FF XIV. 6

Frank’s Fax Facts and Reviews

Vol.. XIV No. 6

Sunday, April 28. 2013

         I have two God-children here in Mobile, as well one (God-son) in Portland, Oregon. This week, my God-daughter, Amy White, whom I had invited, came by for lunch and a good visit. I had taught Amy when she was younger, and she was a delightful, as well as diligent student. She had never tasted pimento-cheese sandwiches, so that was our main course. Incidentally, she said she loved her very first sandwich. With this, I had a vegetable salad, with “Come-Back sauce” and as dessert we had fresh strawberries over vanilla ice cream. This was all to mark the occasion of her recent graduation from the University of South Alabama. As I told her, when I got the invitation, I simply could not be there. After playing for every graduation all those years at JCJC, then having to endure three long and boring graduations of my own, I simply swore that I would never go to another one! When she got married, I was acknowledged as her Godfather, and treated as if I were her own Father (who had recently passed away).

         Thursday night, I had Elizabeth French and Peggy Raines out; mainly to hear some recordings of a few of my compositions.  For dinner, I had prepared Home-style Ribs, with George’s recipe (see Sicilian Cook’s Corner). These ladies have been such dear friends to me over the years, they are more like sisters (don’t forget, I had four sisters throughout most of my life) With the roasted pork, I served yellow rice with the gravy for the ribs, and more of my vegetable salad, and the same dessert Amy and I had for lunch. As usual, Peggy ended up cleaning up the kitchen and washing the things that could not be put in the dish-washer.

Saturday, my friend and sometime bridge partner drove over for a visit. He had expressed a desire to hear some of my musical compositions. He seemed to enjoy the first two scenes of A Christmas Carol, and two piano solos (untitled) and the song, “Owl as Night Watchman” (poem by Eugene Walter). We stopped for lunch (I had cooked enough Ribs for us to have more than enough. He seemed to enjoy George’s recipe (which is good, if I do say so myself!) And a new Salad and dessert were eaten. The dessert was a chocolate pie in one of those ready baked shells that are delicious, and then covered with Kool Whip,

Kitty Fax

“The reason that people love cats, we sleep most of the day; we wake up just to play, and we make sure your house has no  rats!

Kevin Fagan

The Chef’s Corner

Use Home-style ribs for best results.

If ribs are not separated, cut them apart and fry just long enough to get them pink (This can also be done by placing the ribs in the oven, until you add the other ingredients). Put the pan (size determined by the number of rubs you want to cook at the same time) in a preheated 250 oven. If you are not skillet-frying the ribs first, put the pan with the raw Ribs in the oven until they have reached the right pink color, cover them with the following sauce: One half medium sized Can of each of these Cream soups; cream of Celery, Chicken, and Mushrooms. Slice a small onion and add that to sauce, plus about a TBS. Worcestershire sauce. Mix ingredients and Pour over the ribs, cook them in the oven with moderate heat. Check them every thirty minutes. Do not over roast them but, you do want them too well done.

This makes a wonderful dish when added to cooked yellow Rice.

The Chef’s Pimento-Cheese Secrets

Place the  grater blade on your Quisinart and Shred one 8-oz. block of Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese. Remove the blade and use the regular blade for the remainder of the recipe. Place the grated Cheddar in a bowl until ready to mix with the other ingredients. Use the regular blade to soften the Philadelphia Cream Cheese. Once it is soft, add to a generous TBS. of mustard (Dijon, preferable- but plain yellow works well. Add a generous tablespoon of mustard (Dijon or yellow) and as much onion (I usually add half of a small onion) as you like. (I have a friend who uses garlic with success, but I find the onion adds  a softer and subtler taste.  The hardest part of this recipe (for me) is getting as much of the final blended spread from the Quisinart to something (like a mayonnaise jar) that has a top you can close and keep refrigerated for three or four weeks , without a problem. My secret is, I right away eat whatever would be lost in the transferring of locations.

This recipe works best with a Quisinart, but it can be done with a Blender except for the grated cheese.

 

Draft Dodgers Limited

       After we were moved into our new digs, we set out alone; determined to see every single thing we had on our To See list! We got a map of Paris and saw that most of these places could be reached by the subway. After we learned how to use it, (neither of us had ever ridden on a train below the ground!) we loved it! I saw posters all over every subway station we saw, a big picture of the American guitar virtuoso, Les Paul. I just have to tell you how funny Lynwood could be: he looked at the picture and squealed, “Look, Francis-----LAY PAUL is here in Paris!” I had to admit that this was a good one! Seeing the name of Les Paul (and I forget his singing partner’s name- I want to say Mary something or other: Ford? If you know this name please send it to me) all over Paris, told me that he had thought, at first, that he read it as LAY Paul, and upon reading the sign, I saw that the famous duo was in Paris all that week, and we both gave thought to whether or not we wanted to see them badly enough to part with that much money, I decided we simply could not afford to be “Waiting for the Sunrise”, but we were more than ready for some coffee and breakfast (read that as Doughnuts and coffee) by the time we got off to begin our sight-seeing. Of course it has been so long ago that I have no memory whatsoever as to which sight we saw in any order; but I do remember how good most of the food was (even though we had to eat like peasants). We soon (that day) discovered those wonderfully crisp and tasty loaves of freshly baked hot French  bread! It was as cheap as anything we could afford, and we’d buy a loaf (they did not even wrap it in those pre-historic days) and usually some cheese to go with it. Since we both loved bleu cheese, we almost got burned out from eating it so often!

       Our visit to Notre Dame Cathedral was like a dream come true! That was one sight I saw (of all the places I visited, except perhaps, Venice) that more than fulfilled my expectations! It was so grand, and memories of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and George thinking it was about football, I had to smile wistfully. I purchased my first souvenirs here, from our Parisian visit, buying a little bronze replica of the Cathedral for Mama.  She had it by her bed till the day she died, in 1965.

       Another Landmark for me, was the great Paris Opera House. It was right in the heart of the city, and when I saw it, my mouth literally hung open! Lynwood loved serious music and ballet (we had seen Lesley Caron in New York, in her- at that time- husband, who was the director) so I asked if he would like to see an opera that evening. I believe it was to be Romeo and Juliet, by Gounod. He said, “I don’t care which opera I see, but ever since I saw the Phantom of the Opera, I have been wanting to see this place!” We both began talking about the scene with the chandelier comes crashing down on the audience; and the more we talked about it, the more both of us got excited! We looked at the prices for admission (that night, after a day of walking around Paris for the first time. They were so dirt-cheap, in comparison to those at the Met, that we rented a box seat! It was the most wonderful thing we did the entire trip!

       Later, looking down and around at everything we could store in our young memories, my friend said, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if it fell again?”

       The opera was disappointing for me; the music was definitely not up Gounod’s usual works. The French composers have been even more popular than the Italians: the opera performed most often is Carmen (Bizet) and second is Faust, by Gounod. Those were the top two when I was at Michigan State, and a lot of changes probably have been made.

       There was almost an accident (but it was not sensational) when, during the ballet music (which all operas wrote back then) one of the dancers bumped into the set and fell down. I felt for her, but just could not reach her.

       I found this strange (getting back to the admission prices) that an opera (which I had never even heard of) by a French composer of the Baroque era, cost more than twice as much as our box seat (by the way, nobody else was in our box! We had it all to ourselves)

(More next week)

Movie Trivia continues in the next issue

 

Monday, April 29, 2013

Apologia

To all of my delightful readers, I send my sincere apologies,  yet again. (Sadly, I have the feeling that it may very well get only worse, as time flies faster than SSTs. But looking on the brighter side, I will try to be more careful.

In case you haven’t noticed; Sunday, I sent the same edition I had sent a week before; but not without almost going berserk worry with this ancient piece of junk I have to work with. It refuses to print what I write AS I write it, but persists in using its own lack of taste to set up new margins for me; Use ANYTHING Different, and it goes on Strike!

And then we have my brain, which is surely going downhill all too fast. My writing is sometimes good and often terrible, yet I struggle on because I love doing it the best I can.

In articles like Draft Dodgers, I write down memories as they occurred, and often realize that I have a chronological and logical error, and try to remedy the damage to the story. So, last week, after having Lynwood with me for the Swiss bit. I went back and changed the order of things. I tried to call up FF 3 and 4 and was convinced that the numbering was off. (It was just like Russian Roulette!)

So, here’s what I plan to do. I now have the next part of Draft Dodgers almost finished, so I will send that, a new movie quiz and Kitty Litter, or whatever by Friday. Then next Sunday, I dare to hope everything will go more smoothly.

Whew! That sounds complex!  Goodbye and I love you all—That’s something I could never say on FACE BOOK!|

Your friend, and mine, Francis Michael Imbragulio (frustrated writer)

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

FF XIV, 4

Frank’s Fax Facts and Reviews

Vol.. XIV No. 4

Sunday, April 21, 2013

         Monday, I experienced a most distressing trend to this thing I call my brain: all morning I was just sure it was Tuesday! I got my bath and shaved, loading into the car two lemon cup cakes (of you never sampled on of these, you must try them!) Peggy had phoned to tell me she was bringing our sandwiches. I said I would bring some dessert (even though the Church puts out ice tea (and plenty of ice) and of the other goodies. So. I got dressed and motored down to Dauphin  Way’s United Methodist church. I parked luckily under an umbrella of a tree, and entered the building, As usual, the lady behind the desk in the lobby greeted me cordially, as she always does, and never asked why I was there today.

         After a ride to the second floor, in an elevator, I walked down (without my walker today) where I found the room where we play each Tuesday, with the chairs set up in a huge circle; and not divided into card tables and that was, I was sure, trouble. A young mother and three children were there, wondering (no doubt) why in blazes was I doing there. I told her that I was expecting to see bridge all over the place, and she said, “But I thought y’all played only on Tuesdays!”  I’m certain I was blushing to beat the band!

         I apologized profusely (and was assured it was not necessary) went down on the Otis again, and drove home, silent and dejected. I am finding it more and more difficult to remember why I started a paragraph when speaking or typing.. Growing old and useless is bad enough, and therefore I cannot figure out why it is necessary to turn most of us survivors, with a memory that is too lazy to remember the simplest of facts,.

         When I got here (Ginger was excited to have me back. She knows instantly that the earliest I ever get home on Tuesdays, is two thirty and once a month I stop for my scheduled hair cut (yes, I am only too cognizant of the fact that even though I have very little of it Billy Helton and I both try to make it look as if I still have hair!

         As I did not play Bridge, I managed to get a two-hour nap! That is all but unknown in this household. I got up and decided to exercise at the Wellness Center. I am making more and more friends of the other clients; and I find the time flies .by faster than I ever thought possible, especially when they ask anything about my family or friends. I discover that a huge number of them are Catholics (remember, Providence Hospital is probably the oldest and by far the best). Many of the ladies (usually) have their art works prominently displayed on the walls of the corridor. Several of them are really very professionally done, as attested to the fact that they (Literately) sell like hotcakes.  I have had fascinating conversations about Richton and Ellisville, too, since I started talking with my fellow workout friends. Usually they have friends, or relatives who live there and they always seem to have dear memories about the place. So far, only one lady was knowledgeable at all about Ellisville.

 

Draft Dodgers Limited

         My Wagnerian adventure was winding down, and it was with a mixture of emotions that I packed everything into my suitcase and made ready for the train ride back to Karlsruhe. Apparently, I had said to Jim Modespacker (our Historical Division’s printer) that as far as I was concerned, Opera was Opera only if it were written by Richard Wagner! Frankly, I find it hard to believe that I was this stupid back then. As recently as four or five years ago, Ed Kohler (who was always doing something nice for me, busied himself with his computer to try to find some of the people I had told him about, to see if they were still alive. The first name he sent was Helmut Hort, my best German buddy. This developed into quite a long correspondence, and even a few Christmas Gifts exchanging. Next, Ed had been able to supply me with three more addresses of other Army buddies. My letters to George Caravaious and Robert Bolt were returned; but I did get a response from Jim. His wife wrote me three or four letters, because he was so ill most of the time, that he was unable to write them himself. The very first letter mentioned that inane quote (which, I have to admit, I might have been guilty of) to haunt me. There was no reply to my last letter to the Modespachers, so I assumed that he had died, I was glad that I had taken the time to make copies of all of my numerous photographs of all of our outfit, including the “Training Saturdays” when we always rode the ferry across the Rhine River, and pictures of the group playing Scrabble.

2

.

        .     A phone call from Robert Pope (my Richton friend of at least seventy years) refreshed my memory of the schedule of the Ring operas in 1954: Robert remembers the times much better than I do; after all I had been there only once, 1954. He attends frequently. The first act begins at five in the afternoon, with an hour break for food. Then you have the second act, with another hour intermission spent mostly eating a second meal. If you’re really lucky, it is only between nine o’clock and ten as you begin the final act. . Mercifully, the last act has no intermission. It all works out well. Those people are so well organized and take so much pride in their work that it is hard to remember just how fantastic this all was.

         For a fellow who had grown up in the two small southern towns during the Great Depression, I felt very proud that I had been given this magnificent experience, and I was already  looking forward to telling Dr. J. Murray Barber about my opinion of the Bayreuth Festival I had lived through. Somewhere, sometime within that week of glamour and beauty, I had the pleasure of seeing Fantasia! The reason I had never seen it, was that after losing money on Pinocchio, Josephine refused to show any more of Walt Disney’s expensive movies. However she did rent some of his cartoons: Donald Duck and Mickey, the Rodent, from RKO (which was the way it was done so long ago. So, because of her not showing Jumbo, Fantasia or The Reluctant Dragon, I missed seeing these.. I do not remember what -day I saw this masterpiece, or anything other than the fact that But the rest of the music  was truly Fantastic and Fabulous. Anybody who has never seen this classic should seek it out. There was a later sequel to Fantasia, made for the I-Max theaters, and I saw this one, too. when it first came out and loved the 3-D effects.

Old Movie Review

Spellbound (1945)

 David O. Selznick bought the rights to the novel, The House of Dr. Edwards, and Alfred Hitchcock was his choice for the director. It marked the first time they had collaborated since Rebecca was the biggest hit of its year. Selznick still had Ingrid Bergman under exclusive contract, and a dashing new actor named Gregory Peck. This was Peck’s second movie. It was the first Hollywood film concerned with psychological patients, with much of its drama taking place in mental hospitals. The Oscar winning musical score (by Micklos Rozsa) was basically a piano and orchestra compositions which came to be known as the Spellbound Concerto. Variations, expressing all sorts of moods, kept the action moving, and accented the strange and often frightening mood shifts of the patients.

        Early in the film, Peck replaces the current director of the Sanitarium, whose name is Dr. Edwards: and suddenly the appearance of a pattern drawn on his napkin (by Bergman, to illustrate a point) sends him into a rage. This leads to the discovery that he is not Dr. Edwards, but denies that he killed the man. From about this point in the film, I thought it was all very wonderful, back in 1945. I was a senior in high school, and I certainly had never seen anything about mental illnesses before. This time, I could hardly sit through the remainder of it. To me, it is almost grotesque. Everything is just too pat, and it all seemed trite, after being so ground-breaking originally. Even Bergman seems insecure and allows her mood swings make one wonder why she didn’t need psychiatric help! The idea that parallel lines had caused Peck’s character, becomes evident far too many times: we get the point the first time; yet the screen is literally covered with plaids and lines!

        The  acting is, for the most part, so dated it’s almost funny.

      I was not surprised to find that Leonard Maltin gave it three and a half star’ but I can give it only one and a half (mostly based on the segment of the dream sequence, for which no less an artist than Salvador Dali did the art work. And even this was much less impressive than I had originally found it.)   *1/2

Old Movies TRIVIA QUIZ #78

1.   Who was the star of The Little Colonel? The year was 1935?

2.   Rose of Washington Square had which 20th Century Fox singer in the lead?

3.   Ann of Green Gables gave the actress who played her, the same name or maybe the studio did it.

4.   A Passage to India was directed by the same man who made Laurence of Arabia. Who is he?

5.   Who starred in several Wolfman movies for Universal?

6.   The Letter was one of what star’s repertoire?

7.   Who supposedly played Tchaikovsky’s 1st Piano Concerto in The Great Lie?

8.   In what movie will you find the Great Plague of Europe, and the Great Fire of London?

9.   What Bette Davis and Henry Fonda 1939 hit ends with her riding with him, in a carriage to transport them both, where the incurable victims wait out their lives.

10.                       What were the names of Warner Bros.’ 3 Lane Sisters?

Answers to Last Sunday’s Trivia Quiz

1.Jessica Lange was the lady who played the same Fay Wrey character in the most recent version.n of King Kong,

            2. Ann Miller was the title character in Revelry with Beverly?

3The Littlest Rebel young Shirley Temple was its star with. John Boles as her father.

4.   Bill “Bojangles” Robinson danced with Shirley in several films.

4Stephan Fetched. made us laugh a lot, during the 30’s and

5Betty Boop was the cartoon heroine who was noted for saying, “Boo-boo-pe-do?

6Popeye had an ongoing feud with a man who was always trying to take his girl friend from him.

7May Robeson was the original Lady for a Day.  Her name has a month in it.

8 Trader Horn was a movie that was filmed in so many areas of Africa,  I really should have asked for only the continent.

9 The Emperor Waltz was a musical, set in the Austria of Franz Joseph. Starring Bing Crosby and Joan Fontaine (Sister, Olivia DeHavilland won two Oscars of her own)

10   Johnny Belinda won an Oscar for Jane Wyman,

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday, April 21, 2013

FF XVI, 4

Frank’s Fax Facts and Reviews

Vol.. XIV No. 4

Sunday, April 24, 2013

         Monday, I experienced a most distressing trend to this thing I call my brain: all morning I was just sure it was Tuesday! I got my bath and shaved, loading into the car two lemon cup cakes (of you never sampled on of these, you must try them!) Peggy had phoned to tell me she was bringing our sandwiches. I said I would bring some dessert (even though the Church puts out ice tea (and plenty of ice) and of the other goodies. So. I got dressed and motored down to Dauphin  Way’s United Methodist church. I parked luckily under an umbrella of a tree, and entered the building, As usual, the lady behind the desk in the lobby greeted me cordially, as she always does, and never asked why I was there today.

         After a ride to the second floor, in an elevator, I walked down (without my walker today) where I found the room where we play each Tuesday, with the chairs set up in a huge circle; and not divided into card tables and that was, I was sure, trouble. A young mother and three children were there, wondering (no doubt) why in blazes was I doing there. I told her that I was expecting to see bridge all over the place, and she said, “But I thought y’all played only on Tuesdays!”  I’m certain I was blushing to beat the band!

         I apologized profusely (and was assured it was not necessary) went down on the Otis again, and drove home, silent and dejected. I am finding it more and more difficult to remember why I started a paragraph when speaking or typing.. Growing old and useless is bad enough, and therefore I cannot figure out why it is necessary to turn most of us survivors, with a memory that is too lazy to remember the simplest of facts,.

         When I got here (Ginger was excited to have me back. She knows instantly that the earliest I ever get home on Tuesdays, is two thirty and once a month I stop for my scheduled hair cut (yes, I am only too cognizant of the fact that even though I have very little of it Billy Helton and I both try to make it look as if I still have hair!

         As I did not play Bridge, I managed to get a two-hour nap! That is all but unknown in this household. I got up and decided to exercise at the Wellness Center. I am making more and more friends of the clients; and I find the time flies by faster than I ever thought possible, especially when they ask anything about my family or friends.  I discover that a huge number of them are Catholics (remember, Providence Hospital is probably the oldest and by far the best). Many of the ladies (usually) have their art works prominently displayed on the walls of the corridor. Several of them are really very professionally done, as attested to the fact that they (Literately) sell like hotcakes.  I have had fascinating

nf conversations about Richton and Ellisville, too, since I started talking with my fellow workout friends. Usually they have friends, or relatives who live there and they always seem to have dear memories about the place. So far, only one lady was knowledgeable at all about Ellisville.

 

Draft Dodgers Limited

         My Wagnerian adventure was winding down, and it was with a mixture of emotions that I packed everything into my suitcase and made ready for the train ride back to Karlsruhe. Apparently, I had said to Jim Modespacker (our Historical Division’s printer) that as far as I was concerned, Opera was Opera only if it were written by Richard Wagner! Frankly, I find it hard to believe that I was this stupid back then. As recently as four or five years ago, Ed Kohler (who was always doing something nice for me, busied himself with his computer to try to find some of the people I had told him about, to see if they were still alive. The first name he sent was Helmut Hort, my best German buddy. This developed into quite a long correspondence, and even a few Christmas Gifts exchanging. Next, Ed had been able to supply me with three more addresses of other Army buddies. My letters to George Caravaious and Robert Bolt were returned; but I did get a response from Jim. His wife wrote me three or four letters, because he was so ill most of the time, that he was unable to write them himself. The very first letter mentioned that inane quote (which, I have to admit, I might have been guilty of) to haunt me. There was no reply to my last letter to the Modespachers, so I assumed that he had died, I was glad that I had taken the time to make copies of all of my numerous photographs of all of our outfit, including the “Training Saturdays” when we always rode the ferry across the Rhine River, and pictures of the group playing Scrabble.

2

.

        .     A phone call from Robert Pope (my Richton friend of at least seventy years) refreshed my memory of the schedule of the Ring operas in 1954: Robert remembers the times much better than I do; after all I had been there only once, 1954. He attends frequently. The first act begins at five in the afternoon, with an hour break for food. Then you have the second act, with another hour intermission spent mostly eating a second meal. If you’re really lucky, it is only between nine o’clock and ten as you begin the final act. . Mercifully, the last act has no intermission. It all works out well. Those people are so well organized and take so much pride in their work that it is hard to remember just how fantastic this all was.

 

 

         For a fellow who had grown up in the two small southern towns during the Great Depression, I felt very proud that I had been given this magnificent experience, and I already  was looking forward to telling Dr. J. Murray Barber about my opinion of the Bayreuth Festival I had lived through

         Somewhere, sometime within that week of glamour and beauty, I had the pleasure of seeing Fantasia! The reason I had never seen it, was that after losing money on Pinocchio, Josephine refused to show any more of Walt Disney’s expensive movies. However she did rent some of his cartoons: Donald Duck and Mickey, the Rodent, from RKO (which was the way it was done so long ago. So, because of her not showing Jumbo, Fantasia or The Reluctant Dragon, I missed seeing these.. I do not remember what day I saw this masterpiece, or anything other than the fact that But the rest of the music  was truly Fantastic and Fabulous. Anybody who has never seen this classic should seek it out. There was a later sequel to Fantasia, made for the I-Max theaters, and I saw this one when it first came out and loved the 3-D effects. But back to Bayreuth!

4.

       

Cat Nap From an Unknown Source

      A cat makes all the difference between coming home to coming home to an empty house and coming home. (I wish I had written this, but I really would like to know who did. We are both certainly of one mind here!)

Olde Cinema Revue

Spellbound (1945)

 David O. Selznick bought the rights to the novel, The House of Dr. Edwards, and Alfred Hitchcock was his choice for the director. It marked the first time they had collaborated since Rebecca was the biggest hit of its year. Selznick still had Ingrid Bergman under exclusive contract, and a dashing new actor named Gregory Peck. This was Peck’s second movie. It was the first Hollywood film concerned with psychological patients, with much of its drama taking place in mental hospitals. The Oscar winning musical score (by Micklos Rozsa) was basically a piano and orchestra compositions which came to be known as the Spellbound Concerto. Variations, expressing all sorts of moods, kept the action moving, and accented the strange and often frightening mood shifts of the patients.

      Early in the film, Peck replaces the current director of the Sanitarium, whose name is Dr. Edwards: and suddenly the appearance of a pattern drawn on his napkin (by Bergman, to illustrate a point) sends him into a rage. This leads to the discovery that he is not Dr. Edwards, but denies that he killed the man. From about this point in the film, I thought it was all very wonderful, back in 1945. I was a senior in high school, and I certainly had never seen anything about mental illnesses before. This time, I could hardly sit through the remainder of it. To me, it is almost grotesque. Everything is just too pat, and it all seemed trite, after being so ground-breaking originally. Even Bergman seems insecure and allows her mood swings make one wonder why she didn’t need psychiatric help! The idea that parallel lines had caused Peck’s character, becomes evident far too many times: we get the point the first time; yet the screen is literally covered with plaids and lines!

      The  acting is, for the most part, so dated it’s almost funny.

      I was not surprised to find that Leonard Maltin gave it three and a half star’ but I can give it only one and a half (mostly based on the segment of the dream sequence, for which no less an artist than Salvador Dali did the art work. And even this was much less impressive than I had originally found it.)   *1/2

Old Movies TRIVIA QUIZ #78

1.   Who was the star of The Little Colonel? The year was 1935?

2.   Rose of Washington Square had which 20th Century Fox singer in the lead?

3.   Ann of Green Gables gave the actress who played her, the same name or maybe the studio did it.

4.   A Passage to India was directed by the same man who made Laurence of Arabia. Who is he?

5.   Who starred in several Wolfman movies for Universal?

6.   The Letter was one of what star’s repertoire?

7.   Who supposedly played Tchaikovsky’s 1st Piano Concerto in The Great Lie?

8.   In what movie will you find the Great Plague of Europe, and the Great Fire of London?

9.   What Bette Davis and Henry Fonda 1939 hit ends with her riding with him, in a carriage to transport them both, where the incurable victims wait out their lives.

10.                       What were the names of Warner Bros.’ 3 Lane Sisters?

Answers to Last Sunday’s Trivia Quiz

1.Jessica Lange was the lady who played the same Fay Wrey character in the most recent version.n of King Kong,

            2. Ann Miller was the title character in Revelry with Beverly?

3The Littlest Rebel young Shirley Temple was its star with. John Boles as her father.

4.   Bill “Bojangles” Robinson danced with Shirley in several films.

4Stephan Fetched. made us laugh a lot, during the 30’s and

5Betty Boop was the cartoon heroine who was noted for saying, “Boo-boo-pe-do?

6Popeye had an ongoing feud with a man who was always trying to take his girl friend from him.

7May Robeson was the original Lady for a Day.  Her name has a month in it.

8 Trader Horn was a movie that was filmed in so many areas of Africa,  I really should have asked for only the continent.

9 The Emperor Waltz was a musical, set in the Austria of Franz Joseph. Starring Bing Crosby and Joan Fontaine (Sister, Olivia DeHavilland won two Oscars of her own)

10   Johnny Belinda won an Oscar for Jane Wyman,

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday, April 15, 2013

FF XYV, 3

 

Frank’s Fax Facts and Reviews

Vol.. XIV No. 3

Sunday, April 7, 2013                                                                                         

I have tried everything I know to set these margins normally, but this piece of garbage that I call a computer has a mind (?) of its own! My apologies. ]

On Thursday, I visited my dentist, Dr. Chris Salter, to see if he could tell me what has happened to my jawbone, since he pulled my last wisdom tooth, and I felt as if he were taking off my head, it took so long. Not to mention the agony! After carefully examining the cite of the excavation, he massaged my face at the affected place, and suggested hot and cold packs to be placed on the area. He said, for the time being, I have to go on a soft diet. So, that night I had rice with some of the gravy that was left over from the pork chops (a la Brother George) which I had served to Charlie Smoke (who had returned some CDs of my Chamber Operas). This will probably do the most good, since I have been trying to eat normal meals (not like those I usually enjoy).

Then, as though this had not been enough, I managed to fall: for the first time in well over a year. Again, it was in the kitchen, when I must have turned around too quickly, and ended up careening into the cabinets of the back wall (at the sink). I was stunned, and unable to get up, but also determined not to press my “Life Saver”, which would have caused someone to come out here to help me. I finally managed (by sliding my kitchen stool over and using it as a firm foundation on which to lean) to get up and attend to the damage to my poor old wrinkled body: there was a lot of blood on my bath robe (which I was wearing) and when I got to the bathroom, to get peroxide to wash the spot with, I could see that it had reopened some spots that had never cleared up from my nightmare sleep walking incident! I washed the wound (actually it was the only one that had bled) and covered the entire area with oversized waterproof Band Aids, which I now must quickly replace for forthcoming accidents.

This was very traumatic for me, because I had done so well for so long, without falling, that I allowed myself to get overly confident. I walked several times to my mailbox and back without walker or cane, and had dared to hope I would soon be able to make this my usual method. Alas! No.

Draft Dodgers Anonymous: Operas and Operettas

I have a small black plastic frame with a round silver medal on which the bust of Richard

Wagner is held in place by two black metal dots. On the black background, printed in white is “Festspiele 1954”. That and a very beautiful bronze bust of my favorite composer, Frank Liszt, on a marble base. These two items were purchased by me on that first day of my visit to Bayreuth, along with souvenirs to send to my family.

        I walked all around the beautiful little city most of the morning, then ate a quick and inexpensive lunch and returned to my rented room where I slept, then got dressed for the concert that evening.

        At this point in my life, I had made up my mind that Beethoven had no charm for me. Therefore, I was not exactly wild about an entire evening devoted to his last Symphony. But after three or four measures of the magnificent work, I was absolutely spellbound! Then, before I knew what was happening, the audience was clapping and shouting Bravos!  Could it be over already, I asked myself. It seemed to have lasted less than twenty minutes (in reality, about an hour and a half). That’s how fascinating I had found it! After the thunderous applause and shouting had ended, I made my way back out into the night air feeling light headed, but happy.

2.

        The next night the opera Das Rhinegold was given a beautiful performance.. This opera is set in the Rhine River: not on it! Dr. Barbour had described as being so wonderfully staged (with all manner of Special Effects that made it look just as if the Rhine Maidens were swimming through real water on the magnificent stage.) According to my teacher, all of the characters wore unusual but very justified costumes. And I might as well admit, that each performance made me almost weep with its simplicity. Both male and female characters were in austere Robes, which to me meant it looked more like an oratorio than a fantasy opera. I was further disappointed when, the second opera let us catch our first glance at Brunnhilde. There were no suits of armor, nor yet to mention an iron brassier! I was, at least, counting on that familiar picture. Alas, the entire Ring Cycle, while sounding spectacular, was a bitter disappointment, visually.

`       After Siegfried, the third opera, there was an evening with no performance. I asked my land-ladies if they could suggest anything that I could do in one day, and the elder one said, “Oh, I wish you would visit my home town! It’s very close to here, and several trains go at almost any time.”

        It happened that the  home town she of which she spoke, turned out to be the setting for one of the best post-war dramas to come out of Hollywood: Judgment at Nuremberg. I thanked her for the suggestion and assured her that I would be look happy to visit her Heimat Stadt!

3.

       The train ride to Nuremberg was almost too short. But I was not complaining: one weekend I had taken a train to Heidelberg that stopped at every little station between these two cities, and I thought the train would never make it! I learned to look at the schedule to find if it were an express train, or a local one.

        As I walked around after leaving the train station (Bahnhof) I passed a cinema with an advertisement for a Laurel and Hardy comedy that was playing that day. I determined then and there to see it, if I had time. It was one that I had never seen before.

        The one place my landlady had told me not to miss was a palace, whose founding nobleman had a thing for fountains. She had told me that they were world famous, and after walking all over the grounds if this lovely place, I had to admit that I had never seen its equal. And nothing, since then, had even come close to comparison.

        By the time I made the Pilgrimage to Karlsruhe, I had purchased a good little camera from the PX at the base. It was an Agfa, and was the first camera I ever owned, with the exception of my Kodak “Brownie” that Josephine had given me when I first started to public school. I had really used that little black box, and my photograph albums have many priceless gems that I captured on its 7-picture rolls: pictures of Josephine’s wedding to Bill Sibley, and Helen married to Tom Prince. These were taken just as they were coming back to the house in Richton. There were numerous pictures of kitty cats, as usual. I quit taking picture long ago, except to photograph my Judies, Trudies, Chipper and Ginger. They are the perfect posers!

        I must have looked like a real tourist, with my camera dangling from my neck. When I saw the first fountain I took pictures of it from every angle. I was taken inside the mansion, where the fellow’s fountains of all imaginable types did their things.

        When I got back to camp and had the rolls of film developed, I was very pleased with my results. I had some interesting angular shots, as well as some quite-by-accident shots that look totally professional. Among all of these snap shots, there is a picture of a German Woman, standing on a street corner, waiting for the light to get red, so she could cross the street. She looked totally unlike a typical German housewife, but a lot more like an American movie star! I had seen her and felt as if I should have known recognized her! She wears a black and white plaid skirt, with a beautiful white blouse. Her hair is worn in a straight and rather short dark brown fashion. That was the prettiest German I saw all the days I was in Germany! The German men are usually good looking, at least, and often very handsome. But the poor old Hausfrauen are anything but glamorous.

4.

That photogrsph had been taken as I walked around town and managed to reach the theater where Laurel and Hardy were playing. I had never heard of this picture, but probably wouldn’t have recognized it because all American films (as well as French, Italian and any language other than German) are dubbed by German actors. Thus, Vom Winde Vervait (or some such title) was Gone with the Wind! Marilyn Monroe was very popular with the Germans, and her newest film, at that time, had been Wie Angelt Mann eine Millionaire (literally  How A Person fishes for himself a Millionaire”) The CinemaScope was translated into BriteWand (which Helmut said meant “Broad Screen”) By the way, he loved Marilyn (which he pronounced Die-the- Mar-leen) as much as I did. We both liked Jane Russell (Yon-ee Roosell) accent on “sell”) So, I bought my ticket and walked into the darkened cinema. Laurel and Hardy have always remained (in my heart) the funniest and cutest of any comedy twosome. When George and I had seen Martin and Lewis, we found them refreshingly funny (I had even, believe it or not, thought Abbot and Costello hilarious for the first four or five movies) and when they split up, I felt sorry for Deano, thinking he’d never get another role without Jerry. Boy, was I wrong!

I learned, through my association with Helmut, that the Germans, in general, think The Three Stooges, are the greatest comedy team. I learned this disgusting fact when he and I saw Kiss Me. Kate one Sunday in Heidelberg. I had seen it in English[FI1]  when it came out earlier, but in watching it, the translation was so good that I was roaring with laughter. I kept glancing at Helmut, who was having trouble staying awake! When we were eating, later, I asked him if he did not find the humor in the musical comedy, and he explained it very patiently to me. The Germans find Slapstick really funny, but anything with subtle humor is a bore. I suppose this is rather like the fact that most British humor leaves me cold. But when the Brits get it right (as in Good Neighbors) they really get it right.

I laughed out loud quite a bit, in that movie house in Nuremberg that day. I still could not place it in the history of Laurel and Hardy films. We usually saw them (before Josephine took over the theater in Richton) on Saturdays (with no western or serial). I loved them, from the start, but they usually ended abruptly and completely unexpected. And I did find this one very funny: just watching Stanley crying when Ollie shouts at him, and the way poor old Stan cries, used to be enough to set me to laughing!

I  had walked for miles, just enjoying just being in another historical city for the first (and only) time. I had some good reminders of the day, thanks to me Agfa. But now I was ready to get back to my bed for the night.

(To be continued)

 

Olde Movie Revues

Bell, Book and Candle

The first time I saw this delightful fantasy was on a Sunday afternoon in Columbia. S.C. Lynwood and I had stayed Saturday night in his old dorm room at the University of South Carolina (without anyone’s agreeing to give us permission).a habit we kept enjoying until the rightful occupants left us a rather threatening note on the locked window the following weekend. He was quite indignant to be so mistreated!

James van Druten’s play is all about witches and witchcraft. It is the exact opposite of all the films I have seen about witches (most of them set in earlier Massachusetts), Kim Novak is at her loveliest in the role of a “Witch.” Her brother (Jack Lemmon) is a “Warlock”:, while Elsa Lanchester is her aunt. Lemon plays the drums, on a band that performs nightly in a club called, The Zodiak. And Hermione Gingold is the witch that James Stewart visits when he learns that he has fallen in love with Kim, to get Gingold to make a witch’s brew to break the spell. This turns out to be the funniest scene in the entire play!

The entire two hours is a truly wonderful escape from reality. I almost left out Novak’s cat (her
“Familiar” who causes all of her spells to work) his name is PiWackett, and he is indeed a beauty! ****

 

Stewart lives upstairs from Kim Novak’s Shop, and when he finally meets her it is because his telephone had been jinxed by Kim’s aunt (Elsa Lanchester, who is also a witch). Her brother (Jack Lemmon) is a Warlock.

James Van Druten

Old Movies TRIVIA QUIZ #77

  1. What 1930’s blockbuster film has been twice made, and made a star forever of Fay Wray?
  2. Who was the lady that who played the same character in the most recent version?
  3. What tap dancing star was the title character in Revely with Beverly?
  4. In what Civil War movie did a young Shirley Temple star with John Boles?
  5. Who tap danced with Shirley in several films?
  6. Which Afro-American 30s-40s actor’s movie name literally meant. Walk and Bring it?
  7. What was the name of the early cartoon heroine who was noted for saying, “Boo-boo-pe-do?
  8. What cartoon male had an ongoing feud with a man who was always trying to take his girl friend from him? Think of certain healthful foods.
  9. She was the original Lady for a Day. She also played EVERYBODY’s grandmother. Her name has a month in it.

10. Trader Horn was a movie set in what country?

Answers to Trivia Quiz #76

  1. The Emperor Waltz was a musical, set in the Austria of Franz Joseph. Starring Bing Crosby and Joan Fontaine (Sister, Olivia DeHavilland won two Oscars of her own)
  2. Johnny Belinda won an Oscar for Jane Wyman,
  3. Lew Ayres was her leading man in the film.
  4. Lana Turner and Richard Burton starred in the misbegotten remake of The Rains Came, titled The Rains of Ranchapur.

  5 .MGM’s Raintree County had Liz Taylor and Eva Marie Saint Starring with Montgomery Clift

    6.  David O. Selznick’s follow up to Gone with the Wind, was a vehicle for his wife. Jennifer Jones. Duel in the Sun.

      7. Edna Ferber’s novel, Show Boat was filmed twice. The second version, this time  starred Kathryn      Grayson and Howard Keel.

   8. The title of an Edna Ferber novel that was made into a film was Giant.

    9. Cher’s first dramatic role was in the play that had this same young star in its title: Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmie Dean

10. Dean Martin, after breaking with Jerry Lewis, went on to make it big in serious films.

 

 

 

 


 [FI1]

Sunday, April 7, 2013