Well, dear readers, I must write these here notes in a hurry for she of the Evil Eye will be here all too soon. I’ve just spent the last hour making a LOT of notes for the new book. Just going from thing to thing jotting down stuff I definitely want to use. I even typed the title page (yes, I have the title – thought of it early on), so it’s all ready to go on January 1st. It’s funny how you type one thing and it immediately leads you to another and then another and then another. I’m actually beginning to think I’ll be excited to write this one – I have been unsure about it for most of the year, ever since I decided to consider this particular idea. But, now I’m getting energized about it and I think it might just be a good deal of fun.
Prior to the notes-taking frenzy, I had a very nice day, I think. I say “I think” because I don’t really remember much about it. I got up. I remember that. CDs and helper arrived and we got everything shipped. I remember that. I visited Mystery and Imagination Books – I try to stop by there every couple of months to pay my respects, and whilst paying them I used up the rest of a credit I had and got some primo Georges Simenon books – three to be exact – nothing rare or anything (these were all from the 1960s) but primo is primo and my unerring sense of what to collect has already begun proving itself correct with Simenon – Christine, the owner of Mystery and Imagination, said someone had been in just a few weeks ago and bought up a lot of their Simenon stock. Perhaps they’ve been reading this here website. Most of the Simenon I’d gotten over the last few months were non-Maigret books, but recently I’ve gotten a few of the Maigrets – they’re still very reasonable (except for the earliest titles from the very early 1940s, when they began to be published in the UK and America), but I have noticed the prices have begun to subtly creep up in the last few weeks. The true firsts in English are usually the UK versions (published first by Routledge and then in the mid-1950s by Hamish Hamilton), and I have many of those in amazing condition – mine being from the late-1950s up through about 1962, with the majority of what I’ve scored from the early 1950s. Finding the first three or four Maigret books in any kind of condition, either in their UK or American versions is daunting, but I recently got the second American book to be published in pretty great shape, so that was good. There are a couple of copies of the first Maigret to be published in English in the UK – The Patience Of Maigret – but not only are they really pricey they are in really mediocre condition, thanks to cheap stock being used for the dust jacket. I’m really enjoying the hunt and I move very slowly and cautiously and thus far am only getting books that are in true collector condition. I do know there’s no completing because Simenon was simply too prolific – over 200 books. I even have a couple of the original French versions – most of which are softcover with dust jacket (weird, but true) – for whatever reasons, most of the original French books are really inexpensive, which is odd since those are the true firsts.
After my visit, I picked up one little package, which contained one little Simenon book I’d gotten on eBay really cheaply – I think it’s worth about ten times what I paid for it, maybe twenty times what I paid for it – IF any like copies were actually available, which there aren’t. Then I went to Jerry’s Deli and had two scoops of egg salad (I don’t think they put ANY mayo in their egg salad – I think they just mash up the eggs), so that was low-cal. I had a small thing of cole slaw with it and a small onion rings, too. The only bad thing I did, calorie-wise, was have a chocolate chip bun for dessert – it was just what I needed, however, and I didn’t eat anything else. I also didn’t get to do the four-mile jog or any-mile jog but I will remedy that this very morning. I then came home, listened to the other half of a master and made a decision I had to make. The second half of this CD we’re doing has been available before on CD (illegally), but the sound on that was very shrill and brittle and ugly – they also did a weird faux stereo spread on it and we decided to just use our mono tapes and not try to duplicate that. So, it’s quite different sounding to the previous release, but much more pleasant a listen, I think. I then sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled The Lady Vanishes, directed by Mr. Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, and Dame May Whitty, along with some wonderful character actors. I’m not always a huge fan of the British Hitchcock stuff, but I do love The Lady Vanishes, mostly because I love Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. Both are wonderful, subtle actors and they really make their characters work. The script is terrific, and Hitchcock’s direction very assured. I love the miniatures in this film – I know they’re corny now but the chutzpah of them is just amazing and wonderful. The transfer is probably as good as we’re going to get, but it’s obviously not from a camera negative and it looks like it’s not from a camera negative – that said, it’s very nice, with good contrast, and looks as sharp as these films look.
I then decided to look in the closet where I keep the handful of movie posters I still have. I haven’t bought a movie poster in over three years, but I see that I’ve managed to either hang on to or score some pretty interesting things, some of which are worth a lot of dough these days. An huge original French poster for The Red Balloon (I didn’t have any idea I even had such a thing), the same size original French poster for Franju’s Judex (stunning), the best poster ever for The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg (for such a beautiful film, the posters from every country are terrible – save for the one I have from the original Japanese release of the film – it’s gorgeous), a Japanese two-panel (very long and thin) original Young Girls Of Rochefort, an original poster for Kurosawa’s High and Low (VERY VERY RARE), an original smaller French poster for Sundays and Cybele (like Umbrellas, the posters on this film aren’t very attractive), and a few other really interesting items, including a super rare original Brit quad poster for Peeping Tom. I may take one item and have it framed. I’m also framing this incredible little note I have from Alfred Hitchcock written to Billy Wilder after Hitch had seen Double Indemnity – it’s pretty amazing.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must try and get some beauty sleep.
Today, I shall be up and out doing the four-mile jog by nine-thirty. After that, I have some errands and whatnot to do, then I will hopefully pick up some packages and an important envelope, after which I’ll come home and relax and probably make more book notes until Melody and folks arrive to take me out for a birthday dinner. Depending on what time that finishes, I might go see a screening of The Artist, which I hear nothing but great things about.
Tomorrow, I’ll be going to the engineer’s home environment to hear all the new mixes for an upcoming soundtrack release – I’m really excited to hear them. And then I’m sure it will be more notes, more relaxing and some watching of motion pictures.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do the four-mile jog, I must do errands and whatnot, I must hopefully pick up packages and an important envelope, I must make book notes, I must hopefully hear our other master, I must prep our release announcement, and I must have a birthday dinner at Casa Vega. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your all-time favorite films of A. Hitchcock and B. Wilder? And if you could own one movie poster, which would it be and why would you want that particular one? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland dreaming of my lovely poster treasures that I was surprised to see I had.