Since "Charlie Chan Carries On" is a lost film, "The Black Camel" remains the earliest surviving film starring Warner Oland as the great Chinese detective Charlie Chan, the marvel of the Hawaiian police force who hides his sparkling intelligence behind the mask of geniality. Oland would go on to memorably essay the part in sixteen entertaining and atmospheric films. There is something of the Columbo method of detecting to his Chan here. He has the tendency to appear in the unlikeliest of places at the most inopportune of moments. He deliberately makes himself appear bumbling and harmless in order to weasel his way into a suspect's confidence. Oland is just wonderful here, mixing humour and a commanding, scene-stealing presence with the precision of a seasoned performer. Also wonderful is the film's big guest star - Bela Lugosi who had already solidified his name in film history with "Dracula" earlier the same year. Here he plays Tarneverro, a manipulative and slyly charming mentalist who holds a Hollywood actress by the name of Shelah Fane (Dorothy Revler) in the palm of his hand. Lugosi is superb at seeming both sinister and amicable at the same time. That is the quality that made him a defining Count Dracula and that very same quality makes him irresistible in "The Black Camel". There is a genuine allure of mystery around Lugosi whose scenes with Oland are absolutely electric. The verbal sparring and bizarre camaraderie that develops between these two polar opposite men is the most entertaining and interesting aspect of the movie. The plot begins, of course, once Shelah Fane is found dead in the bedroom of her Honolulu house. She came to the island to make a movie and returned home in a coffin. As Charlie Chan memorably puts it, death is a black camel that kneels unbidden at every gate. Chan's implacable boss (Robert Homans) is convinced that Tarnaverro is the killer but Chan is not so sure. He suspects that the motive for the murder of Shelah Fane is connected to a similar killing that took place three years before. "The Black Camel" was made in 1931, smack in the middle of the awkward transition phase between silent movies and talkies. The earliest sound films suffered greatly from this rushed and stumbling transition, and "The Black Camel" bears many of the symptoms such as stagy mise-en-scene, stilted camera work, and stiff performances. Surprisingly, however, "The Black Camel" is one of the more watchable early talkies, in my opinion. Director Hamilton MacFadden makes very good use of some terrific location work in beautiful Hawaii and his cinematographers Joseph August and Daniel Clark give us some truly atmospheric and downright creepy imagery. Look, for instance, at the wonderful seance scene in which Tarneverro and Shelah Fane are lit only by the eery light of the medium's crystal ball. Notice, as well, some really first-rate close-ups such as the one in which Charlie Chan, bathed in shadows and lit from beneath, delivers the memorable quote which gave the film its title. McFadden's camerawork is also worth commending since he employs a lot more movement and innovation than is usual for early talkies. I wouldn't say that "The Black Camel" is quite as dynamic as the silent films that preceded it or for that matter the later talkies that followed but it is a lot less stagey than you might expect. Also very good is the dialogue credited to Barry Conners and Philip Klein which is full of witticisms and barbs. A starlet offended by Chan's insistent questioning informs him that if she were a dose of poison, she'd give herself to him. Chan, later on, observes that whenever conscience tries to speak, the telephone goes out of order. Earlier on in the film, he tells Tarnaverro that like a shadow, his fame has followed him from Hollywood. When the elusive medium refuses to tell Chan whom he suspects of the murder Chan complains that he is trying to quench the fire of his curiosity with a handful of straw. Sadly, the story, based on a novel by Earl Derr Biggers, is far less memorable than the dialogue. Once the novelty of a murder on a film set wears off, there's really little left to hold our attention. Chan's investigation is fairly straightforward, the murder itself is rather mundane and lacks any particular innovation, and the murderer, once revealed, could well have been anyone in the cast. Their identity feels more like it was plucked out of a hat than like it's been truly well thought out. Also, I must note that as wonderful as Oland and Lugosi are, the rest of the cast fare a lot less well. Especially bad is the performance given by Dorothy Revier whose acting is very physically demonstrative and feels like it very much belongs in the silent era. Her line readings are notably over-rehearsed and sound false. Similarly over-the-top are the performances of William Post Jr. as Shelah Fane's unlucky fiancee and Dwight Fry who plays Ms Fane's butler with the same kind of overstated lunacy he had when he played Renfield in "Dracula". The most out-of-place turn, however, comes from Otto Yamaoka as Chan's bumbling sidekick Kashimo. Charlie Chan is almost always paired with a comic relief sidekick, but unlike some of the best ones like Keye Luke, Yamaoka's performance very much feels like it belongs in a very broad slapstick comedy. He also lacks any kind of chemistry with Oland who mostly seems to be bemused by his co-star's antics and rather reluctant to participate. On the other hand, I quite enjoyed Murray Kinnell as a beach bum who also happens to be a painter, C. Henry Gordon as one of Shelah Fane's Hollywood cronies, and Marjorie White who absolutely steals the show with her brief but very entertaining turn as a witty starlet. "The Black Camel" does bear the mark of its age. It's occasionally stagy and stilted, full of over-the-top performances and dodgy line readings, but the scenes between Oland and Lugosi alone are worth the price of admission (or rather the price of the DVD). Furthermore, I found the film an atmospheric and entertaining thriller whose only major failing is a less-than-engaging mystery. It's not top-tier Charlie Chan but it delivers the goods. 6/10 In 2006, when the Charlie Chan films were released on DVD in five beautiful, extras-laden box sets, Fox saw fit to produce two reconstructions of the early lost Chan films "Charlie Chan's Chance" and "Charlie Chan's Courage". These reconstructions were audio plays based on the surviving scripts illustrated by production stills and photoshopped collages. The acting in them is pretty ropey (especially, unfortunately, from the man playing Charlie Chan) but they are currently the best way to get an idea of what these lost films might have been like. Another terrific resource is The Charlie Chan Family Home website where you can read the surviving screenplays for these two films as well as the two that sadly weren't reconstructed for the DVDs. Having both seen the reconstruction and read the script I can safely claim that the loss of "Charlie Chan's Chance" is an unfortunate one. The engaging and clever story based on a novel by Earl Derr Biggers has Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) investigating the murder of a policeman who had been investigating a cold case. He was, in fact, on the tail of Alan Raleigh, a dangerous English murderer who had escaped capture several years ago and is now hiding in New York. The dynamic script takes Charlie all across town in pursuit of this dangerous man. The film begins with the discovery of the policeman's body in a Wall Street penthouse and continues with pacy, atmospheric scenes in nightclubs, New York's poor neighbourhoods, and even the Hudson River which Charlie and his colleagues NYPD's Inspector Flannery (James Kirkwood) and Scotland Yard's Inspector Fife (H.B. Warner) cross in a police boat. This film was released a year after "The Black Camel" and feels a lot livelier. For one, it is less drowned in dialogue relying a fair bit on visual storytelling. The shooting script reveals a lot about director John G. Blystone's style. There are plenty of mentions of sinister shadows and outlines of mysterious men stalking our heroes. In an interesting sound montage sequence, we follow a telephone signal as it bounces around from telephone pole to telephone pole all the way from New York to London. There is even an exciting scene in which a man driving a car is gassed to death and has a crash on a busy street. Furthermore, reading the shooting script indications, one gets an idea that the overall editing pace was much faster and the mise-en-scene less stagy. A particular scene I am sorry we cannot see is very suspenseful even to read. It involves an almost James Bond situation in which a bad guy rigs up a gun to shoot at a particular chair at a particular moment. Seated in the chair is Charlie Chan, oblivious to the danger. The intercutting between Chan's dialogue with the bad guy and the gun about to go off is positively Hitchcockian. The production stills also show off a well-designed movie. The art-deco sets by Gordon Wiles look slick and appropriately lush for a film set among the New York jet set. I wonder if Joseph August's cinematography would have been as shadowy and atmospheric as the script suggests, however. On the subject of the script, it is much better, storytelling-wise, than "The Black Camel". For one, Charlie Chan is immediately involved and positioned clearly as the protagonist and the man in charge of the investigation. Second, the story is told more clearly and dynamically. Third, the suspects are much better profiled and are more memorable so that when the killer is revealed we don't have to rewind the film to figure out who they are. Less ingratiating, however, are some of the script's racial insensitivities. A lot has already been written about the problem of racism in Charlie Chan films. I don't intend to go into it and instead suggest Yunte Huang's terrific book which examines the matter with intelligence and calm not usually exhibited with such hotly-debated topics. However, one thing is for certain, in all the films Charlie Chan is presented squarely as a positive character, a role model, and a person who dispels all negative prejudices held by his contemporaries. In "Charlie Chan's Chance", however, we have, for the only time that I know of, examples of uncontested racist statements. Passing showgirls refer to Charlie as "chop suey" and quip that they have "no laundry today". Uncharacteristically, Charlie merely stands back and takes the insults. Also uncharacteristic of the series is the presence of a very cliched Asian villain in the form of Li Gung (Edward Peil, Sr.), the kind of devious and untrustworthy foreigner stereotype that Charlie Chan was expressly created to oppose. Furthermore, some distinctly 1930s cringeworthy dialogue seeps into the script. Asked about his family full of boys Charlie says that he has been lucky. Pointing to his daughters he quips "Out of eleven opportunities, I've been unfortunate three times". How strange to hear such derogatory statements about his family from Charlie himself. "Charlie Chan's Chance" is certainly a film of its time but if we put that aside we are still left with what promises to have been a very fine picture indeed. Livelier and more engaging than "The Black Camel" and better plotted than "Charlie Chan in London". I suspect that if we had the good fortune to see it, I'd end up rating it a 6.5. Unlike the two films flanking it, "Charlie Chan's Greatest Case" was not reconstructed for the DVD box set. This is a strange decision seeing how its script is easily the most suitable to being turned into an audio play with its heavy reliance on dialogue. The shooting script (available for reading on the excellent Charlie Chan Family Home website) indeed reads like a stageplay. The scenes are long and talky and begin with characters walking into a room and don't end until everyone has left. There is little evidence of the dynamics present in "Charlie Chan's Chance" and because of that "Charlie Chan's Greatest Case" feels like a significant step back. Despite its title, the story, based on Earl Derr Biggers' novel, is not really all that great. It is a very straightforward and simplistic parlour mystery which revolves around the murder of Dan Winterslip (Robert Warwick), a rich layabout who wiles away his days in his fancy Hawaiian mansion. There are few twists in this tale, especially when compared to the much more engaging mysteries of the preceding four films. Furthermore, here we encounter the most thoroughly unlikeable supporting cast of any Charlie Chan film consisting of Puritans, racists, and entitled rich people none of whom are in the least bit fleshed out or even clearly defined. The dialogue written for them is equally to blame for just how fake and thin these characters seem. They incessantly describe themselves and explain their actions in bursts of declarative exposition. The funniest moment in the entire script is when a gangster walks into a scene and immediately announces that he's sick of Hawaii and that he has to "get back to New York and the mob". If that isn't stereotypical enough production stills reveal that he is dressed in a pin-stripe suit and that he sports a snarl on his face at all times. On the other hand, the production stills and the few bits of surviving footage also reveal a handsomely photographed film. The director of photography was Ernest Palmer who also photographed the atmospheric "Charlie Chan in Paris". The director, meanwhile, was Hamilton MacFadden who also helmed the stagy but picturesque "The Black Camel" which similarly featured a hacky script but was turned into a decent film largely due to MacFadden's solid work. The camera directions in the shooting script, however, reveal a less visually enticing film. A lot of the scenes are played in long, static shots which the actors walk in and out of like players on a theatrical stage. MacFadden seems to have embraced the idea that you should only cut when you absolutely cannot pan and that if you don't even have to pan all the better! The script for "Charlie Chan's Greatest Case" is fairly forgettable and bland but I don't want to give the impression that it is entirely meritless. For one, it is a rare Charlie Chan film that actually takes place in Honolulu and the script actually does a good job of showing Charlie working on his home turf. There are a few terrific scenes showing the Chan family life. I especially love the one in which Charlie's numerous family help him get ready in the morning when he is unexpectedly woken up by a telephone call. The final scene in which the entire Chan Clan is packed into a single car must have also been a scream. I also found the portrayal of the life of ex-pats living in Hawaii quite interesting if not sufficiently fleshed out. Still, there's no escaping that I had no interest in the story whatsoever. Couple that with a smaller amount of screen time for Warner Oland and a supporting cast full of shrill, unlikeable characters, I doubt that "Charlie Chan's Greatest Case" was anywhere close to his greatest film. I think this one would be rated somewhere around a 5. There was clearly a fear from the Fox producers in the 1930s that Charlie Chan, a Chinese detective, could not carry a picture on his own. That must be why the first five Chan films, all based on Earl Derr Biggers novels, always have a white protagonist accompanying Chan and sometimes even doing most of the detecting. All that would change with "Charlie Chan in London" but for now let's focus on "Charlie Chan's Courage", the last lost Chan film. Much like "Charlie Chan in London", this is a take on the old manor house mystery trope. Here the manor in question is a lavish house in the Californian desert belonging to the thuggish financier J.P. Madden (Paul Harvey), nicknamed "the Wall Street plunger". The mystery at the centre of "Charlie Chan's Courage", however, is better than the one Charlie had to solve in London. It is, in fact, one of the more intriguing of the whole series as the question is not only whodunnit but also who was it done to? Let me try to explain the complicated setup. Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) is asked by a jeweller (Reginald Mason) to deliver a priceless necklace to Madden's house. Chan, however, smells a rat and has the jeweller's son Bob (Donald Woods) go to Madden's house first. On arrival, Bob finds Madden absent from the house and a conspicuous bullet hole in the big man's bedroom. The next twist comes the following morning when Madden in all of his brash glory shows up alive and well. Who was murdered then? Maybe the more prudent question is who will be murdered next? But where is our hero? The indefatigable Charlie Chan of the Honolulu police. Well, in the kitchen. You see, he disguises himself as an itinerant Chinese worker and secures himself a job as Madden's cook. This could be an interesting premise for a detective film (indeed "Murder, She Said" did it to perfection some 30 years later) but I'm not entirely convinced "Charlie Chan's Courage" pulled it off as well. For one, most of the screen time is devoted to Bob and his flirtation with Paula (Drue Leyton), a woman he meets on the train and immediately falls in love with. Meanwhile, Chan skulks in the background observing and "narrowing his eyes" which is about as much action as the script gives him before the big finale. There is a lot of mysterious goings-on in the Madden household. Interesting scenes all of which seem to end with Charlie being revealed in the background "giving a smile and a nod". Not quite what I hope to get out of a Charlie Chan picture. He also spends most of the film affecting the sing-songy, "me no likey dlinky" accent he so derisively dismissed as a racist stereotype in "Charlie Chan in Paris". This too might be unfortunate. But the story is so damn good that I'm willing to believe the film could have been a real corker. The mystery constantly twists and turns and whenever you think you know what's going on new characters show up to blow your theory to smithereens. The solution is quite ridiculous, of course, but it has that old-school golden age of mystery charm to it. Unfortunately, the closest we can get to seeing this film is by watching the reconstruction done for the DVD box set. Like the reconstruction of "Charlie Chan's Chance", it's an audio performance of the original screenplay illustrated with production photos and photoshopped composites. The acting in this one is better than in the first one but there are a lot more liberties taken with the script and several glaring mistakes. A character who should be arriving "from Chicago" instead goes "to Chicago". More egregiously, a parrot who used to live in a "barroom" is described as formerly occupying a "bedroom". Still, the mystery is so engaging and fun that I was willing to forget the reconstruction's errors and go along with it. Of the three lost films, this one has the tightest, most entertaining script and based on that I think the film could have gotten a 6.5 from me despite the egregious lack of Charlie Chan. The brilliant Chinese detective Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) is in London receiving an award for his work on a previous case when he is visited by a young lady in distress. Seeing how Chan is a perfect gentleman, he is unable to refuse her tearful pleadings for help and soon finds himself investigating a murder involving German spies, the RAF, and top-secret military plans. Set in a lavish countryside mansion during the hunting season, "Charlie Chan in London" has more than a whiff of Agatha Christie about it. In fact, it is rather reminiscent of her story "The Incredible Theft" which was first published some three years later. The young lady who came to Chan for help is one Pamela Gray (Drue Leyton), the sister of a man accused of murdering his employer, RAF Captain Hamilton, and awaiting execution despite maintaining his innocence. Chan, in his usual shrewd manner, ingratiates himself among England's societal elite by pretending to be nothing more than a "humble Chinese detective". "Charlie Chan in London" is the sixth Charlie Chan film starring Warner Oland but unfortunately only the second still in existence. Comparing it to "The Black Camel", you can see that the film series has evolved somewhat and become a lot more confident both in its tone and its leading character. This sixth instalment strikes a much better mix of humour and mystery. The story, from an original script by Philip MacDonald, is stronger than the one in "The Black Camel". It is an early Charlie Chan take on the old manor house mystery (done a lot better in some later instalments such as "Castle in the Desert") and MacDonald uses the tropes to his advantage. The story is familiar and the villain predictable but it is a lot of fun to watch. I especially appreciated the variation of the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime. On the technical side, most of the kinks of the early talkies have been ironed out by 1934. The camera work is smoother, the mise-en-scene is a lot less stagy, and the performances have been toned down with the exception of the comic relief characters who often feel like they've stepped down directly off a music hall stage. Having said that, the one major advantage "The Black Camel" has over "Charlie Chan in London" is its inventive director Hamilton MacFadden. This instalment, meanwhile, was directed by Eugene Ford whose work is distinctly more workmanlike and less dynamic. Consequently, the film lacks the sinister, mysterious atmosphere that made "The Black Camel" such an enjoyable watch. I must also confess that I preferred Warner Oland's performance in the earlier film as well. He is still a very charming and likeable protagonist but he has lost some of his commanding presence. This film plays up the whole "humble detective" schtick making Chan a lot less intimidating and interesting character than before. Still, "Charlie Chan in London" is a very entertaining entry in the series mostly due to its engaging mystery and solid supporting cast (including a very young Ray Milland). It is a less distinctive and significantly less atmospheric movie than "The Black Camel" but the story is a lot better, the pace less leaden, and the production is moving away from the awkwardness of the early talkies. 6.5/10 The seventh Charlie Chan film, "Charlie Chan in Paris" finally completes the formula by introducing Charlie's number one son Lee (Keye Luke) into the equation. Even though Lee would eventually be supplanted by the even more incompetent Jimmy, a comic relief sidekick became a staple of the series as much as Charlie's Confucian sayings. The character of the bumbling sidekick clearly takes root from the hapless Kashimo, a Honolulu PD rookie who assists Chan in the original Earl Derr Biggers novels and in the film adaptation of "The Black Camel" where he was played by Otto Yamaoka. But Lee Chan is a considerable improvement over his progenitor in pretty much every way. For one, Keye Luke plays him not as a mindless idiot but as an enthusiastic young man whose mistakes and goofs can be excused by his lack of experience. He is a much more believable character than the cartoonish Kashimo whom Charlie himself found as annoying as I did. The other reason is the loving relationship between Charlie and Lee which Oland and Luke play beautifully and which adds an unexpected dollop of warmth to what is otherwise a pretty rote mystery movie. The story sees Charlie (Warner Oland) arriving in Paris to investigate a series of forged bonds being spread around Europe from a Parisian branch of the venerable Lamartine Bank. As soon as he lands, however, he is greeted by a threatening letter and a sinister blind beggar who seems to appear wherever Charlie goes. The film moves at a decent enough pace but the story by Philip MacDonald simply didn't grab me as much as that of "Charlie Chan in London". Banknote forgery is not a terribly exciting crime and seeing Charlie Chan go up against organized bandits is less interesting to me than seeing him face a more human killer. Furthermore, even though the first murder occurs as early as 12 minutes into the picture it is not until the second murder some 40 minutes in that there's any sense of momentum or plot progression. The film devotes a lot of time to its supporting cast which would be commendable if any of them were well-developed or even clearly delineated characters but since all of these bankers and Haute société minglers look, talk, and dress the same I had the devil of a time keeping stock of who was who. Once the investigation gets fully on track, there's a lot of fun to be had with "Charlie Chan in Paris". I enjoyed seeing Charlie breaking into a victim's apartment and hiding from the police. I loved all the scenes with Charlie and Lee. I especially enjoyed the final 10 minutes in which Charlie finally faces the sinister beggar in the sewers of Paris. However, it's not a terribly good sign that once the killer was unmasked I couldn't actually remember who the character was. Compared to its immediate predecessor, "Charlie Chan in London", this Parisian adventure is less engrossing but better made. The film was directed by Lewis Seiler whose direction is a lot more atmospheric and dynamic. I also really enjoyed Warner Oland's performance here. After a somewhat buffoonish turn in the previous film, he is back to being the cunning, fearsome Chan we know and love. There's a particularly good moment in one of the earlier scenes in which one character assumes that because Charlie is Chinese he does not speak good English. Chan's takedown of the borderline-racist man is both hilariously polite and brutally cutting at the same time. Like most of these early Chan films, "Charlie Chan in Paris" is not a top-tier Chan film but it is an enjoyable one and since by 1935 all the awkwardness of the early talkies has been overcome I don't feel the need to qualify that assessment. It has a nice atmosphere, a few truly entertaining scenes, and wonderful chemistry between Oland and Luke. If only the mystery was more engaging. 6/10 As someone who is a massive fan of mysteries set in exotic locales, supernatural events which are then revealed to be clever ploys, and films revolving around archaeology, "Charlie Chan in Egypt" was almost destined to be a favourite. In fact, it reminded me a lot of one of my favourite Agatha Christie short stories, "The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb" in which, similarly, a group of archaeologists are picked off by a mysterious killer hiding his identity behind an ancient curse. The script written by Robert Ellis and Helen Logan is not as inventive nor as airtight as Christie's story but it has a fantastically engaging mystery at its heart, an air of exoticism, and a rather ingenious method of murder employed by a very devious killer indeed. The story is set in an archaeological camp led by Professor Arnold (George Irving), an indefatigable bloodhound on the trail of Ancient Egyptian treasures. One day, Professor Arnold leaves the camp never to return and his body is eventually found inside a sealed sarcophagus wrapped like a mummy. Charlie Chan (Warner Oland), the great Chinese detective, who is in Egypt on the trail of some priceless missing artefacts investigates. With such a terrific location and a good, spooky story what could possibly go wrong? Well, a few things. The first is the rickety direction of Louis King, a rather unimaginative hired hand whose flat, sometimes stagy visuals do somewhat undermine the terrific story. He robs the picture of any atmosphere or eeriness it should have had. Another problem is the character of Snowshoes, a bumbling camp servant, played by Stepin Fetchit. Fetchit was the most popular black comedian in the 1930s who specialized in playing crudely stereotypical comic relief characters. Now, if you can believe it, Snowshoes is actually one of his least racially insensitive caricatures but that does not make him any less annoying. His incomprehensible stuttery muttering schtick gets old very quickly and by the end of the film, I would wince whenever he'd show up. His presence is especially grating because the comic relief in this film rightfully should have been the terrific Keye Luke who had been introduced in the series as Charlie Chan's son in the previous instalment. The rest of the film, however, is pretty good and I found it to be the most entertaining and intriguing of the Charlie Chan films so far. The story is solid, the solution clever (if predictable), the supporting cast up to the task, and Warner Oland absolutely magnificent. Charlie Chan is at his best when he's not played for jokes. Another excellent aspect of the film worth mentioning is the sets. Even though they were probably pilfered from higher-budgeted productions, they do a terrific job of suggesting the warm, sandy atmosphere of an Egyptian archaeological site. 7/10 It is a massive shame that despite its Chinese setting "Charlie Chan in Shanghai" does not have a single credited Chinese character besides the Chans themselves. All of the suspects are ex-pats, foreign policemen, and spies. Combined with some distinctly European-looking sets, this robs the film of any atmosphere of its exotic locale which was so wonderfully evoked in "Charlie Chan in Egypt". This is the only major kink in what is otherwise a top-notch Charlie Chan film, a really entertaining and engaging little thriller in which the brilliant Chinese detective (Warner Oland) hunts for opium dealers in the deliciously grimy Shanghai underground. The gangsters are led by a shadowy Russian spy Ivan Marloff (Frederik Vogeding) who, we suspect, may have grander plans in sight than mere opium smuggling. Note the two men who co-wrote this film: Edward T. Lowe Jr. and Gerard Fairlie. Fairlie is best known as one of the writers of the highly popular Bulldog Drummond novel series the title character of which is a WWI veteran travelling the world looking for excitement. There is a real taste of a Bulldog Drummond adventure in "Charlie Chan in Shanghai". There is an inordinate amount of peril. Charlie is shot at twice, kidnapped, and even engages in a fistfight! The villains are also Drummondian - mysterious spies, opium smugglers, filthy bandits, and gun-toting baddies. Edward T. Lowe Jr., meanwhile, was an itinerant screenwriter best known to Chan fans as the man who co-wrote "Charlie Chan in Paris". Even a cursory glance at the synopsis of "Charlie Chan in Shanghai" can tell you that it is clearly a reworking of Lowe's previous scripts. Both films see Chan go up against an organized gang - the only difference is that in the previous film, the gang forged banknotes. Thankfully, "Charlie Chan in Shanghai" is a resounding improvement over "Charlie Chan in Paris" in every way. The suspects are more clearly defined, the pace is faster, there is a much more tangible sense of urgency, and there is a bigger role for Lee Chan (Keye Luke), Charlie's honourable offspring whose unbound enthusiasm and clumsiness keep landing him in trouble. The chemistry between Oland and Luke is again the highlight of the film. There is such genuine warmth, chemistry, and precise comic timing between them that their scenes together are an absolute joy to watch. Especially witty are the scenes in their shared hotel room where we simply observe a relationship between a traditional Chinese father and his thoroughly Americanised son. These scenes, unburdened of any actual plot importance, are an unfortunate rarity in thrillers. As can be seen here, however, they go a very long way in establishing the protagonists and making us care for them. The film was directed by James Tinling whose work is decidedly workmanlike but more than acceptable. His visuals are uninventive and there is a distinct lack of atmosphere to the film, but he keeps the plot moving at a fittingly fast pace and there is a constant feeling of tension throughout. "Charlie Chan in Shanghai" is a real early gem in the Charlie Chan series and a million miles away from the stagy, stodgy instalments of only a year ago. It is a dynamic, engaging, endlessly entertaining thriller that should be a delight even for those who've never even heard of Charlie Chan before. Not only is there a taut intrigue at its heart, but there are also a liberal dollop of humour and even a clever little locked-room mystery. Its solution is rudimentary but its presence is a welcome surprise. Speaking of mystery, however, "Charlie Chan in Shanghai" is rather light on that particular ingredient. Most of the villains are known pretty much from the start as are their motivations. This is, however, perfectly in line with the Bulldog Drummond influence. Just like the Drummond novels/pictures, this film is more about the thrill of the hunt than the breed of the prey and that too is a rarity for Charlie Chan. 8/10 "Mysterious shadows of the night cling to the old house like moss on a tombstone," says Charlie Chan (Warner Oland), the great Chinese detective, in his usual loquacious way as he approaches the eery Colby Manor where a dark and mysterious game is afoot. The heir to the massive family fortune, long thought dead, has resurrected and returned home only to be murdered mere minutes after his surprise arrival. His ghost, however, appears at a seance held at the request of his eccentric aunt and Chan's old friend Henrietta (Henrietta Crosman). This spooky and intriguing mystery written by Robert Ellis, Helen Logan, and Joseph Hoffman is the second and far more successful attempt at an old-fashioned manor house mystery after "Charlie Chan in London". Fittingly, there is more than a tinge of Agatha Christie present here as well. The terrific finale seems to have been at least inspired by "The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor" in which Poirot pulls off a very similar trick as Charlie Chan. But more than Christie, I was reminded of Nancy Drew, the fabulous girl detective who similarly investigated mysterious hauntings which turned out to have been accomplished by devious crooks with the help of secret passageways, mirrors, and hidden UV lamps. This is a delicious mystery indeed! Most of the runtime is devoted to Charlie's explanations of the various supernatural goings-on at the Colby manor. Even though the solutions don't quite reach the cleverness of John Dickson Carr or even "Charlie Chan in Egypt", they are a lot of fun and Oland delivers them with grace and zest. The final solution, however, - that of the killer's identity - is disappointingly predictable. The writers use the old trick of giving the killer the least runtime hoping that the audience will simply overlook them but that doesn't work anymore. "Charlie Chan's Secret" is only the second film directed by Gordon Wiles, who didn't have a particularly notable career and died young in 1950. I am not surprised to find out he was also an art director as he seems more interested in showing off the sets than the actors' faces. Seriously, I have never seen such wide interior shots in my life. Frequently, we'll see shots of actors in the Colby manor living room, for instance, where the camera is pulled so far back that they appear minuscule in comparison to the looming walls around them. We also get a very good look at the ceilings of the house, a technique which Orson Welles would get a lot of praise for five years later. Wiles is not a terribly good director. His shots are very stagy, his camera movements are stiff, and his pace leaden. Most of the dialogue scenes are awkwardly filmed in side-on wide shots in which the characters exit and enter like actors on a theatrical stage. Wiles inadvertently achieves a sort of cinematic proscenium, an impression that we're seated before a set and not observing a three-dimensional space. He is also not a good director of actors. Besides Oland who gives a characteristically shrewd and well-considered performance, the entire supporting cast pitches their performances at absolutely melodramatic levels. Especially annoying is Herbert Mundin as a grating comic relief butler whose performance belongs in a very different movie indeed. Thankfully, the rest of the visuals in "Charlie Chan's Secret" are superlative. The sets designed by Duncan Cramer and Albert Hogsett are especially good. The Colby manor is designed almost like an expressionist nightmare with its crooked windows, high arches, and no straight lines. Cinematographer Rudolph Mate lights the sets especially atmospherically making them some of the most effective in the entire Charlie Chan series. They are a delight to watch! "Charlie Chan's Secret" is a strange film. It has an engaging mystery and some of the best visuals in the whole series but is directed in such an artificial and stodgy manner that it almost turns into a self-parody of 1930s movies. It is stiff and occasionally plodding but delightfully atmospheric and entertaining. Had it been directed by a more dynamic and skilled director it would have no doubt been the highlight of the Charlie Chan film series. As it stands, it's a creeky but effective curio that occasionally dips quite ably into horror territory. 7.5/10 In the 1930s, everybody got to go to the circus. Charlie Chaplin went in his wonderful film "The Circus", as did Laurel and Hardy in "The Chimp". The Marx Brothers followed suit in 1939 as did W.C. Fields in the largely forgotten but worthy "You Can't Cheat an Honest Man". Charlie Chan's turn at the circus came in 1936 with "Charlie Chan at the Circus", one of the more roundly entertaining and enjoyable of the Chan films starring Warner Oland. This is the first Charlie Chan film I ever saw, one afternoon on TV when I was 9, and it's absolutely no surprise that I immediately fell in love with the great Chinese detective. Put in the appropriate verbiage - this film is an absolute gas! The story, written by the now very experienced duo of Robert Ellis and Helen Logan, sees Charlie and his number one son Lee (Keye Luke) join the circus in pursuit of a dangerous murderer who is using the circus animals to do his evil bidding. No one is safe from him, not even Charlie who has a wonderfully suspenseful encounter with a venomous snake in his bed. But the story is not what really counts here. "Charlie Chan at the Circus" very much swings the tonal pendulum towards comedy. It is a film full of wonderful, perfectly executed gags and running jokes. The star of the show is, without a doubt, Keye Luke who proves once again that Lee Chan is the finest comic relief character the series has. Not only is he charming and instantly loveable as the over-eager and trouble-prone number-one son, but he is also adept at physical comedy which sees him go from one slapstick situation to the next. My favourite running joke of the film, however, is Lee's fruitless pursuit of the circus contortionist Su Toy (Toshia Mori). In a bid to get close to her, he tries to turn himself into a human pretzel, much to the amusement of his father who quips that his attitude proves Darwin's theory correct. Indeed, circus performers are extraordinarily well used in "Charlie Chan at the Circus" not merely as sideshow attractions but as likeable characters in their own right. The best in the show are George and Olive Brasno, a couple of little people whose comedic timing and patter make them resemble stars from screwball comedies. The film devotes a lot of time to them, rightfully trusting their abilities to light up the screen. The film is well directed by Harry Lachman who would go on to helm a number of Chan films. His direction is not flashy or artsy nor does it call attention to itself, but it is dynamic, technically adept, and occasionally even quite atmospheric. That is why I would say that this is the best directed Chan film so far. Unassuming but wonderfully effective. The mystery itself is not one of the best in the series. Coming on the heels of the much more intriguing "Charlie Chan's Secret", it even appears somewhat pedestrian. The solution itself is silly, while the killer's identity is impossible to figure out due to a lack of clues and careful preparation. But the sheer joy and good humour of "Charlie Chan at the Circus" overrides the weak story. It is a fun, often hilarious romp, perfectly paced and continuously entertaining. It even offers the rare pleasure of seeing the entire Chan clan together in the memorable opening scene in which all fourteen walk into the circus together like a marching band. 8.5/10 The murder of a horse-owner friend sends the great Chinese detective Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) into Dick Francis territory. Maybe the fact that I never much cared for Francis' equestrian thrillers explains why I found "Charlie Chan at the Race Track" such hard going or maybe it just isn't all that engaging a movie. The story revolves around a dastardly scheme to cheat at the Melbourne Cup. The villains' plot is explained several times but I found my attention drifting. Lots of horse talk will do that to me. I generally don't care much for sports or betting and this film did nothing to pique my curiosity. The horse owner discovered the plot and was murdered on the ship bound for Melbourne. Charlie Chan boards the ship in Honolulu and begins an investigation of those present. There are plenty of suspects in this film - family members, trainers, jockeys, and businessmen - but there's surprisingly little mystery. Of the two bad guys involved in the murder, one is revealed right at the beginning of the film and the other is so obvious that you could identify him merely by glancing at the photos of the cast. You just couldn't imagine that actor playing anyone but a villain. The script by Robert Ellis, Helen Logan, and Edward T. Lowe Jr. does not keep us in suspense. Mysterious events are introduced and then immediately explained away. The villains' plot is clear as day from the moment it's hinted at and Charlie explains exactly how they'll pull it off before the race even begins. There is some interesting business involving the technology of the time - cameras that are meant to capture the finish of the race - and some early forensics, but beyond those, there's very little sleuthing going on in this film. Also lacking is the humour. Keye Luke is, as usual, wonderful as the overenthusiastic number one son Lee but the material he's given is not as varied nor as witty as before. The running joke of him being undercover as a ship steward quickly grows thin and beyond that, there's little for him to do. Of course, his interactions with Warner Oland are still the high point of the film. However, compared with his antics from "Charlie Chan at the Circus" where he was not only in pursuit of a murderer while dressed up as a nanny but also in pursuit of a beautiful contortionist, the repetitive stuff he has to do here seems awfully underwhelming. Also present as comic relief is John Henry Allen, a second-rate Stepin Fetchit impersonator who does Fetchit's already annoying mumbling routine with even less charm. The less said about his performance the better except to note that he is roundly outacted by his pet monkey who looks damn cute in his little sailor outfit. I don't want to rag on this picture too much because it's not really a bad film. It's a handsomely mounted production, well-designed, and well-directed by H. Bruce Humberstone who exhibits the kind of unassuming professionalism I like in Charlie Chan films. However, I also found "Charlie Chan at the Race Track" to be a distinctly unengaging film which poorly reproduces a lot of the schtick from its better predecessors and then infuses it into an overly complicated story full of bland, forgettable suspects and lacking any real sense of mystery or threat. One gets the idea that Charlie enjoyed his cruise but a nice holiday does not make a thrilling detective movie and I personally hope not to have to take this journey again. 6/10 "Warner Oland vs. Boris Karloff," proudly proclaim the opening credits of "Charlie Chan at the Opera", a most ambitious and unusual Chan film, a delightful mixture of horror and mystery, of the operatic and the cinematic. The opening sequence wastes no time establishing the film's grandiose gothic tone. We open on a dark and stormy night. A Dutch-angle close-up shows the sign of the Rockland State Sanitarium awash with rain and lit by a single gas lamp. The gloomy building is guarded by a pair of spooked guards hiding under the eaves from the torrential storm. Their voices are muffled by the raging wind but a sound cuts right through its midnight howl. It is the sound of singing emanating from the room of an amnesiac patient (Boris Karloff). It is a masterful opening straight out of one of those Universal horror films or a Val Lewton chiller. Of course, by the end of it, Karloff has escaped his confinement, his flight motivated by a newspaper article announcing the opening night of an opera starring Mme. Lili Rochelle (Margaret Irving). The entire police force is up in arms chasing the escaped madman but the one place where they aren't looking is the city's opera house, the very place the man is headed to. So where does Charlie Chan fit in this gothic horror film? Well, he is on holiday in the States with his overenthusiastic number one son Lee (Keye Luke) when he is invited to the premiere by Mme. Lili herself. The great prima donna has been receiving threatening messages and she begs Charlie and his good friend Inspector Regan (Guy Usher) to find out who has been sending them. The two plots converge during the opening night and by the end of the first act there are two dead bodies in the theatre. The police come down upon the opera house like rain in the opening sequence looking for Karloff but Charlie has other ideas in mind. Will he be able to find the true killer by the end of the third act? You know the answer... Set largely over the course of three or so hours inside the opera house, "Charlie Chan at the Opera" is quite simply one of the tautest and most exciting of the Warner Oland Chan films. Written by Scott Darling, Charles Belden, and Bess Meredyth, the script does a wonderful job of emulating the plot of an opera with its lost daughters, love triangles, and crimes from the past coming back to haunt their perpetrators. The innate theatricality of the Chan films suits this script extremely well. The mystery itself is also one of the best with a convincing and memorable cast of suspects and one hell of a red herring in the form of Boris Karloff. His performance is a tad too broad for my taste but his presence is tremendous and his sinister silkiness perfect for the role of the mysterious amnesiac. The revelation is definitely too rushed to be clearly understood but by that point, we're so enraptured with the whole premise we don't really care for all the details. Warner Oland, however, has definitely brought his A-game for this cinematic clash. This is easily his finest performance as Charlie Chan, quietly commanding, mellifluous, charming yet enigmatic. He never lets his mask of perfect politeness slip and yet he is consistently doubtlessly in charge of the investigation. The Chan we see here is a far more serious figure than he has been in the past few films. He is a lot closer to the way he was portrayed in "The Black Camel", for instance, where he let others play the comedy while he was deadly serious. There is a lot less comedy in "Charlie Chan at the Opera" in general. The role of the comic relief is split between the wonderful Keye Luke and a newcomer, Sgt. Kelly (William Demarest), the kind of two-fisted dumb cop that's been the but of jokes in detective films from Sherlock Holmes to Philip Marlowe and beyond. Also very funny is the wiry, neurotic stage manager Mr Arnold (Maurice Cass). Anyone who's ever been behind the scenes of a theatre can vouch that his character is 100% authentic. They all do a good job of keeping the spirits up but the film really shines in its more sinister, mysterious scenes. Director H. Bruce Humberstone keeps the proceedings moving at a fast tempo. His direction is slick and smooth without ever being flashy or distracting. He is a skilled professional who delivers an entertaining, engaging, and atmospheric thriller. I was also fascinated by all the little technical details Humberstone manages to squeeze into the film. There is a terrific shot in which we see the opera being performed while stagehands run around in the background making the magic happen on stage. Another very interesting scene involves a newspaperman (Selmer Jackson) explaining how photos are sent by wire from one city to the next. Fascinating stuff and cleverly integrated into a taut, tense mystery picture. "Charlie Chan at the Opera" is frequently named the best Chan film of all time. I'm not sure I agree entirely with that statement (some of the Toler films are definitely even slicker and smarter) but its reputation is not entirely overblown. It is by far the best of the Oland films and just about as good as a B-movie could be in 1936. With its wonderful sets (designed by Duncan Cramer and Lewis Creber) and some atmospheric, moody cinematography from Lucien N. Andriot, it is also a most pleasing film to look at which can't be said for all the early Chans. Special mention, of course, must be made of "Carnival", the opera performed in the film and composed specially for the occasion by Oscar Levant. It is a tad repetitive but the fact that I've been humming it ever since I first saw the film around the age of 10 is by far the highest praise I can give it and the best indicator of its haunting qualities. 9/10 After defeating murderers, counterfeiters, opium dealers, and horse-race fixers, the great Chinese detective Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) finally comes face to face with foreign spies in "Charlie Chan at the Olympics", a lean, furiously fast romp which will doubtlessly entertain Chan fans and casual viewers alike. The film also functions as a historical curio with its 1936 Berlin Olympics setting. No mentions of Nazism are made and great care is taken to blot out even the slightest hint of a swastika but through some terrific use of archival footage director H. Bruce Humberstone evokes the exciting atmosphere of the last international sporting event before the outbreak of war. The film also has the edgy, nervous atmosphere of these pre-war years when the conflict seemed to be at once inevitable and delayed. There is a real air of paranoia permeating the picture. Wherever Charlie turns he runs into a foreign spy and even the helpful Berlin policemen (who are most definitely not portrayed as Nazis) seem to know more than they are telling. There is definitely a sinister undercurrent beneath the standard good-humoured antics of Charlie and his hilariously overenthusiastic number-one son Lee (Keye Luke). The story begins with the dramatic theft of a device which allows planes in the air to be radio-controlled by men on the ground. "Would be great blessing if all war fought with machinery instead of human beings," comments Charlie. Since the theft took place during the device's testing in Hawaii, the case falls under the purview of Charlie Chan who immediately finds the thief albeit dead in his hotel room. He correctly deduces that the device has changed hands and that the real villain must have left Honolulu in a haste. Soon enough, Charlie zeroes in on three possible suspects all of whom are on board a ship bound for Berlin. Also on the ship is Lee, an amateur detective and swimmer on the US Olympic team. The script, written by Robert Ellis, Helen Logan, and Paul Burger, moves at a furious pace from one set piece to the next, changing locations with every reel. The final showdown happens in Berlin but not before Charlie follows clues from Honolulu to the ship to the Olympics themselves. This is an astoundingly dynamic Charlie Chan film never letting up its considerable tension or running out of steam. There are enemies lurking in every shadow and Charlie has to keep on his toes to outwit them time after time. This is one of those spy yarns where even twists have twists within them. It's a very well-constructed and conceived script with a taut plot, a memorable batch of suspects, and lots of picturesque locations. Also characteristically excellent is the interplay between Oland and Luke whose humorous screwball patter is only bolstered by evident chemistry and warmth. The supporting cast is first-rate as well. Katherine DeMille makes for a wonderful femme fatale, enigmatic and sexy. Pauline Moore is charismatic as the ingenue. Meanwhile, C. Henry Gordon, always a welcome presence in a Chan flick, is wonderfully mysterious as the sinister Arthur Hughes who spends the entire film skulking about like Nosferatu. My favourite performance comes courtesy of Morgan Wallace. He plays the silky spymaster who almost outplays Charlie at his own game - politeness which hides a devious mind. "Charlie Chan at the Olympics" is now best remembered for its setting and archival glimpses at the games and the Hindenbur which is Charlie's preferred method of travel to Germany. However, this film is far from a museum piece. It's a clever, funny, endlessly entertaining spy yarn full of humour, excitement, and charm. The script is twisty and H. Bruce Humberstone's direction is pacy and slick. This is indeed a top-tier Chan. 8.5/10 09-04-2023 Despite its title, "Charlie Chan on Broadway" does not see the great Chinese detective investigate the world of spotlights and songs. This is not his great return to the theatrical stage. Instead, the Broadway of this film is that of nightclubs and gangsters, sultry dames and journalistic hounds. The film tries to emulate the quick-talking, double-crossing, screwball mysteries about sharp newspapermen and their scoops. It is mostly successful in that the dialogue is terrific as is the supporting cast but Charlie Chan and his number one son Lee feel a little too much like fish out of water. The screenplay, credited to five separate writers including Chan stalwarts Robert Ellis and Helen Logan seems to be aware of this. A very funny running joke sees Lee (Keye Luke) acting as an interpreter translating the sing-songy New York patter to a baffled Charlie and unravelling Charlie's aphorisms to the bemused New Yorkers. The fast-moving plot begins, as many Chan films seem to, on a ship where a femme fatale wonderfully named Billie Bronson (Louise Henry) realizes her life is in danger. She's a former gangster's moll who hightailed it out of New York some years ago. Now, she's coming back hoping to sell her tell-all diary to the press. Of course, someone gets to her before she reaches her scoop-hungry editor but the killer gets away empty-handed. Wise to the danger, Billie took the precaution of hiding her diary in the luggage of a fellow passenger - none other than Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) himself. I found the first half of the film in which the complicated plot and its many characters are slowly revealed very entertaining indeed. There is something undeniably electric about 1930s New York and all the mooks and wiseguys hanging around in it that just makes for good cinema. The dialogue is very good as well full of clever double talk and funny gags. Most of it is delivered with charm and skill by Joan Marsh and Donald Woods as a pair of competing journalists after the same story. The high point of the film, however, is without a doubt Harold Huber, a very energetic and funny actor who holds the distinction of playing four different goofy cops in four different Charlie Chan films. Here, in his first appearance in the series, he shines as the fast-talking Inspector Nelson. I especially like how, despite being a comic relief character, Nelson is never played as a fool. Unlike similar characters in the previous films, Nelson is shown as being quite capable in his job and deserving of respect from Charlie. The two work alongside each other very well and the film ends with them as firm friends. The second half of the film in which Charlie finally begins his investigation is significantly less interesting. I would not say that the story of "Charlie Chan on Broadway" is bad but merely that it's so straightforward, familiar, and conventional that it never really grabbed me. The film is also full of missed opportunities. For instance, far too much of it is set in hotel rooms and offices instead of having Charlie and Lee truly trawl through the seedy 1930s New York. It should be noted, however, that director Eugene Forde doesn't do a great job of making the studio sets come alive. Unlike his immediate predecessor H. Bruce Humberstone, Forde's direction is rather flat and workmanlike. He uses the same kind of camerawork and lighting in the nightclub scenes as he does in the hotel room scenes making both feel like soundstages. Another missed opportunity lies in the fact that there's little for Keye Luke to do. After an entertaining but brief sequence in which he tries to get into a nightclub without a date, he is relegated to being little more than a glorified extra. The presence of Toshia Mori who played his love interest in "Charlie Chan at the Circus" made me think that a similar subplot would occur here but she only appears in the film for a single scene. Later on, an intriguing possibility is raised when the police arrest Lee under the suspicion of murder. Had this plot been followed, the rest of the story could have developed into a true rarity for the series - a story in which Charlie Chan has to work against the police to prove his son innocent. Sadly, the notion is dispelled almost immediately. Speaking of Charlie, he too is relegated to the background for a lot of this film. There is an awful lot going on here with the rival journalists, the cops, and the gangsters all looking for the same MacGuffin. Meanwhile, our hero seems to spend most of the film merely observing the action instead of participating in it. True, he gets his moment to shine while delivering his terrific final summation but can this film truly be called "Charlie Chan on Broadway" if Charlie spends all of it silently sitting in a hotel room? The lack of Oland is not as severe as it would be in the next film but his subtle, anchoring performance is definitely missing from some of the film's more scatterbrained moments. Coming on the heels of some of the very best Charlie Chan films ever made, "Charlie Chan on Broadway" is a bit of a disappointment. It's far from a bad film but it is a bit too conventional and unremarkable for its own good. As the most typical of all Warner Oland Charlie Chan films, it is still bound to provide a lot of entertainment value but I doubt it would stick in a lot of people's memories. 6/10 "Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo" is only significant for being Warner Oland's final movie. This wonderful, subtle yet unquestionably commanding actor died in 1938. Otherwise, Oland's 16th outing as the great Chinese detective is an absolute dud, an astoundingly boring picture which tries very hard to overcompensate for its star's failing health. Warner Oland had been a notorious alcoholic for many years and by 1937 his condition had worsened noticeably. The previous two Charlie Chan films both tried to reduce Oland's screentime through some clever use of the supporting cast and comic relief characters. However, by the time "Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo" rolled around, there was simply no hiding the fact that Oland was just out of it. In more ways than one, as well, since Oland is barely in this film. Most of the actual investigating is handled by either the number one son Lee (Keye Luke) or the Monte Carlo chief of police Jules Joubert (Harold Huber). When Oland actually does make an appearance, he is always accompanied by either Luke or Huber who get most of the dialogue. Oland's presence barely registers on screen. His delivery is unusually flat, his timing is completely off, and he lacks that tactful sharpness he had in the previous films. He even seems to be physically weaker than before as he spends a lot of his scenes sitting down or leaning on tables, chairs, or other actors. He also appears to be about as interested in the plot as I was, but more about that a bit later. In order to compensate for Oland's mental absence, the writers Charles Belden and Jerome Cady, beef up the supporting characters of Lee and Joubert. A similar undertaking was evident even in the previous film but "Charlie Chan on Broadway" was bolstered by the presence of Joan Marsh and Donald Woods, a very likeable character played by Harold Huber, and some interesting locations. No such luck here! Keye Luke is a wonderfully talented actor, possessed of terrific comedic timing and a knack for physical comedy. However, without Charlie Chan there to act as the straight man, Lee Chan's usual schtick simply falls flat. He has a lot more screen time here than in most of the previous films but Belden and Cady don't give him anything new to do. He merely repeats gags from previous films including being mistaken for a murderer, getting chased by angry porters, and falling about a lot. The charm and appeal of the Lee Chan character are not his klutziness or his stupidity. It is the warmth and affection he shares with his father. The scenes between Oland and Luke were the emotional glue which held the previous film together. Here, however, it can hardly be said that they share scenes. It feels more like Luke carrying the scenes while Oland sits back and occasionally delivers a line. Also prominently featured in the film is Harold Huber who was so wonderful in "Charlie Chan on Broadway". There, he played a fast-talking, wiseguy New York cop, a very funny character who despite being the film's comic relief was never played as a fool. Here, he plays another fast-talking cop, this time a cocky French chief of police eager to show off the efficiency of the Monte Carlo police but constantly finding himself embarrassed by his blundering underlings. While such a character could be humorous, Belden and Cady's script again fails in delivering original and funny jokes. Instead, they have Huber blubber and bluster his way through reams of jibberish while shouting at the top of his voice. As you might guess, this becomes tiring very quickly. The plot, revolving around the theft of 200,000 USD worth of bonds is far too thin and underdeveloped to satisfactorily fill out a 75-minute movie. To say that little happens over the course of "Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo" would be to oversell this film's excitement levels. This is one boring movie, lacking in both mystery and intrigue! It plods along through scenes which move at the speed of molasses. Watch as a secretary counts out the bonds one by one... Watch as Charlie and Joubert shake hands very, very, very slowly... Watch as a taxi driver struggles to start his car time and time again... Belden and Cady do stumble upon one funny gag which revolves around the fact that Charlie Chan can't speak French and Lee thinks that he can. This is a genuinely funny joke and Oland and Luke play the comedy well. Unfortunately, the writers then proceed to hammer the joke to death by repeating it every five or so minutes. Watch as Charlie and Lee try to get into a casino... Watch as Charlie and Lee try to alert a policeman to a dead body... Watch as Charlie and Lee try to order breakfast... Not all of the film's faults can be laid at the writers' door, however. I would go amiss without mentioning the listless direction from Eugene Forde. Forde, who was always one of the duller Chan directors, here outdoes himself. The film's pace is leaden, the visuals flat and uninteresting, and the performances absolutely theatrical. True, even a much better director would struggle to make much out of a script this dull but I'm sure that H. Bruce Humberstone could have at least made a film that moved quickly and was pleasing to look at. Forde's direction makes the Monte Carlo casino floor look like a high school mess hall. "Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo" is without a doubt the worst of the Oland Chan films. It is a slow, unengaging slog that wastes two of the series' funniest actors (Luke and Huber) and suffers from the lack of the central anchoring presence of Warner Oland who sleepwalks through his scenes. I must confess that as the obvious plot slowly unfolded and Huber continued to shout and Luke continued to fall about, I became sleepy myself. Looking into Oland's expressionless eyes, I sympathized with the man's need for a drink. After all, this is a 75-minute movie that feels like an eternity. 3/10 Warner Oland's unexpected disappearance from the set of "Charlie Chan at Ringside" and subsequent death threw doubt on the future of Charlie Chan. After 16 successful and beloved films in the series, 20th Century Fox had a major decision on their hands. Should they try to recast such an iconic role or should they allow the series to die with its leading man? Both choices had their pros and cons. The recasting seemed the more obvious choice to make, at first. Why let a cash cow die before every last penny has been drained from her? But would the audiences accept a new Charlie? Furthermore, would the audience accept a new Charlie without his number one son Lee? Keye Luke had become as much a staple of the series as Warner Oland was. Unfortunately, Luke had decided not to continue in the role without his on-screen father whom he had such warm chemistry with. So, if 20th Century Fox decided to keep going with Charlie Chan it would have to be from a clean slate. Such a major decision was not to be taken lightly which explains the relatively long hiatus between "Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo" and "Charlie Chan in Honolulu". In between, the abandoned "Charlie Chan at Ringside" was retooled into the awkward "Mr Moto's Gamble" and Charlie got a new imitator in the form of Mr Wong who was played by Boris Karloff in a series of decently entertaining B-movies from Monogram Pictures. The decision was finally reached and "Charlie Chan in Honolulu" finally reached the silver screen in December 1938 with a new star - Sidney Toler. Toler is the Charlie Chan I'm most familiar with. I grew up watching his films and have a certain fondness for their more fast-paced, gimmicky nature. Toler was a very different Chan than Warner Oland. He was more irascible, tougher, less polite and deferential. The debate about who was the better Charlie will probably rage for as long as the Chan films have fans. For me, I think they're both terrific in their own way. Oland was the warmer, wiser Chan for the cosy 1930s and Toler was the perfect tough, sharp cookie for the noirish 1940s. But Sidney Toler is not entirely comfortable in the part here yet. He is clearly still defining his take on Charlie Chan and his characterization frequently flip-flops between his authentic attempts to make the character his own and a kind of Warner Oland imitation he is not particularly good at. The script is clearly written with Oland in mind and is full of his familiar quips ("contradiction, please"), his warm, gentle humour, and his politeness all of which would be remoulded if not entirely removed over the course of the next few films. "Charlie Chan in Honolulu", however, is a careful movie. It does everything it can to ease the audience into the new, unfamiliar cast and to try to work even if Sidney Toler doesn't. A kind of lack of confidence in the new Charlie can be felt throughout. For one, he does not begin his investigation until the second third of the film! The first 20 minutes are spent with his number two son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) who, like his brother before him, is desperate to be a detective. When he answers a phone call meant for his father, he decides to pretend to be the famous Chinese detective and take on a murder investigation on his own. Victor Sen Yung's performance here is notably broader than Keye Luke's ever was. He is much more of an obvious comedic character - a cartoon almost. Sen Yung engages in plenty of face-pulling, running around, and comedic bits. Still, even though he is nowhere near as believable and engaging as Luke's Lee Chan was, I quite like Jimmy. He has that same endearing enthusiasm and actually proves to be a lot more useful in the investigation than you think he'll be. The case revolves around a murder on a cargo ship docked in Honolulu and is a real thin, uninvolving mystery. The screenplay is written by Charles Belden, probably my least favourite Chan scribe whose scripts are always overloaded with grating, unfunny comedy and feature bland, forgettable mysteries. "Charlie Chan in Honolulu" is no exception. The film spends far too much time trying very hard to be funny. Besides Victor Sen Yung and his bumbling antics, we also get a painfully cringeworthy comic relief character in the form of Al (Eddie Collins), a blundering sailor and his pet lion Oscar. I can't swear to it, but it feels like Collins gets more screen time than Toler here and his act is so broad, vaudevillian, and uniquely terrible that his very presence almost sinks the movie. A running gag in the film involves Al and Jimmy running around the ship being terrified of everything from corpses to creaking doors. This "g-g-gosh" act gets tiring quickly and goes nowhere very, very slowly. The film is only 67 minutes long but is such an unengaging and uninteresting affair that it feels a fair bit longer. Not only is the mystery completely bland but so are the suspects who are played by some of the stiffest actors in all of Chandom. The sole good performance comes from George Zucco who gives a very over-the-top but entertaining turn as the kooky Dr Cardigan who travels around with a human brain in a box kept alive by some Frankensteinesque instruments. "Charlie Chan in Honolulu" is a distinctly middling Chan film thanks largely due to Charles Belden's typically weak and unfunny script. Thankfully, it's his last in the series. Less happily, it is also the last film directed by the always-reliable H. Bruce Humberstone. Humberstone's tight direction is one of the few genuinely good things about this film and it's sad to see him go on such a clunker. Also first-rate is Charles G. Clarke's shadowy, atmospheric cinematography. I wish it were put to use in a better, more mysterious film. On a final positive note, I'd like to say that I quite enjoyed the scenes of Charlie with his large family. There is an endearing subplot involving Charlie becoming a grandfather for the first time and we get to spend more time with the Chan clan than we have since "Charlie Chan's Greatest Case". These funny, warm family scenes are far better than anything that happens on board the murder ship. This is a shaky start to Sidney Toler's era but rest assured that things will get better. Like most pilots, things will only get better from here on in. 5/10 Following a rather shaky start to his tenure as Charlie Chan, Sidney Toler's second film in the series "Charlie Chan in Reno" is far more confident and effective. It has the kind of verve and joy that made the Warner Oland films such a delight to watch but it also hints at a more dynamic, modern sensibility that would go on to mark the Toler era. After all, as one of the characters says to the woman whose husband she's planning to marry - "This is 1939 and we're modern!" Sidney Toler is also clearly more comfortable as Charlie Chan, a role he is steadily making his own. The writing is swiftly catching up to his more stern, tough take on the character and the Chan we see here is miles away from Warner Oland's warmer, more deferential portrayal. In "Charlie Chan in Reno", the Chinese detective is a far more austere figure, especially in the face of stupidity. At times, Chan's remarks are openly sarcastic whereas Oland would always hide his acerbic wit under a veneer of politeness and confounding Confucian doubletalk. Here's one surprisingly frank moment of sarcasm: a goofy policeman remarks that he has spent so much at the crime scene that he could search it with his eyes closed. "Thank you," replies Chan, "This time then, I'll search it with my eyes open." The biggest difference between "Charlie Chan in Honolulu" and "Charlie Chan in Reno" is how much better the latter is at integrating comedy with its thriller plot. In the worst Chan films, the comedy scenes tend to feel like they have been spliced in from a different film. Here, however, they are perfectly balanced so that the comedic characters make significant contributions to the ongoing plot while being funny in a way that doesn't jar with the overall tone of the film. The comic relief is provided by Slim Summerville, one of the very best comics ever to appear in a Chan film. He plays Reno's comically grave sheriff "Tombstone" Fletcher. I like how Tombstone and Chan immediately get off on the wrong foot and never become friendly. Instead of bending over backwards trying to be a loveable second fiddle, Summerville gamely takes up the role of a buffoonish foe, engaging in some terrifically witty banter with Chan and opposing him at every turn. While some of his more physical gags are a bit too cartoonish, I felt that Summerville was a worthy addition to the film playing a character who contributed a lot to making "Charlie Chan in Reno" tonally dynamic rather than a one-note experience. Also very good is Victor Sen Yung as Charlie's number two son Jimmy who is still as eager as ever to be a detective. The writers wisely write him in such a way that as goofy as he is he's actually of use to his father in the investigation. Not only does he do all of Charlie's legwork but his knowledge of chemistry supplies an invaluable clue to the identity of the murderer. That way, he's not mere comic relief. The antics Jimmy gets involved in are also much, much better than the ones from "Charlie Chan in Honolulu". The way he is introduced in the film, after having been mugged of all of his clothes, is a comedic highpoint of the entire series. The whole sequence starting with a very peppy Jimmy driving down a Nevada highway and ending with him standing in a police line-up in his underwear is perfectly pitched and played by Victor Sen Yung. It's a real delight to watch! The film was written by Frances Hyland, Albert Ray, and Robert E. Kent whose script has some terrific dialogue and a few colourful, entertaining characters. A stumbling block, however, comes from the film's mystery adapted from a story by Philip Wylie. Revolving around a murder of a serial adultress in a Reno hotel, it's just not all that interesting. The suspects are not clearly delineated, the motive is banal, and the setting of an upmarket hotel is neither exotic nor atmospheric enough. Thankfully, Norman Foster's direction is absolutely superb. Best known for his work on the Mr Moto films, Foster delivers a slick, stylish, pacy film which merrily zips along through its lean 71-minute runtime. Even though most of the film is set in the rather drab-looking hotel, the few scenes set in other locations give Foster and his cinematographer Virgil Miller an excellent chance to show off. A brief but intriguing sequence set in a Wild West ghost town is as evocative and authentic as anything from the Moto films. I wish the whole film was set there. It can be said that Sidney Toler's era of Charlie Chan films begins here! "Charlie Chan in Reno" is a confident, fast-paced, entertaining, witty film which heralds a new take on the old character. Even though the mystery is far from being the best in the series, the investigation is a whole lot of fun. I especially enjoy the rapport between Toler and Yung whose relationship is a whole lot more antagonistic than that of Oland and Luke but no less warm and amusing. 8/10 Despite its title "Charlie Chan at Treasure Island" does not see the famous Chinese detective battling pirates in order to find Captain Flint's buried gold. As enticing as that proposition may sound, the title is a baffling misdirection in a film full of sleights of hand. Instead, Charlie Chan once again takes on the supernatural which, this time, comes back with a vengeance. In his previous encounters with superstition such as "The Black Camel" and "Charlie Chan's Secret", the truth behind the magic was quickly revealed leaving the audience in little doubt as to the existence of "other realms". However, in "Charlie Chan at Treasure Island", the possibility of the supernatural is dangled before us throughout the picture. Even after the clever, complex crime is revealed in the film's dazzlingly theatrical finale, the involvement of supernatural forces is still not entirely resolved. The titular Treasure Island refers to a man-made island off the coast of San Francisco which is a minor location in this film (only a single scene takes place there). The story, instead, leads Charlie Chan all over the city from a police station to a psychic's mysterious house and finally to a theatre. But the film begins in the air as Charlie (Sidney Toler) and his number two son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) find one of their fellow passengers on board an aeroplane dead. The unfortunate fellow was a mystery writer named Paul Essex (Louis Jean Heydt) who died of unnatural causes clutching a note in his hand which reads: "Sign of Scorpio indicates disaster if Zodiac obligations ignored". The note's ominous tone leads Charlie to the house of Dr Zodiac (Gerald Mohr), a theatrical psychic whose business practices were being investigated by the dead writer. In one of the film's best scenes, Zodiac gives a demonstration of his powers to Charlie. Set in a room surrounded by black drapes, the scene as shot by DP Virgil Miller has a real feeling of a stage show. As Zodiac's magic-simulating mechanisms whirl around Charlie, we get to see a master showman at work. It is a wonderfully entertaining and over-the-top scene which sets the tone for the rest of the film. Another superb set-piece follows closely. Set on the titular island, Charlie attends another psychic demonstration this time by a young woman named Eve Cairo (Pauline Moore) who claims to be a mind-reader. During her show, the young woman suddenly becomes terrified, as she begins picking up powerful, hateful thoughts of someone in the audience. "I hear death among us," she shrieks, "There's evil here! Someone here is thinking murder!". This wonderfully atmospheric scene, suspensefully staged by director Norman Foster, is more than eerily reminiscent of Dario Argento's sizzling opening to "Deep Red". It is a real testament to Foster how skillfully he glides between melodrama, farce, and genuine scares. Like every Charlie Chan film, there's plenty of comedy in "Charlie Chan at Treasure Island", most of it thanks to the overenthusiastic antics of Jimmy Chan, wannabe detective. But the comedy never undermines the spooky goings-on. Foster's command of tone and pacing is second to no other director in the Chan series. While even the best of the previous Chans occasionally struggled with mood whiplash, "Charlie Chan at Treasure Island" has no such problems. It is a seamless exercise in directorial dexterity. The film also features a first-rate guest cast. Cesar Romero, one of the most charismatic and entertaining stars of the 1940s, gets a terrific role playing Dr Zodiac's rival, magician Rhadini. The final, extended set piece is set during a show-off between the oily Rhadini and the theatrical Zodiac. It is an absolute pleasure to watch Romero take command of the stage. Also excellent are Pauline Moore as the haunted mind reader, June Gale as a jealous knife thrower, and Gerald Mohr as the sinister, melodramatic Dr Zodiac hidden behind a giant beard, theatrical make-up, and a vaguely oriental garb. The film was written by John Larkin, a newcomer to the series, who spins a terrific mystery full of twists and misdirections. The story takes many elements which have been seen in Charlie Chan films before - phoney psychics, blackmail, a theatrical finale - and gives them a fresh coat by painting them in spooky, horror tones. It is the execution, however, which makes this simply the finest Charlie Chan film so far. Especially Norman Foster's dynamic, pacey, and most importantly atmospheric direction. The film zips along through its lean 74-minute runtime providing more mystery and more chills than any Charlie Chan film so far. The story is solid, the cast is first-rate, and the film works on just about every level. 9.5/10 Charlie Chan films depend so much on their settings. Whether it's the exotic desert camp in "Charlie Chan in Egypt", the spooky sewers of "Charlie Chan in Paris", or the gothic theatre from "Charlie Chan at the Opera", the location where the mystery is solved contributes to the film its atmosphere and its tone. Frequently as well the portrayal of the day-to-day activities and colourful characters who congregate there are far more interesting than the murder being solved. Such is the case with "Charlie Chan at the Circus" and "Charlie Chan at the Race Track". Few Charlie Chan films have as evocative a setting as "City in Darkness". Set in 1938 at a time when, as the film's urgent newsreel prologue puts it, the crisis over Czechoslovakia threatens to plunge all of Europe into war, the film takes place in Paris during the first of the city's many blackouts. The threat of German aeroplanes bringing death and destruction looms heavily over the characters as they send their loved ones to a war that hasn't even started yet. Meanwhile, the alleys and sewers of Paris are enveloped in darkness as German spies plot behind the thick curtains meant to keep the light hidden. What a fantastic setting for a thriller! Unfortunately, "City in Darkness" is nowhere near as good as its premise would suggest. It is not a terrible movie like "Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo" nor is it as uneven as "Charlie Chan in Honolulu" but it is a dreadfully dull picture which plods along through a routine, unengaging plot in as inoffensive and unexciting manner possible. For one, the setting is barely used. The film, as many of the lesser Chans do, takes place primarily in drawing rooms and offices making nothing of the darkness promised in its excellent title. The nervous expectation of war is present and looms heavily over the characters but writers Robert Ellis and Helen Logan use it only for bombastic patriotism. Parents sending their children to war are proud and poetically inclined instead of being worried, sad, desperate... I did like the bittersweet note on which the film ends, however. If only the rest of the film had the same sense of uncertainty and anxiety. But "City in Darkness" proceeds for the most part like one of those cheap Monogram films. It's heavy on dialogue and cringeworthy attempts at comedy and low on action and character development. Not much happens as Charlie (Sidney Toler) and his sidekick, the hapless French policeman Marcel (Harold Huber) trudge from one location to the next in pursuit of a murderer. The victim was a rich man named Petroff (Douglas Dumbrille) and he was found killed in his house which seemed to have been visited by an inordinate amount of people that night. Who is the killer? Honestly, who cares? There's very little sense of danger in this picture. Most Chan films feature at least one other murder but the death of Petroff didn't seem to put a series of dangerous events in motion. Instead, all the suspects are hellbent on evading the police and potentially getting out of Paris alive. Maybe the Wehrmacht should have been the real villains of the film. Some German spies are present but very briefly and their schemes revolve around forged passports and ammunition boxes instead of killing anyone. Most of the film then consists of dialogue scenes in which Charlie and Marcel question potential suspects in a surprisingly relaxed manner. These scenes are punctuated with unfunny bits of business in which the goofy French cop Marcel takes the place of Charlie Chan's number two son who is conspicuous by his absence. The usually reliable Harold Huber is dreadfully misused in "City of Darkness". Here he (over)plays a kind of Inspector Clouseau prototype complete with a propensity towards slapstick and a cod French accent (which his godfather, the chief of Parisienne police does not have!). Huber's over-the-top antics overpower the picture. Since the story is so thin and the characters so underwritten and uninteresting, his constant comedic interruptions become the film's only moments which stand out in any way. Unfortunately, he's not funny, merely annoying and the running gags (read: same punchline over and over again) become extremely tiresome almost immediately. Other than its setting, there's nothing at all that is interesting or that works in "City in Darkness". It's a remarkably bland film, slow-moving and lacking both an interesting plot and memorable characters. When the killer was finally unmasked, I didn't care in the least. When it comes to wartime Chans, "Charlie Chan at the Olympics" was a whole lot more entertaining and "Charlie Chan in Panama", which came next, was a whole lot more potent. "City in Darkness" is the flop of the lot despite its promising setting. 3.5/10 In "Charlie Chan in Panama", the eponymous great Chinese detective (Sidney Toler) has given up detecting mysterious killers in swanky drawing rooms and joined the war effort. At the beginning of the film, we find him in Panama, "the city of spies", posing as a lowly hat salesman. His true mission, however, is to catch Reiner - an elusive and extremely crafty Nazi spy who has evaded capture for years and is now the greatest threat to the safety of the American Navy. If you think this sounds like a plot of a Mr Moto film you're right. It does. "Charlie Chan in Panama", directed by Moto's favourite director Norman Foster, is the most Motoesque of all the Chans with its subterfuge, spies, secret passages, and concealed bombs. Intrigue has replaced mystery, action has supplanted interrogation, and the intelligent gentleman killer of yore has mutated into a gun-wielding sociopath ready to kill anyone at a moment's notice to protect their identity. Charlie Chan is a little ill-at-ease
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2205	dbpedia	3	15	https://thepostmanonholiday.com/2024/06/01/b-movies-perhaps-but-the-charlie-chan-films-sure-bagged-some-star-power/	en	B-Movies? Perhaps, but the Charlie Chan films sure bagged some star power!	https://thepostmanonholi…709859871758.jpg	https://thepostmanonholi…709859871758.jpg	[ "https://thepostmanonholiday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/josephine-the-monkey-1.jpg?w=369", "https://thepostmanonholiday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/frankenstein-start-end-credits.png?w=1024", "https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/70a85d40a870a5424eebef18d95444559a6b94bba0ab73f27d0bb14ab515b9cf?s=80&d=identicon&r=G", "https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/7adf8030fc511e71be166f49020d5eb6b7ecf310766bb3cb0193bcd62eb0b18a?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/70a85d40a870a5424eebef18d95444559a6b94bba0ab73f27d0bb14ab515b9cf?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/7adf8030fc511e71be166f49020d5eb6b7ecf310766bb3cb0193bcd62eb0b18a?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/70a85d40a870a5424eebef18d95444559a6b94bba0ab73f27d0bb14ab515b9cf?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/506614df6fd11e93533b2e92e950424aea0dbf1f9e2bcd34d175ccddcf14349d?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/70a85d40a870a5424eebef18d95444559a6b94bba0ab73f27d0bb14ab515b9cf?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/6e569f1325c60eb5ec4fa9d5b0b8dd4835633254d4d613c0b2f49f4ef94db8f0?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/6e569f1325c60eb5ec4fa9d5b0b8dd4835633254d4d613c0b2f49f4ef94db8f0?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/70a85d40a870a5424eebef18d95444559a6b94bba0ab73f27d0bb14ab515b9cf?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/6e569f1325c60eb5ec4fa9d5b0b8dd4835633254d4d613c0b2f49f4ef94db8f0?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/4f2a3f61c1c9dfb1c449d200b1821158e6c70ebb4cc1ac0de0e571144953b89f?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/70a85d40a870a5424eebef18d95444559a6b94bba0ab73f27d0bb14ab515b9cf?s=48&d=identicon&r=G", "https://store.bookbaby.com/Bookshop/CommonControls/BookshopThemes/bookshop/OnePageBookCoverImage.jpg?BookID=BK90076307&abOnly=False", "https://thepostmanonholiday.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/cropped-bird-of-paradise-e1546780213558.jpg?w=50", "https://thepostmanonholiday.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/cropped-bird-of-paradise-e1546780213558.jpg?w=50", "https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?v=noscript" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Lou Armagno" ]	2024-06-01T00:00:00	They started as A-movies, original adaptations of the novels, when Fox Studios first produced them. However, Author Earl Derr Biggers only penned six Charlie Chan novels before his death. So after their fifth Chan film, Fox decided to take their detective around the world in B-movies; low budget films made in record time with little…	en	https://thepostmanonholi…0213558.jpg?w=32	The Postman on Holiday	https://thepostmanonholiday.com/2024/06/01/b-movies-perhaps-but-the-charlie-chan-films-sure-bagged-some-star-power/	They started as A-movies, original adaptations of the novels, when Fox Studios first produced them. However, Author Earl Derr Biggers only penned six Charlie Chan novels before his death. So after their fifth Chan film, Fox decided to take their detective around the world in B-movies; low budget films made in record time with little financial backing. And the series continued that way later with 20th Century-Fox and Monogram Pictures Corporation. Still, these reels of “gold dust” hosted some significant co-stars and became a worldwide film phenomenon. If you’d like to see the entire list of actors and actresses (including animals,) who starred in the 44 Charlie Chan films from 1931 to 1949, just visit Rush Glick’s alphabetical “Cast List” page at The Charlie Chan Family Home. Here’s a peek at some who joined Detective Chan on his crusades for justice (on both sides of the law!): A: LIONEL ATWELL, (aka: Professor Moriarty.) B: J. EDWARD BROMBERG. C: RITA CANSINO, (aka: Rita Hayworth,) CARROLL, LEO G., (aka: Mr. Waverly of U.N.C.L.E.) CHANEY JR., LON (aka: The Wolfman.) D: DOUGLAS DUMBRILLE. E: DICK ELLIOT. F: STEPIN FETCHIT. (Hollywood’s first successful black film star). G: HENRY C. GORDON. H: SHEMP HOWARD, (aka: Shemp of The Three Stooges. [A Panama Hat tip to Greg Giordano].) I: GEORGE IRVING. J: VICTOR JORY. (aka: The Green Archer. [A Panama Hat tip to George Madison].) K: BORIS KARLOFF (aka: Frankenstein.) L: BELA LUGOSI, (aka: Dracula. [A Panama Hat tip to Barbara Gregorich].) M: MANTAN MORELAND, (aka: Birmingham Brown.) N: J. CARROL NAISH, (aka Charlie Chan, 39 episodes, The New Adventures of Charlie Chan.) O: WARNER OLAND, (aka: Charlie Chan, 16 films.) P: PUZZUMS (aka: Cat. The first — and only — feline to sign a studio contract.) (Literally. He signed with his paw print dipped in ink; a three-year contract for $50 per week.) Q: TOM QUINN. R: GEORGE REEVES, (aka: Superman.) CESAR ROMERO, (aka: The Cisco Kid and The Joker.) S: MILBURN STONE, (aka: Doc, on Gunsmoke.) T: SIDNEY TOLER, (aka: Charlie Chan, 22 films.) U: MINERVA UREKAL. V: EDDIE VITCH, (aka: caricaturist and mime artist, who’s hundreds of images of Hollywood stars adorned the Brown Derby, 1628 North Vine Street in Hollywood, which became famous for the caricatures that filled its walls.) W: ROLAND WINTERS, (aka: Charlie Chan, 6 films.) X: (this spot intentionally left blank) Y: ROBERT YOUNG, (aka: Father Knows Best & Marcus Welby MD.) Z: GEORGE ZUCCO, (aka: Professor Moriarty.) There you are, some of the names you’ll find within each of the 26 letters (well, not counting “x”) on Rush Glick’s Cast List page. Now it is up to you to investigate those letters for more star-power. Call it the A-B-C Murders. I mean Mysteries, not Murders, Mysteries! (Whew, almost put my foot in it with Dame Agatha Christie’s legal department!) “Success–what is it? A bubble that explodes when touched by human hands.” The Black Camel, 1929, Chap 23 P.S. Did you spot my mistake? Somewhere around “K”. ANSWER: Boris Karloff played The Monster…NOT Frankenstein. Frankenstein, or Dr. Henry Frankenstein, was played by Colin Clive. The 1931 movie posters for the film all read, “Frankenstein, The Man Who Made a Monster!” Share this: Like Loading... Related Published by Lou Armagno View all posts by Lou Armagno Published
2205	dbpedia	0	40	https://claytonsahib.weebly.com/movies/category/j-s-casshyap	en	Category: J. S. Casshyap	http://claytonsahib.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164096/6352369.jpg?820	http://claytonsahib.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164096/6352369.jpg?820	[ "https://claytonsahib.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164096/6352369.jpg?820", "https://claytonsahib.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164096/6370563.jpg?233", "https://claytonsahib.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164096/4836003.jpg", "https://claytonsahib.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164096/200551.jpg", "https://claytonsahib.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164096/4532657.jpg", "https://claytonsahib.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164096/4571107.jpg", "https://claytonsahib.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164096/5867478.jpg", "https://claytonsahib.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164096/6684749.jpg", "https://claytonsahib.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164096/4424709.jpg?180", "https://cdn2.editmysite.com/images/old/bg_feed.gif", "https://claytonsahib.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164096/9204288_orig.jpg", "https://claytonsahib.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164096/6255125.jpg", "https://claytonsahib.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164096/7266137_orig.jpg", "https://claytonsahib.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164096/2295689_orig.jpg", "https://claytonsahib.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164096/5543966.jpg?89", "https://claytonsahib.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164096/1489845_orig.jpg", "https://claytonsahib.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164096/1790913_orig.jpg", "https://claytonsahib.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164096/9488615.jpg?93", "https://claytonsahib.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164096/6215414.jpg?92", "https://claytonsahib.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164096/6327986.jpg?92", "https://claytonsahib.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164096/6687636.jpg?90", "https://claytonsahib.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164096/2840854_orig.jpg", "http://badges.classicmoviehub.com/24.jpg", "https://www.weebly.com/weebly/images/file_icons/pdf.png", "http://c.statcounter.com/9813728/0/7981ed58/1/", "http://c.statcounter.com/9813728/0/7981ed58/1/", "https://cdn2.editmysite.com/images/site/footer/footer-toast-published-image-1.png", "http://c.statcounter.com/9813728/0/7981ed58/1/" ]	[]	[]	[ "classic film", "classic movies", "serials", "mounties", "william powell", "dick powell", "" ]	null	[]	null	I'll start off this review of the 1963 British film 9 HOURS TO RAMA with a caveat of sorts. I have not generally minded, in a general sense anyway, the casting of white people as other races. The...	en		PHANTOM EMPIRES	http://claytonsahib.weebly.com/1/category/j-s-casshyap	I'll start off this review of the 1963 British film 9 HOURS TO RAMA with a caveat of sorts. I have not generally minded, in a general sense anyway, the casting of white people as other races. The farther back you go in American (read: western) film, the more it's to be expected; human culture is made up of humans, and by their very nature, humans are tribalistic...and therefore more inclined to favor their own. Some of these generally unfortunate casting choices I am quite fond of. Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto is a hero of mine, and Warner Oland in his classic role as Charlie Chan, strangely, is (in my opinion) impossible to improve upon by anyone...regardless of race. I have to admit, having written that, that Horst Buchholz (a German guy), Jose Ferrer (from Puerto Rico) and Robert Morley as Indian people (especially the extremely British Robert Morley), threw me off at first. Horst had pulled off a Mexican pretty well in THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, but his role here as an Indian guy, initially at least, burned my eyes a bit. I did give it a chance though, as the location and subject matter are dear to me; I've been to Pakistan and India (India as recently as a year ago), and to see a film in this setting is totally my cup of darjeeling. Based on the 1962 novel by Stanley Wolpert, It's setting is the period of transition from the 200-year yoke of British rule in India to independence, and perhaps tragically, the partition of the northwest into the modern state of Pakistan. Ghandi-ji ("ji", in Hindi and Urdu, is an honorific title of respect added to Indian names) has done his legendary work, and the land is in turmoil. This is basically the story of the end of Ghandi-ji's life, and more specifically, the story of his murderer, the anti-Muslim Hindu nationalist Nathuram Vinayak Godse, energetically played by Horst Buchholz. Here's a nutshell, non-spoiler synopsis: It's a period of fear for Ghandi-ji's life at this stage. Superintendant Das, played by Jose Ferrer, is under pressure to keep Ghandi-ji safe; that means interrogations and arrests. On top of that, Ghandi-ji refuses to take added measures to keep himself out of harm's way, which, in his mind, would distance himself from the people. The heat is on, so to speak. Buchholz's character, Nadsuram Godse, is a lost young man without a real purpose in his life; a disappointment to his father, he is looking for meaning wherever he can find it. Unfortunately he lacks the intelligence and self-awareness to get what he wants. His failures are a constant source of frustration to him, until his addled mind comes to a conclusion...that, in spite of the stalwart efforts of Ferrar's Superintendant Das, Ghandi-ji must die. It seems to be the way of the world, then, as now. Overall, I found this film fascinating and well done. Buchholz overdoes the 'wild-eyed young man' thing a bit, but I thought it was within acceptable parameters. Ferrar was the rock during the whole thing. His gravitas carried the story along where a lesser presence might have failed, and if I'm being honest, he passed as a Desi guy pretty well, in spite of actually being originally from Puerto Rico (Desi is a catch-all term for people from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, etc.). He reminded me a great deal of my friend and former landlord Munir, who is not without a good chunk of gravitas himself. Indian actor & writer J. S. Casshyap, who played Ghandi-ji, was absolutely stunning. He was almost like a photo come to life, and he radiated the kind of goodness that made Ghandi-ji one of the great heroes and role models of modern times. A few times I even had to remind myself that he wasn't actually the real Ghandi! The film does a great job of giving us the feeling of that period. Filmed in various locations in India, it showed the colourful, crowded streets, the dazzling hodgepodge of cultural types, with some fantastic music (any film that starts with a Thani Avartam, which is a South Indian drum solo, gets my attention right away; there were the South Indian drums Mridangam ;double-headed barrel drum], the Kanjira [small frame drum] & Ghatam [clay pot drum], along with the unlikely addition of the north Indian Tabla), and a feeling of change that comes off as palpable and dramatic. Speaking of starts, btw, NINE HOURS TO RAMA has possibly the most excellent titles known to cinema, period. there is as much drama in the titles alone as the average movie has in total...very interesting and captivating. Fans of British empire films, Indian cinema and solid drama should really try to see this. It's fantastic, and it tells a story that many people, Americans at least, know little about.