Well, dear readers, I had a very needed day off yesterday. In fact, it was so needed and so nice I just may take today off as well. Not really – I do have things to attend to, but I think I’ll try to attend to them in the morning so that I can have my afternoon free. Then, tomorrow it’s back to business as usual. I spent my day off getting the few things that I had to do done by noon. I then jogged briskly. I then went to Gelson’s and got some Diet Coke and weird stuff for my meal o’ the day. I then settled down and sat on my couch like so much fish, watching DVDs, snoozing, and eating my recently purchased weird stuff. It was a glorious way to spend a beautiful day. I also had some telephonic calls, some of which were actually pleasant. Around seven, I got the urge to jog again (very unusual) and I did. After that, it was back to playing the piano for a bit and then back to DVDs for a bit.
Yesterday, I managed to watch a plethora of DVDs, all mercifully short. I began with Man In The Vault, a low-budget film from 1956, one of the long lost Batjac productions. It’s not a very good film (it was Andrew McLaglen’s second film), but it’s short and watchable. However, it’s a keeper for me, because it’s all shot on location in LA and has great shots that brought back many nice memories. Parts were shot on La Cienega (familiar if you’ve read the Kritzer books and if you haven’t what in HELL are you waiting for), on Marmont Ave. just off the strip (the street the Chateau Marmont is on, and two great scenes shot at the corner of Hollywood and Highland, when the Hollywood Hotel was still there and when Hollywood Blvd. really looked like Hollywood Blvd. The transfer, while a bit grainy, was nice. I then watched Ring of Fear, another Batjac production. It’s one of the all-time wackiest movies I’ve ever seen. Sean McClory plays an insane former ringmaster of the Clyde Beatty circus, who escapes from a mental institution and comes back to the circus. Nothing in the film makes any sense, but it’s the top-billed stars that REALLY don’t make any sense – Clyde Beatty himself, and Mickey Spillane, also playing himself. I mean, that is just too outré, having the owner of a circus and an author of Mike Hammer novels play the two leading roles as themselves. It was just bad, but somehow one had to watch all the way through. The Cinemascope (2:55) image is soft but acceptable, and the four-track stereo sound is robust. I then watched a third Batjac production, Plunder Of The Sun, starring Mr. Glenn Ford. Since I like Mr. Glenn Ford, I enjoyed the film, which is stylishly directed by Mr. John Farrow on location in Mexico. The film doesn’t add up to much, but the locations are nice and at times it seems like the film is a travelogue more than anything else. Transfer is excellent and there are quite a few extras. I then watched the final DVD of the evening, Patrice Leconte’s film of Georges Simenon’s Monsieur Hire (filmed years before in France as Panique). As most of you know, I think Mr. Leconte is one of the best directors working today (maybe the best) – Monsieur Hire, which I saw in the early 90s on videotape was my introduction to his work, even though I didn’t know it. I really liked the film back then and watched it several times. The new DVD from the UK is a dream – on video it was pan-and-scan of a scope film – the DVD has the film in all its widescreen glory. The two stars, Michel Blanc and the gorgeous Sandrine Bonnaire, give terrific performances, and the film has a moody score by Michael Nyman (with an able assist from Brahms). In any case, I still love the film and it was great to see it again, especially looking so good.
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I’m sure I’ve got other things to talk about besides fershluganah DVDs.
Today, I have a package to ship, some calls to make, some scripts to Xerox at Staples and some organizing to do around the home environment. I’m going to try to do all that by one so that I can have another afternoon of doing not too much. I may go out in the evening, or I may not. Tomorrow, of course, we have our final musical theater workshop (MTW) class, which I’m looking forward to. And tomorrow night, I’m having another reading of my new play – this time with three different actors. I’ll still be playing one of the roles, but this time I thought it would be helpful to hear other people doing the other three parts. In fact, I think I’m going to find it illuminating in one way or another. I will, of course, have a full report.
I really want to start writing something new and am still trying to settle on which idea I want to try for a new novel. I make start making notes on the one I think is most interesting. I also have to settle on the cover design for Deceit so we can move that along, and I also have to start editing Mr. Kevin Spirtas’ DVD.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do all of the above and hopefully do it quickly so that I can have one more afternoon of relaxation. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like, and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we?