In the summer of 1968, my brother and I would stay up and watch TV at night. Channel 11 out of Tacoma would show the TV series “Twelve O’clock High” and “Secret Agent” from 11 PM to 1 PM (I forget which was first). After that we would often find some old movie. I don’t remember many of them. But there is one film from the late ‘40’s that I thought about from time to time. I didn’t remember what it was, but I remember that the bad guy was a writer of some kind. He tricked a young woman, a relative, into writing a suicide note. And I remember a pickup truck speeding down the road.
Now, I often will scroll through the cable TV grid and see what is playing on TCM, and I will record a movie if it looks interesting. A couple of weeks ago, TCM played a film called The Unsuspected with Claude Raines as a host/writer of a radio program that talked about real murder cases. He had a ward who had, mistakenly, been thought to have been killed in a fire on a ship. She returned, much to the chagrin of her relatives who were looking forward to the large inheritance from her estate. I thought it looked interesting, so I recorded it. As I watched the film, I thought that it looked like it might be the film I had seen in 1968. It was.
Was it an enjoyable film? Yes. Was it the greatest film I had ever seen? No. But to see a film that I somewhat remembered after all of these years was a joy.
One of the things with old films is to see things that your recognize. I think I have told of seeing American Graffiti for the first time. There is a scene where Richard Dryfus tries to open his old locker. Not only did I recognize that locker as being in “C” wing of Petaluma High School right across from Mrs. Stonitch’s room, his “old locker” was two to the right of my real life locker when I was a senior.
Sometimes and old film shows you something you only know from movies or TV. This week I was watching a Joan Crawford/John Wayne film on TCM called Reunion in France. Early in the film, Joan Crawford is at a party. At a party she is introduced to a couple of wives of Nazi officers in Paris. One of them is a blond. I recognized her voice and her mannerism of holding her hands in front of her chest as she spoke. It’s Mrs. Thurston Howell III! I looked it up, and it was Natalie Schafer.
I like old films. Maybe because they are so familiar – even if I had never seen them before.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Timmy Page, lost musical genius
YouTube is a bad idea. Sometimes I just want to listen to an old tune on that site before going to bed. An hour and a half later, and that much closer to the alarm going off in the morning, I tear myself away from the computer.
In one such night of musical abandon, I was looking for one of my favorite Yardbird songs: Shapes of Things. The original single from 1966 was made during Jeff Beck's stint with the group. A bit later, after Beck left and Jimmy Page joined the group, the Yardbirds appeared on German television (although the host sounds no more German than I do). I guess Jimmy could not make the trip, so his twin brother Timmy appeared in his place. At least he was introduced as Timmy Page. By the sound of the solo, I don't think the guitar was Timmy's forte'. I should be fair, though, and point out that the comments on YouTube for the video blame the heat from the TV lights for causing the guitar to go out of tune, saying that Timmy was not used to playing on TV.
The comment could not have been referring to Jimmy, because he was an old hand at the TV game.
In one such night of musical abandon, I was looking for one of my favorite Yardbird songs: Shapes of Things. The original single from 1966 was made during Jeff Beck's stint with the group. A bit later, after Beck left and Jimmy Page joined the group, the Yardbirds appeared on German television (although the host sounds no more German than I do). I guess Jimmy could not make the trip, so his twin brother Timmy appeared in his place. At least he was introduced as Timmy Page. By the sound of the solo, I don't think the guitar was Timmy's forte'. I should be fair, though, and point out that the comments on YouTube for the video blame the heat from the TV lights for causing the guitar to go out of tune, saying that Timmy was not used to playing on TV.
The comment could not have been referring to Jimmy, because he was an old hand at the TV game.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Some Film Glimpses of World War II
World War II has been the subject of many films over the years. It would take months to write extensively on the subject, so I thought I would just jot down some thoughts on some films that you may have missed.
Hollywood got into the fray even before the United States did, starting with “Confessions of a Nazi Spy” in 1939.
The film tells of a disgruntled ne’er-do-well who offers to spy for Germany in order to make an easy buck. Eventually FBI Agent Edward G. Robinson gets on the case. Robinson is effective in the roll, somewhat downplaying the part. While the Germans are shown to be wicked, they are not shown as over-the-top evil.
Of course, I believe the Nazi leaders were evil. And I believe that the German people were gullible in falling for the Nazi message. However, I do feel it is neither realistic nor meaningful for a film to show that an entire nation willingly went for a person who all along and publically said, “Hello, I am the Devil incarnate. I will enslave you and kill millions of innocent people.” Sure, you could see that was their intent if you looked closely, but the message was carefully disguised. We must learn that that evil can be insidious.
Skipping ahead to 2004, the German film “Downfall” shows this lesson very well.
You know the film: a scene where Hitler is in conference with his generals has become a mainstay for parody on the blogosphere. The film shows that Hitler can be a very disarming individual, but by no means is the film a fluff piece. It shows how such a maniacal person can come to great power by using his charm. In the end of the film, the main character – Hitler’s secretary – is horrified to discover how evil the man was. That is the message of the film. Don’t fall for the man because of his charm. You must find out what he truly stands for.
Some films made during the war reflected the Home Front. MGM was very good at this type of film. One of my favorites is the Mickey Rooney film, The Human Comedy.”
Is this film an accurate portrayal of life in the United States during the war? Probably not, but sometimes dramatic license can be allowed if it is used to drive home a strong message of human caring and decency. Watch this film, but buy an extra box of Kleenex before you do.
Another MGM film, this one from later in the war is Judy Garland’s, “The Clock.”
This is a war-time romance that will melt even the coldest of hearts. You just know that they were long divorced by 1965, but what the hey. Again, it may not be very accurate, but you can’t help but feel that it is a telescope through which to see a now-distant time.
You know how films today portray Republicans as selfish people who will use their influence and power to protect their own while not caring about others? Well, MGM had one of those in a 1942 pile of manure called “The War Against Mrs. Hadley.”
While the film did have that MGM charm about it, I kept watching it just to see if it was going to be as bad as I thought it was going to be. It was.
World War II is probably my favorite subject in film. Drama can not be any more powerful that a story of ordinary people facing up to terrible circumstances. Message of hope and messages of warning are message to be heard.
Hollywood got into the fray even before the United States did, starting with “Confessions of a Nazi Spy” in 1939.
The film tells of a disgruntled ne’er-do-well who offers to spy for Germany in order to make an easy buck. Eventually FBI Agent Edward G. Robinson gets on the case. Robinson is effective in the roll, somewhat downplaying the part. While the Germans are shown to be wicked, they are not shown as over-the-top evil.
Of course, I believe the Nazi leaders were evil. And I believe that the German people were gullible in falling for the Nazi message. However, I do feel it is neither realistic nor meaningful for a film to show that an entire nation willingly went for a person who all along and publically said, “Hello, I am the Devil incarnate. I will enslave you and kill millions of innocent people.” Sure, you could see that was their intent if you looked closely, but the message was carefully disguised. We must learn that that evil can be insidious.
Skipping ahead to 2004, the German film “Downfall” shows this lesson very well.
You know the film: a scene where Hitler is in conference with his generals has become a mainstay for parody on the blogosphere. The film shows that Hitler can be a very disarming individual, but by no means is the film a fluff piece. It shows how such a maniacal person can come to great power by using his charm. In the end of the film, the main character – Hitler’s secretary – is horrified to discover how evil the man was. That is the message of the film. Don’t fall for the man because of his charm. You must find out what he truly stands for.
Some films made during the war reflected the Home Front. MGM was very good at this type of film. One of my favorites is the Mickey Rooney film, The Human Comedy.”
Is this film an accurate portrayal of life in the United States during the war? Probably not, but sometimes dramatic license can be allowed if it is used to drive home a strong message of human caring and decency. Watch this film, but buy an extra box of Kleenex before you do.
Another MGM film, this one from later in the war is Judy Garland’s, “The Clock.”
This is a war-time romance that will melt even the coldest of hearts. You just know that they were long divorced by 1965, but what the hey. Again, it may not be very accurate, but you can’t help but feel that it is a telescope through which to see a now-distant time.
You know how films today portray Republicans as selfish people who will use their influence and power to protect their own while not caring about others? Well, MGM had one of those in a 1942 pile of manure called “The War Against Mrs. Hadley.”
While the film did have that MGM charm about it, I kept watching it just to see if it was going to be as bad as I thought it was going to be. It was.
World War II is probably my favorite subject in film. Drama can not be any more powerful that a story of ordinary people facing up to terrible circumstances. Message of hope and messages of warning are message to be heard.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
The Actors' Art
In one film, a group of Samurai defends a poor farming village. The warriors are led by a strong man-among-men leader whose strength and intelligence make him stand out among others. For the most part he leads with quiet dignity, but can be loud and forceful when he needs to be.
In another film, a doctor works in a slum, dealing with the human innocence and human scum. He is not the man he dreamed of being; the bottle became too important in his life. That is how he deals with the social decay he sees every day. While he can be kind, he is generally loud, vulgar, and often abusive.
A third film is the story of a man who lets life defeat him. To look at him, you know he is a broken man. Despite his position as a manager in a government bureaucracy, he is afraid of his own shadow. He stoops and shuffles through his day. To add another indignity to his meaningless existence, he finds that he is dying of cancer. At first he takes to drinking – something he has never done before. That does not help. After further searching, he finds meaning in his life: cleaning up the land and building a playground on what used to be a polluted swamp. People who know him are at a loss to explain the changes they see. The man dies half-way through the film – found dead at the newly completed playground. The second half of the film is filled with flashbacks from people at his funeral. The final flashback is from a policeman who stops by and tells that earlier in the man’s last evening that the man was sitting happily on a swing in the playground and softly singing an old song.
Three completely different roles. Each one would take a great actor to bring the part to life. But these roles were all played by one actor: Takashi Shimura.
In another film, a doctor works in a slum, dealing with the human innocence and human scum. He is not the man he dreamed of being; the bottle became too important in his life. That is how he deals with the social decay he sees every day. While he can be kind, he is generally loud, vulgar, and often abusive.
A third film is the story of a man who lets life defeat him. To look at him, you know he is a broken man. Despite his position as a manager in a government bureaucracy, he is afraid of his own shadow. He stoops and shuffles through his day. To add another indignity to his meaningless existence, he finds that he is dying of cancer. At first he takes to drinking – something he has never done before. That does not help. After further searching, he finds meaning in his life: cleaning up the land and building a playground on what used to be a polluted swamp. People who know him are at a loss to explain the changes they see. The man dies half-way through the film – found dead at the newly completed playground. The second half of the film is filled with flashbacks from people at his funeral. The final flashback is from a policeman who stops by and tells that earlier in the man’s last evening that the man was sitting happily on a swing in the playground and softly singing an old song.
Three completely different roles. Each one would take a great actor to bring the part to life. But these roles were all played by one actor: Takashi Shimura.
Friday, April 2, 2010
After Matt posted about Joe Friday he was wondering if there was a way to not have the whole post show up on the front page. So we did a bit of digging and found the code. So if you want your long post to only show a paragraph or so and then have the reader click on "read more" to find the rest of the post...
Joe Friday Would Have Been 90 Today
Jack Webb was a sickly boy who grew up in poverty. His father left before the boy was born on April 2, 1920. Raised by his mother and grandmother, Webb gained a lifelong appreciation for jazz music from musicians who rented rooms in his mother’s house. Webb also developed an intense acceptance of people from all races.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Traveling Through the Air
The World Series stretched to seven games in 2001 -- and, because of 9/11, the deciding game was played on Sunday, November 4. My son and I were at my brother’s house in central Washington. I had to get my son back to Seattle because he had school the next day, but we wanted to hear the game. Unfortunately, the local station carrying the game had a directional pattern that did not go west, so I fumbled across the dial to find another station that carried the game. I found a few but they, too faded out. Finally I put the dial at 690. “690, 690. Who is 690?” Then, during an ID break, they played a liner that said, “XTRA 690 sports.” “Ah, 690. That’s right. This is from Mexico." My son was incredulous. “Mexico. We can hear Mexico up here?” Truly a child of the FM era.
I have been fascinated with radio for as long as I can remember. Perhaps it is because my father always had the radio on in the car – and that included two cross-country drives by the time I was ten. I am also old enough to remember radio drama. When my brother got a single-play record player for Christmas in 1962, he told me that was the type of record player that radio stations used. I thought that was way cool. When my father bought his first tape recorder in 1964, it didn’t take me long before I was playing DJ. But the cool part about radio (which for all intents and purposes back then consisted of only AM for me) was what you could hear at night. One Friday night in 1965, when we lived outside of Heidelberg, Germany, I was tuning across the radio dial and found Radio Luxembourg. They were carrying a weekly “Battle of the Bands” show in English. The next day I told my brothers what I heard. “Luxembourg is hundreds of miles away. There is no way you could have heard it.” That’s the life of the youngest of three boys, but I knew what I heard.
By 1968 we lived in western Washington. Tuning across the dial one night I found KGA in Spokane. But my biggest catch was KSL in Salt Lake City. Wow. Here I was in DuPont, Washington, and I am listening to Salt Lake City. The host was a man named Herb Jepko. He had a nightly call-in show. His listeners were called “Nightcappers,” and called in from all across the country. The charm of that show was that everyone who listened was listening to KSL, Salt Lake City -- no satellites – it was like a club with a personal connection. That November we listened to the Presidential election results on KGO, San Francisco.
We moved to the Bay Area, California in August, 1969. Once we found the local stations we wanted to hear, I had to explore the distant stations I could pick up. I found my old friends KGA and KSL. I think I found some Los Angeles stations as well – but nothing that stood out, except I do remember my father listening to a Dodgers game on KFI. I loved their jingle – “Los Angeles, Los Angeles. Los Angeles, Los Angeles. KFI.”
In the summer of 1970 I discovered WWL, New Orleans. That was the best I had ever done. That same summer, my brother got married in Spokane. My other brother spent the summer in DuPont, western Washington. We drove up from California to DuPont to pick up the one brother. As we drove to Spokane late on the night of August 6, 1970, the 25th aniversay of the bombing of Hiroshima, we listened to a discussion of the subject on KGO as we drove across Washington State. By 1973 we had moved to Petaluma.
I was a bit more formal in my listening at this point. I would slowly scan across the dial. There was one night when conditions were just right – I heard WBZ Boston and KDKA in Pittsburg. Somewhere I have a tape of an announcer saying “The Spirit of New England, WBZ, Boston” -- clear as a bell with little noise. When you live in the same area for a while, you get used to what you can pick up. That was the same with me. I would still tune across the dial (although I never heard WBZ again), but that was mainly for stations I enjoyed hearing.
In 1979, I met a friend who had the same interest. I found the plans to a signal amplifier. I built it, attached 400 feet of wire, and my friend and I went out one night along the American River in Sacramento to see what we could hear. I think the biggest catch of the night was WSM Nashville – the home of the Grand Ole Oprey. At that time I worked at KJOY, Stockton. I went full-time in September, working the midnight to six AM shift six nights a week. A friend of mine worked Sunday morning. I bumped in to him one day, and he told me he had a tape I had to hear. It was a tape of my friend on two consecutive Sunday mornings (California time) recorded by someone in Australia. I thought it was great, but I was a bit peeved that I worked the shift six nights a week, he worked it one night a week, but he got the tape.
I moved to Seattle in 1983 and settled in West Seattle, which was within two air miles of every 50,000 watt AM station in the city, and a number of the 5,000 watters as well. That killed off the hobby of listening to distant radio stations real quick. Probably the best catch I ever had was something of a reverse catch. On Christmas morning, 1984, I did a simulcast on KMPS AM and FM in Seattle. In March, 1985, I walked by the chief engineer’s desk, and saw a request for a QSL card (confirmation of reception) from someone in Finland. I read the written report and thought, “This is cool.” There was also a cassette tape. I just had to listen to it. By this time I had forgotten that I had worked Christmas morning. I took the tape to the production room, and was floored when I heard my voice coming through the noise. It was me, recorded in Finland. One of my dreams come true.
I have been fascinated with radio for as long as I can remember. Perhaps it is because my father always had the radio on in the car – and that included two cross-country drives by the time I was ten. I am also old enough to remember radio drama. When my brother got a single-play record player for Christmas in 1962, he told me that was the type of record player that radio stations used. I thought that was way cool. When my father bought his first tape recorder in 1964, it didn’t take me long before I was playing DJ. But the cool part about radio (which for all intents and purposes back then consisted of only AM for me) was what you could hear at night. One Friday night in 1965, when we lived outside of Heidelberg, Germany, I was tuning across the radio dial and found Radio Luxembourg. They were carrying a weekly “Battle of the Bands” show in English. The next day I told my brothers what I heard. “Luxembourg is hundreds of miles away. There is no way you could have heard it.” That’s the life of the youngest of three boys, but I knew what I heard.
By 1968 we lived in western Washington. Tuning across the dial one night I found KGA in Spokane. But my biggest catch was KSL in Salt Lake City. Wow. Here I was in DuPont, Washington, and I am listening to Salt Lake City. The host was a man named Herb Jepko. He had a nightly call-in show. His listeners were called “Nightcappers,” and called in from all across the country. The charm of that show was that everyone who listened was listening to KSL, Salt Lake City -- no satellites – it was like a club with a personal connection. That November we listened to the Presidential election results on KGO, San Francisco.
We moved to the Bay Area, California in August, 1969. Once we found the local stations we wanted to hear, I had to explore the distant stations I could pick up. I found my old friends KGA and KSL. I think I found some Los Angeles stations as well – but nothing that stood out, except I do remember my father listening to a Dodgers game on KFI. I loved their jingle – “Los Angeles, Los Angeles. Los Angeles, Los Angeles. KFI.”
In the summer of 1970 I discovered WWL, New Orleans. That was the best I had ever done. That same summer, my brother got married in Spokane. My other brother spent the summer in DuPont, western Washington. We drove up from California to DuPont to pick up the one brother. As we drove to Spokane late on the night of August 6, 1970, the 25th aniversay of the bombing of Hiroshima, we listened to a discussion of the subject on KGO as we drove across Washington State. By 1973 we had moved to Petaluma.
I was a bit more formal in my listening at this point. I would slowly scan across the dial. There was one night when conditions were just right – I heard WBZ Boston and KDKA in Pittsburg. Somewhere I have a tape of an announcer saying “The Spirit of New England, WBZ, Boston” -- clear as a bell with little noise. When you live in the same area for a while, you get used to what you can pick up. That was the same with me. I would still tune across the dial (although I never heard WBZ again), but that was mainly for stations I enjoyed hearing.
In 1979, I met a friend who had the same interest. I found the plans to a signal amplifier. I built it, attached 400 feet of wire, and my friend and I went out one night along the American River in Sacramento to see what we could hear. I think the biggest catch of the night was WSM Nashville – the home of the Grand Ole Oprey. At that time I worked at KJOY, Stockton. I went full-time in September, working the midnight to six AM shift six nights a week. A friend of mine worked Sunday morning. I bumped in to him one day, and he told me he had a tape I had to hear. It was a tape of my friend on two consecutive Sunday mornings (California time) recorded by someone in Australia. I thought it was great, but I was a bit peeved that I worked the shift six nights a week, he worked it one night a week, but he got the tape.
I moved to Seattle in 1983 and settled in West Seattle, which was within two air miles of every 50,000 watt AM station in the city, and a number of the 5,000 watters as well. That killed off the hobby of listening to distant radio stations real quick. Probably the best catch I ever had was something of a reverse catch. On Christmas morning, 1984, I did a simulcast on KMPS AM and FM in Seattle. In March, 1985, I walked by the chief engineer’s desk, and saw a request for a QSL card (confirmation of reception) from someone in Finland. I read the written report and thought, “This is cool.” There was also a cassette tape. I just had to listen to it. By this time I had forgotten that I had worked Christmas morning. I took the tape to the production room, and was floored when I heard my voice coming through the noise. It was me, recorded in Finland. One of my dreams come true.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Hello!
I have been threatening to do this for a while, but the main reason for this blog is to try out some things regarding blog layout and features.
But, since I am doing it, maybe I can make an interesting site in the process. So, let's se how it goes.
But, since I am doing it, maybe I can make an interesting site in the process. So, let's se how it goes.
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